No. 21 Kentucky Comes Up Short at Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 points, but No. 21 Kentucky suffered through a tough shooting day, as the Wildcats lost at Missouri 69-60 on Saturday.
It was Kentucky’s first-ever loss to Missouri. The Wildcats had won the previous 10 meetings between the schools.
Kentucky (17-6, 6-4 SEC) hit just 21 of its 67 field goal attempts (31.3 percent), including just two of 20 (10 percent) from three-point range. The Wildcats won the rebounding battle 40-36, as well as points in the paint (26-16). Kentucky also forced 20 Missouri turnovers, but could only turn those into 15 points.
Jarred Vanderbilt had a career-high eight points and added a game-high 10 rebounds for Kentucky, while Hamidou Diallo and Wenyen Gabriel each had eight points as well.
Missouri closed the half on an 8-0 run to take a 28-18 advantage into the locker room. The Wildcats struggled mightily on offense in the first half, making just six of 30 shots (20 percent) from the field, including zero of nine from behind the arc. Kentucky made six of its 11 free throw attempts while committing six turnovers and scoring a season-low 18 points in the first 20 minutes.
Missouri hit nine of 23 (39.1 percent) from the floor in the first half, but connected on just two of 12 from behind the arc. The Tigers hit eight of 14 free throws and committed eight turnovers in the first half.
Kentucky started the second half on an 14-5 run to cut the Missouri lead to 33-32. However, the Tigers scored the next eight points to lead 41-32 with 15:07 left in the game. Kentucky would cut the lead to seven points, 41-34, on a jumper by Sacha Killeya-Jones with 14:36 left in the game.
Missouri continued with a comfortable lead until the game’s final minute, when Kentucky’s trapping defense allowed the Cats to get within five, 65-60, with 42 seconds remaining. However, Kentucky would get no closer.
Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday, when the Wildcats host Tennessee at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN.
