March 14, 2014

Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 

Team Records, Notes

• Kentucky improves to 23-9 overall, while LSU falls to 19-13.
• Kentucky leads the series 95-35 including 14-3 on neutral ground.
• The Wildcats are 120-24 all-time in the SEC Tournament and 23-7 when it’s held in Atlanta.
• Kentucky is 40-11 all-time in the SEC Quarterfinal contest including owning a 5-1 mark when playing LSU in that round.
• UK advances to the semifinal rounds of the SEC Tournament and will play the winner of the Georgia-Ole Miss game at approximately 3:15 p.m. ET on Saturday.

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 7-3 on the season.
• Alex Poythress, Willie Cauley-Stein and Jarrod Polson were the first subs off the bench for UK. It marked the team-leading 18th time Poythress was the first called upon, the 13th time for Cauley-Stein and the third time for Polson.

• Young hit a 3-pointer at the 18:56 mark for Kentucky’s opening bucket to extend UK’s 3-point streak to 892 consecutive games. It is the third largest streak in the country.
• John Calipari coached teams are 123-37 in the months of March and April.
• UK out-rebounded LSU by 16. The Cats are 20-7 when out-rebounding their opponent this season.

First Half Facts

• LSU jumped out to a 6-0 lead on consecutive made 3-pointers from Shavon Coleman. UK called a timeout with 18:59 remaining in the first half.
• A 6-0 run capped off by the third Young 3-pointer of the half brought Kentucky back to within two at 22-20 with 9:26 remaining in the opening stanza.
• The Wildcats continued the string of points, stretching the run to 10-0 grabbing their first lead on an Andrew Harrison 15-footer with 7:29 remaining.
• Kentucky’s defensive pressure amped up and forced the Tigers into five turnovers and just one made field goal while extending the run to a 23-3 stretch in favor of the Cats over an 8:16 stretch of the clock. The run was highlighted by two Cauley-Stein blocks and a steal by Andrew Harrison capped by a Young flush.
• Kentucky took a 10-point lead into halftime leading 42-32. Kentucky is now 19-2 on the year when leading at the break.

Second Half Facts

• LSU made it a two-possession game with 14:07 remaining following a steal and made 3-pointer to cut the lead to six at 51-45.
• After the Tigers trimmed the game to just a two-point contest, Poythress nailed a 3-pointer from the corner to lift UK back to a two possession game with less than 12 minutes to play. It would be the closest LSU would get the rest of the way.
• A 6-0 spurt finished by consecutive buckets from Aaron Harrison gave UK a 67-55 lead with just under six to play.
• Another 7-0 run by the Wildcats with a dunk from Cauley-Stein and 3-pointer from Aaron Harrison in just one minute of game clock ignited the Wildcats to a 76-59 lead with 3:58 remaining.

Individual Notes

• Willie Cauley-Stein scored eight points and had six blocked shots.
  • Now has 154 career blocked shots moving past Patrick Patterson for eighth place on UK’s all-time shot blocker list.
  • Totaled 94 blocks for the season which ranks third for a single-year in program history.
  • Is the sixth game of the season with six or more rejections and the first since posting six in a home victory over Ole Miss on Feb. 4.
• Aaron Harrison posted 14 points and made a trio of 3-pointers.
  • It’s the 23rd double-figure scoring game of his career.
  • Marked the fifth game this season with at least three 3-pointers.
  • Moved into 14th place on UK’s freshman single-season scoring list with 432 points on the year.
• Andrew Harrison tallied 11 points and dished out a career-high eight assists.
  • Has four or more assists in six of UK’s last eight contests including two straight.
  • Logged 13 assists in UK’s last two contests with today’s eight marking a career-best.
  • Moved into a tie with Rajon Rondo with 118 assists of the season which is fifth best in a single-season for any UK freshman.
• Dakari Johnson narrowly missed on his first career double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.
  • Set a career-high with nine rebounds in the opening half.
  • Also registered three blocks marking the third time this season he has swatted three or more shot attempts.
• Julius Randle finished with 17 points and a career-high matching 16 rebounds.
  • Became the first player since DeMarcus Cousins in 2009-10 to have 10 or more rebounds in nine-consecutive games.
  • Notched his fifth-straight double-double and the 19th of his career. He’s one shy of trying the most in a single-year by any UK freshman.
  • The 16 rebounds matches a career high which he also set against UNC Asheville in the opening game of the season.
  • Moved past Terrence Jones for third place on the single-season freshman rebounding list with 340 boards on the year. That mark also ranks 15th for any player in a single-year in program history.
• James Young had a team-high 21 points and added six rebounds and four assists.
  • Poured in 17 points in the opening half which tied for his season-high in points in any stanza for the season. He also had 17 in the opening half against Boise State on Dec. 10, 2013.
  • Had his team-leading eighth 20-point scoring game of the season.
  • Is just the second player in program history (Brandon Knight) with 70 or more 3-pointers in a freshman season.
  • With four assists he moved to 23rd on the freshman assists’ record list.
  • Advanced to ninth place in the freshman single season scoring list with 467 points on the year.