Kentucky-South Carolina Postgame Notes

KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
COLONIAL LIFE ARENA | COLUMBIA, SC
JAN. 23, 2024
ATTENDANCE: 18,000

Final Score: South Carolina 79, No. 6 Kentucky 62

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 14-4 on the season, 4-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
• South Carolina is 16-3 overall, 4-2 in league play.
• UK leads the series 54-15, including 21-10 in games played in Columbia.
• Next for Kentucky: UK finishes a two-game road swing Saturday at Arkansas. Game time is 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT in Fayetteville) and it will be televised on ESPN.

Team Notes

• Kentucky scored a season-low 62 points tonight. The Wildcats entered the game leading the nation at 91.6 points per game.
  • UK ended streaks of scoring at least 87 points in eight straight games and scoring at least 90 in four straight SEC games.
• UK continued its recent stretch of good free-throw shooting, making 8 of 9 for 88.9%.

Player Notes

• Rob Dillingham led UK with 16 points, his 15^th double-figure game of the season.
• Antonio Reeves had 15 points.
  • He has landed in double figures in every game but one this season.
• Tre Mitchell tallied 13 points, making 5 of 8 from the field and both free throws.
  • It is his 12^th double-figure scoring game of the season.
  • He also led the Wildcats in rebounding with five and had two blocked shots.

Coach John Calipari

• Calipari has an 846-257 (76.7%) all-time on-court record, including 401-117 (77.4%) at Kentucky.
• Calipari is 330-67 (83.1%) at UK against unranked competition.
• Calipari is 16-6 vs. South Carolina.
• Calipari is now 397-128 (75.6%) all-time in conference games, including 189-62 (75.3%) in the SEC.

In the First Half

• Kentucky started D.J. Wagner, Antonio Reeves, Justin Edwards, Tre Mitchell and Aaron Bradshaw for the ninth game in a row. UK is 7-2 in this lineup.
• Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard were UK’s first substitutions at the 16:52 mark.
• Kentucky led 21-16 with 8:33 left, but South Carolina closed the half with a 17-4 run and took a 33-25 lead into intermission.
• It is UK’s lowest-scoring half of the season; previous low 33 in the first half vs. UNCW.
• Dillingham led the Wildcats with 11 points.
• UK is now 1-3 this season when trailing at halftime.

In the Second Half

• Kentucky began the second half with the starting lineup.
• Kentucky closed within 40-38 but South Carolina went on a 26-8 spurt for the largest lead of the game, 66-46, with six minutes remaining.
• Kentucky got within 14 points on two occasions but no closer.