UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
MISSOURI at KENTUCKY
RUPP ARENA AT CENTRAL BANK CENTER | LEXINGTON, KY.
DEC. 29, 2021
ATTENDANCE: 19,361

Final Score: No. 18/17 Kentucky 83, Missouri 56
 
Team Records, Series Notes, Etc.

• Kentucky surpassed its win total from 2020-21 to get to 10-2 this season and 1-0 in the Southeastern Conference. Missouri dropped to 6-7 and 0-1 in SEC play.
  • UK improved to 69-19 all-time in SEC openers.  
• The Wildcats are now 14-2 all-time vs. the Tigers and 8-0 in Lexington, Kentucky.
• Kentucky improved to 9-0 at Rupp Arena this season and extended its home winning streak to 10 games, which dates back to last season.
• The announced attendance of 19,361 was the second biggest of the season, behind last game’s crowd of 20,221 vs. Western Kentucky.

• Next up: It will be a quick turnaround for the Wildcats. UK will host High Point on Friday at noon in Rupp Arena. The game will be televised by SEC Network.
  • Prior to the game, current HPU head coach and former UK head coach Orlando “Tubby” Smith will have a jersey retired in his honor. Smith was the head coach of the Wildcats for 10 years, from the 1997-98 season through the 2006-07 campaign. Under Smith, UK won the 1998 national championship, five regular-season SEC championships and five SEC Tournament crowns.

 
Team Notes

• Kentucky limited Missouri to 56 points. UK is 196-9 under Calipari when holding the opponent to 63 points or fewer, including 8-0 this season.
• UK held Missouri 22 of 67 from the floor, 32.8%. The Wildcats improved to 216-24 under Calipari when they hold the opposition to 40% or less.
  • UK is 7-0 this season when holding the opponent below 40% from the field.
• The Wildcats led by as many as 27 points in the second half. UK is 296-12 in the John Calipari era when leading by at least 10 points at any time in the contest.
• Led by Oscar Tshiebwe’s 20 rebounds, UK outrebounded Missouri 49-35. The nation’s No. 1 team in rebounding margin has outrebounded its opponents by at least 14 in all 10 wins this season.

 
Player Notes  

• Keion Brooks Jr. led the Wildcats in the scoring column for the second time this season with 17 points.

  • He has scored in double figures three times in the last four games.
  • Brooks was 7 of 11 from the floor.
  • He added nine rebounds, just missing out on his first double-double of the season.
• Oscar Tshiebwe, who collected multiple national player of the week honors in addition to Co-SEC Player of the Week distinction this week, notched his 10th double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 20 boards.
  • After his Rupp Arena record 28 rebounds vs. Western Kentucky, he has grabbed 48 boards over the last two games.
  • He moved back into a tie for first place nationally in double-doubles.
  • It was his fourth 20-rebound game of the season and his second straight. He also recorded back-to-back 20-board games to start the season.
  • The nation’s leading rebounder has grabbed double-figure boards in all but one game this season.
  • He was 9 of 10 at the free-throw line.
• TyTy Washington Jr., the reigning Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week posted 14 points and six rebounds.
  • He is averaging 15.2 points in Kentucky’s 10 wins this season.
  • Excluding the season opener he is shooting 52.0% from the field.
• Sahvir Wheeler, who entered Wednesday’s game ranked second nationally in assists per game (7.7), recorded nine dimes vs. Missouri
  • It was his 10th game this season with at least six assists and his seventh with at least eight.
  • He added 11 points for his seventh double-figure scoring effort of the season.

 
Coach Calipari

• John Calipari is now 349-95 at UK.
• Calipari now has a 794-235 all-time on-court record. 
• UK improved to 285-56 under Calipari in games vs. unranked Associated Press competition.
• Calipari moved to 11-4 in all-time meetings vs. Missouri.
• The Wildcats are 197-17 in Rupp Arena under Calipari’s watch, including 175-11 vs. unranked AP foes.
• Kentucky improved to 11-2 in SEC openers under Calipari and 12-1 in the first SEC home game of the season.
• Calipari has tallied a 368-116 all-time record within conference play as a head coach and owns a 160-60 record since joining the SEC.

 
In the First Half

• Kentucky started Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington Jr., Kellan Grady, Keion Brooks Jr. and Oscar Tshiebwe for the 11th time this season and the fifth game in a row. UK is now 9-2 with that starting lineup. 
• The Wildcats raced out to an 11-2 lead just 2:25 into the game, forcing Missouri to call timeout.
  • UK scored the game’s first seven points.
  • The Wildcats made five of their first seven shots.
  • Brooks scored the game’s opening bucket, a jumper at the 19:22 mark.
• Jacob Toppin was the first sub for Kentucky. He came in for Brooks at 14:26 after Brooks scored seven early points.
• Missouri came roaring back from an early 17-6 deficit with a lightning-quick 12-0 run over 2:16 of game time to take an 18-17 lead.
  • UK went scoreless for 4:41 of action until Tshiebwe ended the run with a layup.
• Kentucky retook control with a 21-2 run, the first 12 points of which were free throws.
  • Included in the stretch was a 9-0 spurt to turn a 21-20 lead into a 10-point advantage.
  • After the Tigers broke that run with a layup by Javon Pickett, Kentucky came back with an even bigger stretch, a 12-0 run that featured seven points from Washington.
• The Wildcats led 44-27 at halftime and improved to 10-1 this season when leading at the half.
• Kentucky had seven steals in the first half and forced 12 turnovers overall, leading to 19 points.
• Brooks led UK in the first half with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting in addition to four rebounds.
• Washington added 10 points, Wheeler recorded seven points and six assists, and Tshiebwe totaled six points and eight rebounds.

 
In the Second Half

• UK opened the second half with the same starting five as the first half: Wheeler, Washington, Grady, Brooks and Tshiebwe.
• An early 7-0 Missouri run got the game back to single digits at 45-36 with 17:07 left in the game.
  • Grady ended the spurt with a 3-pointer.
• Kentucky grinded its way back to a 60-45 lead with 8:37 to go.
• The Wildcats put the game away with a 10-0 run (over 2:39 of game time) late in the second half. Tshiebwe put the exclamation point on the game with an offensive rebound and a thunderous two-hand slam to put the Wildcats up 73-52 at the 4:03 mark to force a Missouri timeout.
• Tshiebwe recorded seven points, 12 rebounds and two blocks in the second half.