Kentucky Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
LSU at Kentucky
Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.
March 5, 2016
Attendance: 24,414
Final Score: Kentucky 94, LSU 77
Team Records and Series Notes
• Kentucky finished the regular season 23-8.
• The Wildcats went 13-5 in Southeastern Conference action and won their 47th regular-season SEC championship, tying Texas A&M for league honors.
• LSU is 18-13 overall, 11-7 in SEC play.
• Kentucky leads the all-time series 87-26. The split the series in 2016.
• Next for the Wildcats: UK plays in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament in Nashville on Friday, March 11 at 7 p.m. EST (6 p.m. CST in Nashville). As the No. 2 seed, UK plays the winner of No. 7 vs. No. 10.
In the First Half
• Kentucky started with the lineup of Tyler Ulis, Jamal Murray, Isaiah Briscoe, Alex Poythress and Skal Labissiere for the fifth time this year and second game in a row. UK is 4-1 with this lineup.
• UK scored the game’s first four points but LSU replied with nine straight for a 9-4 lead.
• Trailing 14-8, UK went on a 9-0 run to retake the lead at 17-14.
• Trailing 21-20, UK went on a 10-0 run for a 30-21 lead. Ulis accounted for all 10 points with one basket and four assists.
• UK led by as many as 11 at 36-25.
• Returning from injury, Derek Willis’ first basket was a 3-pointer with 1:05 remaining, extending UK’s streak of 970 games with at least one triple.
• Kentucky went to halftime ahead 41-32. Ulis had nine assists, most for him ever in a half.
• Kentucky is now 22-5 when owning a halftime advantage.
In the Second Half
• Ahead 46-37, Kentucky hit a 7-0 stretch to push the lead to 53-37.
• Ahead 62-52, UK put the game away with a 10-0 run.
• Kentucky led by as many as 26 points at 89-63.
Team Notes
• Kentucky is 7-0 on Senior Day under John Calipari and 93-19 all-time in Senior Day games.
• Kentucky scored a season-high 94 points.
• UK shot 52.8 percent from the field, the 16th time this season the Wildcats have hit at least half their shots. UK is 14-2 this season when shooting at least 50 percent.
• Kentucky won the rebounding 45-29. Included in that were 18 offensive boards, leading to an 18-10 edge in second-chance points.
• Kentucky had 26 assists and 11 turnovers. UK has had more assists than turnovers in 14 consecutive SEC games for the first time since 1995-96 (14 consecutive SEC games).
• Kentucky’s 26 assists are the fourth-most in the Calipari era and the most vs. an SEC opponent.
• UK won bench points 20-5.
• This is the 21st-straight game that a Wildcat has scored at least 20 points, the longest such streak since 1989-90, 21 straight games.
• Coach John Calipari has a 658-186 (.780) all-time record, including a 213-46 (.822) mark at Kentucky.
The Southeastern Conference Championship
• Kentucky tied Texas A&M for the SEC championship. It is Kentucky’s 47th regular-season SEC title.
• It is the Wildcats’ fourth regular-season title in seven seasons under Calipari.
• Kentucky has won two consecutive regular-season SEC titles.
• Calipari has directed his teams to 14 conference crowns.
UK in Rupp Arena and the Undefeated Home Season
• Kentucky went 17-0 at home this season, its 13th undefeated home season in the 40-year history of Rupp Arena.
• It is UK’s fifth undefeated home season in seven years under Calipari.
• Kentucky extended its 37-game home winning streak, second-longest active streak in the nation.
• Calipari has the two longest win streaks in Rupp Arena, 55 games and the current stretch of 37.
• UK is 119-4 (.967) at home under Calipari. He tied Tubby Smith for second on the Rupp Arena wins list.
Player Notes
• Freshman Jamal Murray had 22 points, including 4-of-8 on 3-pointers, adding seven rebounds and four assists.
• It is his 16th game this season with at least 20 points, his 10th game in a row. It’s the longest streak since Kevin Grevey had 12 consecutive 20-point games in 1974-75.
• His 16th 20-point game extends his UK freshman record for 20-point games.
• It is his 29th consecutive double-figure scoring game, the most since Jodie Meeks had a 32-game double-figure stretch in 2008-09.
• He has scored at least eight points in all 31 games this season, extending his school-record for most consecutive games with 8+ points at the start of a career.
• He has made at least one 3-point shot in every game this season, the first player in program history to make a triple in each of his first 31 collegiate games.
• It’s also a school record for most consecutive games with a 3 to begin a season, regardless of year in school.
• It is the second-longest streak in school history, trailing only Tony Delk, who had 32 straight games with a triple.
• He has 17 games with at least three 3-pointers, most by any player in the Calipari era. Brandon Knight had 16 games with at least three 3-pointers.
• Sophomore Tyler Ulis totaled 14 points and a career-high 14 assists.
• It was his team-leading eighth double-double of the season. Seven of them have been of the points-assists variety which is a Calipari-era record at UK.
• 14 assists is the third-best single game in school history and most ever against an SEC opponent.
• He extended his school-record streak of 24 consecutive games with at least four assists.
• Ulis has seven games this season with at least 10 assists, extending his school record.
• He has at least eight assists in seven straight games.
• Junior Marcus Lee collected 12 points and 10 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season. It is his 10th double-figure scoring game and sixth double-figure rebounding game of the season.
• Freshman Skal Labissiere scored 18 points. He also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and had a career-high six blocked shots.
• 18 points is his second-best of the season, most since his 26-point game on Nov. 14.
• He reached double-figure scoring for the ninth time this year
• Six blocked shots are the most for a Wildcat this season and most since Karl-Anthony Towns had six rejections vs. Florida on March 7, 2015.
• Alex Poythress celebrated Senior Day with 12 points and three rebounds in 19 minutes of play.
• He has scored double figures in three of the four games since returning from injury.
• 12 points came on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting performance.
• Poythress is the 15th player in school history to amass 800 points, 500 rebounds and 70 blocked shots in a career.
• Freshman Isaiah Briscoe had a stat-stuffing line with eight points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• Junior Derek Willis returned to action after missing three games because of an ankle injury. Willis played 14 minutes and scored six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
LSU asked UK Athletics to pass along some notes on Ben Simmons …
• Simmons totaled 17 points and 11 rebounds, his 22nd double-double of the season.
• It is his 26th consecutive double-figure scoring game but ended a streak of five consecutive 20-point games.
• Simmons also had a career-high seven steals.
