KENTUCKY POSTGAME NOTES
Thomas More at No. 4 Kentucky [EXH]
Rupp Arena – Lexington, Ky.
Friday, Oct. 27, 2017
 
FINAL SCORE: No. 4 Kentucky 103, Thomas More 61 – EXH
 

• This was Kentucky’s first exhibition game of the season.
• The Wildcats will be back in action Monday at 7 p.m. ET inside Rupp Arena against Morehead State for the Kentucky Cares Classic. 
  • The Kentucky Cares Classic will help raise funds for those affected by the devastating hurricanes in Florida and Puerto Rico and wildfires in California.
  • The game will not be televised.
• This was Kentucky’s first ever exhibition game against Thomas More.
• This was the first game of the season for both teams.
• There were no foul outs in tonight’s game.
• Tonight’s attendance at Rupp Arena was 19,736.

 
First-Half Facts

• Kentucky used the starting five of Quade Green, Hamidou Diallo, Nick Richards, Kevin Knox and PJ Washington.
  • This was the first time the Wildcats have started five freshmen since the 2014 National Championship game vs. UConn on April 7, 2014.
  • The starting five that night was Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, James Young, Julius Randle and Dakari Johnson.
• Kentucky scored first to start the game with Knox finishing an alley-oop pass from Diallo.
• At the first media timeout (15:39) the Wildcats held a 13-6 lead thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Green.
• Thomas More recorded its first rebound in the game with 13:29 left in the half.
• Thomas More called a timeout with 13:43 left in the half facing a 15-point deficit (21-6), but responded with an 11-2 run to force a UK timeout at 11:06 with UK’s lead cut to six (23-17).
• The Wildcats responded by regaining a 20-plus point lead as part of a 15-0 run.
• UK held Thomas More without a field goal for 10:57 (0-for-15) in the first half before a TMU layup with 0:09 left in the half.
• Kentucky ended the first half on a 30-13 run to take a 53-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
• UK outrebounded the Saints 28-13 in the first half.
• The Wildcats dominated the specialty stats in the first half, holding a 22-14 edge in points off turnovers, 17-5 lead in second-chance points and 30-6 advantage in points in the paint.

 
Second-Half Story

• Kentucky started the second half with Diallo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Knox, Wenyen Gabriel and Washington – a different starting five than the one that started the game.
• The Wildcats outscored Thomas More 50-31 in the second half.
• UK shot an impressive 60.6 percent from the field in the second half, going 20 for 33 from the field.
• Kentucky surpassed the century mark at 0:51 in the second half, marking the seventh straight exhibition game that UK has surpassed 100 points dating back to the 2013-14 season.
• UK held Thomas More without a field goal for the final 4:12 of the game.
  • TMU scored 21 of its 61 points off free throws.
• After 12 turnovers in the first half, the Wildcats had just five turnovers in the second half.

 
Team Notes

• Kentucky shot 55 percent from the field in the game, going 38 for 69 overall. The Wildcats were 5 for 16 from long range for 31 percent.
• Since their first basket of the game, the Wildcats never trailed. The two teams were tied at 2-2 early in the game with the Wildcats leading for 39:09.
• The Wildcats had 12 dunks in the game: Knox – 5, Richards – 2, Washington – 2, Gabriel – 1, Diallo – 1 and Gilgeous-Alexander – 1.
• UK won the specialty stats overall, holding a 34-19 advantage in points off turnovers, 26-9 lead in second-chance points, 26-22 edge in bench points, 58-14 advantage in points in the paint and 26-2 lead in fast-break points.
• The Wildcats forced 22 turnovers with 11 steals.
• Kentucky had seven blocks to Thomas More’s zero.
• Thomas More hit just 16 field goals in the game for 29.6 percent from the field overall, including going 8 for 25 from long range.
• The Wildcats outrebounded TMU 49-26, including 20-13 on the offensive glass.
• UK’s largest lead in the game was its final lead of 42 points.
• Kentucky played 11 players with five scoring in double digits. No UK player played more than 29 minutes in the game.

 
Player Notes

• Kevin Knox paced all scorers with 27 points, going 8 for 12 from the field, 1 for 4 from 3-point range and 10 for 10 from the free-throw line.

  • Knox added five rebounds in 28 minutes of play.
• PJ Washington posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
  • Washington went 6 for 12 from the field and 3 for 5 from the free-throw line.
  • Washington had one block and one steal.
• Nick Richards earned 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting with three rebounds, adding one block and one steal.
• Hamidou Diallo scored 12 points with four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block.
• Wenyen Gabriel had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
  • Gabriel went 5 for 10 from the field.
  • The sophomore added two blocks, one assist and one steal.
• Quade Green scored nine points with a game-best seven assists.
  • Green went 3 for 5 from the field with all three baskets coming from long range.

• Sacha Killeya-Jones had eight rebounds (five offensive, three defensive) with four points.
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had an overall strong stat line with nine points, five rebounds, four assists, four steals and one block.
  • Gilgeous-Alexander went 1-for-1 from 3 and 4 for 4 from the free-throw line.