?    Kentucky advanced to the Lexington Regional semifinal of the NCAA Tournament with a 79-58 victory over No. 24/23 Oklahoma on Monday night in Memorial Coliseum. With the win, the Wildcats move to 25-7 on the season, while the Sooners end their campaign at 22-11.

?    UK now leads the all-time series with Oklahoma, 2-1, with two consecutive wins against the Sooners.

?    Kentucky will play No. 7-seeded Washington in the semifinal of the Lexington Regional. The Huskies secured a 74-65 upset of the No. 2 seed Maryland to advance. The Wildcats will play Friday at 7 p.m. ET inside Rupp Arena. Tickets are to be purchased through Rupp Arena.  

?    Friday’s game will be the fifth Sweet 16 appearance in program history, and the fourth in the past five seasons.  

?    With the win, Matthew Mitchell is now 249-117 overall and 219-88 in his nine-year tenure at Kentucky. Mitchell is 15-6 in the NCAA Tournament and 34-18 in the months of March and April.

?    This is Kentucky’s 13th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including a school-record seventh straight. The Wildcats are 19-12 all-time in the event, including 2-0 this season.

?    The Wildcats are the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Lexington Regional and hold a 4-2 all-time record as the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

?    This is the third year in a row that Kentucky has hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Memorial Coliseum. The Wildcats hold a 6-2 record all-time in NCAA Tournament games played in Lexington.

?    Kentucky is one of nine schools from the Southeastern Conference to be awarded a bid into the NCAA Tournament, tying an NCAA Tournament record for most teams from the same conference in the event.  

 

?    Kentucky started with Batouly Camara, Janee Thompson, Maci Morris, Evelyn Akhator and Makayla Epps for the 12th straight game. UK is 10-2 with this lineup.

?    The Wildcats outrebounded the Sooners, 41-40, and had the advantage in the paint, 24-18, and in bench points, 22-16. Oklahoma held the edge in points off turnovers (14-10) and second chance points (15-11).

?    The Wildcats shot 22-of-58 from the field for a .379 clip, holding Oklahoma to 27.3% on 18-of-66 shooting. It is the first time this year that Kentucky has held a ranked opponent to under 30%, and the Wildcats have kept consecutive opponents to under 30% after keeping UNC Asheville at a .206 clip in the first round.  

?    The 27.3% marked the second-lowest efficiency that OU has had this season, and just the second time that it has been held under 30%.  

?    It is the only time this season that the team has kept two consecutive opponents under 30% from the field.  

?    UK went to the free throw line 38 times, just four trips shy of the Kentucky NCAA Tournament record.  

?    Kentucky led by one point at the end of the first quarter, 20-19. The Wildcats shot 42.9% (6-of-14) while holding OU to 31.6% (6-of-19).

?    Kentucky assisted on five of its first six field goals.

?    UK extended the lead to 35-27 by the half, holding Oklahoma to eight points in the second quarter. The eight points tie the second-lowest output in a quarter and the lowest in the second period for the Sooners.  

?    Oklahoma was held to 8-of-31 from the field for a .258 clip in the opening half. It was the first time this season that UK has held a ranked opponent to under 30% in a half. 

?    OU used an 11-2 run in the third quarter to get within two points, 42-40 with 3:13 remaining. UK was held without a field goal for 5:17.  

?    Kentucky retaliated with a 14-6 run in which the Wildcats went 6-of-6 from the field to take the lead at 56-46.  

?    Going into the fourth quarter, UK extended to a 10-0 run, including seven straight points from Janee Thompson. It was the 25th time that UK has had a run of 10 points or more this season.

?    The Wildcats outscored the Sooners 23-12 in the final quarter.

 

?    Alexis Jennings broke Kentucky’s record for blocks in an NCAA Tournament game with six rejections.  

 

?    Janee Thompson led the team with 16 points and four assists.

o   The senior reached 1,000 career points with a jumper in the paint at 3:28 in the second quarter.

o   She also went 7-of-8 from the free throw line

?    Alexis Jennings had 13 points, eight rebounds and six blocks.  

o   Her six rejections set the new Kentucky record for the most blocks in an NCAA Tournament game, and tie for second all-time for any game in a season.  She broke DeNesha Stallworth’s mark set on March 22, 2014 against Wright State.

?    Makayla Epps netted 13 points along with seven rebounds and four assists.  

?    Evelyn Akhator had 11 points and tied a career-high three assists.  

?    Maci Morris added 12 points that included an impressive 4-of-5 performance from 3-point range.  

o   Morris set the Kentucky NCAA Tournament record for consecutive 3-pointers after going 3-of-3 against UNC Asheville on Saturday and 4-of-4 on her first four attempts against the Sooners.  She also ties Katie Hempen of Arizona State for the most consecutive this year.