March 15, 2014

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Team Records, Notes

• Kentucky improves to 24-9 overall on the year, while Georgia falls to 19-13.
• Kentucky now leads the series 117-26 including 9-1 in the SEC Tournament and 2-0 in semifinal contests.
• The Wildcats are 121-24 all-time in the SEC Tournament and 24-7 when it’s held in Atlanta.
• Kentucky is 38-2 all-time in the SEC Semifinal contest.
• UK advances to its 38th SEC Tournament Championship game where it will meet top-seeded and No. 1 ranked Florida at 3:15 p.m. ET on Sunday on a nationally televised game airing on ESPN.

Team Facts

• Kentucky’s starting lineup consisted of five freshmen in Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Dakari Johnson, Julius Randle and James Young. That lineup improves to 8-3 on the season.
• Alex Poythress was the first sub off the bench for UK. He’s been the first substitution in a team-leading 19th time this season.
• Young hit a 3-pointer at the 17:32 mark of the opening half to extend UK’s 3-point streak to 893 consecutive games. It is the third largest streak in the country.
• Kentucky led 36-32 at the break and is 20-2 this season when holding a halftime advantage.
• John Calipari coached teams are 124-37 in the months of March and April.

First Half Facts

• Kentucky opened the half on a 12-2 run to take a commanding lead. The burst was highlighted by a pair of Young 3-pointers.
• A 3-pointer by Georgia cut the Wildcat advantage to just four at 19-15 with 9:16 remaining in the half.
• The Bulldogs trimmed the lead once against to four at 31-27 with 2:32 remaining in the half before Jarrod Polson knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner to give UK a two-possession lead once again.
• Georgia kept the pressure on and was able to make the halftime lead just four in favor of the Wildcats with a 36-32 advantage.
• Kentucky made 5-of-8 (62.5) shots from behind the arc in the opening half.
• UK had assists (6) on half of its made field goals (12) in the half.

Second Half Facts

• Georgia opened the second half on a run and was able to get to within a basket at 41-39 with 15:03 remaining. But, the Wildcats responded with five-straight points including a 3-pointer from Aaron Harrison to reclaim the comfortable advantage at 46-39.
• An Andrew Harrison 3-pointer lifted UK to its largest lead of the game at 60-48 with just a little more than five minutes to play.

Individual Notes

• Aaron Harrison finished with a game-high 22 points and hit four 3-pointers.
  • Scored a team-high 16 points in the opening half. It’s the second-most points in a first half from the freshman guard this season. He had 19 against Robert Morris.
  • His four 3-pointers matches a career high.
  • Moved passed Jodie Meeks for seventh place on the freshman 3-point scoring list.
  • Has scored 454 points this season which now ranks 13th all-time in the freshman record books at UK.
• Andrew Harrison narrowly registered a double-double with 12 points and nine assists.
  • Has four or more assists in seven of UK’s last nine contests including three straight.
  • The nine assists is a new career best after logging a then career-high eight dimes in yesterday’s win over LSU.
  • The nine assists are the most for any UK player since Archie Goodwin also had nine against LIU Brooklyn on Nov. 23, 2012.
  • With 127 assists on the season, he now holds fourth place on the single-season freshman assists record list moving past Dirk Minnefield.
• Dakari Johnson notched six points and eight rebounds.
  • Has pulled down five or more rebounds in four-straight games and had at least eight in back-to-back contests.
• Julius Randle charted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
  • Set the single-season freshman record for made free throws for the season with 177. John Wall previously held the record with 175. That free throw mark is also good for sixth in a single-year for any UK player.
  • Is the first player since Jim Andrews during the 1971-72 season to have 10-consecutive games with 10 or more rebounds. He is the first freshman in program history to achieve the feat.
  • Tied the single-season freshman record with 20 double-doubles on the season. He’s had six-straight double-doubles and eight in his last nine outings.
  • His 351 total rebounds for the season ranks 13th in program history in a single year.
• James Young poured in 14 points and hit a pair of 3-pointers.
  • Has connected for at least one long ball in 11-consecutive games. That’s the longest stretch of games for any UK player since Julius Mays sunk one in 15-straight during the 2012-13 season.
  • With 481 points on the season he now ranks seventh in the single-season freshman scoring records at UK. He moved past Doron Lamb and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.