March 7, 2010

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Team Records, Series Notes and Season Notes

• Kentucky is 29-2, 14-2 in the Southeastern Conference. Florida is 20-11, 9-7 in league action.
• UK’s 29 th victory is the most for the Wildcats in one season since the 2002-03 squad went 32-4.
• UK’s 14 th league win is the most for the Wildcats in one season since the 2005 team also won the championship with a 14-2 record.
• South Carolina’s win over Vanderbilt on Saturday clinched the outright SEC championship for Kentucky, the Wildcats’ 44 th regular-season title. It is UK’s first SEC championship since 2005.
• Coach John Calipari has won 11 conference championships, including five in a row (one at UK, four Conference USA at Memphis).
• Kentucky leads the series, 87-32. UK leads the series 44-8 in games played in Lexington.
• Kentucky went 18-0 at home this season.
  • It is UK’s ninth undefeated home record in the 34-year history of Rupp Arena.
  • It is the first undefeated home season since the 1999-2000 squad went 14-0.
  • It ties the 1985-86 team, which also went 18-0, for best home record in a season.
• UK’s men’s and women’s teams went undefeated at home this season, joining the 1980-81 season as the only times in school history that feat has been accomplished.
• Kentucky is the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Division for the SEC Tournament, March 11-14 in Nashville. It is UK’s first No. 1 seed in the league event since 2005.
• UK has a bye on Thursday and will take on the winner of Alabama (West No. 4) vs. South Carolina (East No. 5) on Friday at 1 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
• Today’s attendance was 24,354.
  • Kentucky set the Rupp Arena record for most attendance in a season (433,989). The old record was 422,547 set last season in 19 games.
  • Kentucky set the Rupp Arena record for highest average in a season (24,111). The old record was 24,025 in 1990-91, a 13-game season.

First-Half Notes

• Kentucky used the starting lineup of John Wall, Mark Krebs, Ramon Harris, Perry Stevenson and Patrick Patterson.
  • It was Krebs’ first start of his career.
  • It was Stevenson’s first start of the season.
  • It was Harris’ second start of the season.
• Patrick Patterson opened the scoring on UK’s first possession with a straight-away three-pointer with 18:44 on the clock. It extended UK’s streak of 742 consecutive games with a three-point basket.
• Kentucky jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never trailed.
• Harris, Krebs and Stevenson played the first 5:23 of the game before being replaced at the 14:37 mark. UK had a 7-3 lead at that point.
• Ahead 20-16, UK went on a 14-0 run for a 34-16 lead with 5:20 to go, the Wildcats’ largest advantage of the half.
• Florida went on a hot streak in the final five minutes of the half, cutting the lead to 41-31 by intermission.
• Kentucky made 6-of-12 three-point shots in the first half. It is the second-consecutive game that the Wildcats made six threes in the first half.  

Second-Half Notes

• Florida gradually chipped away in the second half and pulled within two, 60-58, at the 6:52 mark. The Gators got the ball back but had a turnover and Patrick Patterson hit a short jumper.
• Florida again pulled within two, 62-60, with 5:28 to go, but the Wildcats got the next six points on a three-pointer by Wall, a foul shot by Wall and two foul shots by Darnell Dodson for a 68-60 cushion.
• After Florida had pulled within 59-56 with 10:52 to play, the Gators scored only 10 more points the remainder of the game.

Team Notes

• Kentucky had five players score in double figures, the first time that happened since the Vanderbilt game on Jan. 30.

Individual Notes

• Seniors
  Ramon Harris, Mark Krebs and
  Perry Stevenson, along with upcoming graduate
  Patrick Patterson , were honored in pregame Senior Day ceremonies.
• 
  John Wall tallied 11 points, including two foul shots, and had eight assists.
  • Wall extended his UK freshman season record for most points with 504.
  • Wall extended his UK freshman season assist record to 187.
  • Wall extended his UK freshman season record for free throws made with 147.
• 
  Patrick Patterson had 13 points, five rebounds, two blocked shots and a season-high four steals.
  • Patterson has made a three-pointer in 10 of the last 11 games.
  • Patterson moved past Cliff Hagan (1,475) for 16 th place on the UK career scoring list and has 1,482 points as a Wildcat.
• 
  DeMarcus Cousins had eight points and nine rebounds.
  • Cousins extended his UK freshman season record for rebounds with 312.
• 
  Darius Miller had 14 points, his first double-figure game since his career-high 18 vs. Arkansas on Jan. 23.
• 
  Darnell Dodson made all three of his field-goal attempts today, including a pair of three-pointers, and both free-throw attempts for 10 points. It is his second-straight game in double figures.
• 
  Eric Bledsoe tallied 14 points, his most since 16 vs. Tennessee on Feb. 13.