KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES 
KENTUCKY VS. NORTH CAROLINA
CBS SPORTS CLASSIC, ROCKET MORTGAGE FIELDHOUSE, CLEVELAND, OHIO
DECEMBER 19, 2020 
ATTENDANCE: 0
 
Final Score: No. 22/21 North Carolina 75, Kentucky 63
 
Team Records and Series Notes                                       

• Kentucky is now 1-5 and North Carolina is 5-2.

• North Carolina leads the series 25-16.
  • North Carolina leads 13-6 in games played at neutral sites.
• Kentucky is 3-4 in the CBS Sports Classic, including 2-1 vs. North Carolina.
• Next: on Saturday, Dec. 26, Kentucky travels to Louisville to take on the in-state rival Cardinals. Game time is noon and it will be televised on ESPN2.

Player Notes   

• Davion MIntz, a North Carolina native, led the Wildcats with 17 points, including three 3-pointers, and eight rebounds, all of which are season highs for his time at Kentucky.
• Brandon Boston Jr. totaled 15 points and seven rebounds. He has scored in double figures in all six games of the season.
• Devin Askew tallied 12 points, matching his season high set vs. Morehead State, and led the Wildcats in assists with three.
• Lance Ware played his best game as a Wildcat with four points and seven rebounds.

Coach John Calipari 

• Calipari is now 331-82 at UK.
• Calipari has a 776-222 all-time on-court record. 
• UK is 63-35 under Calipari against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
• Kentucky is 55-17 under Calipari following a loss.

Team Notes 

• UK has lost five in a row for the first time since Dec. 23, 1989 – Jan. 6, 1990.
• Kentucky has started 1-5 for the first time since the 1926-27 team opened 1-8.
• This is the third of four straight games against opponents from the Atlantic Coast Conference. UK is 58-44 all-time against teams comprising the ACC.
• Kentucky is 5-2 in games played in Cleveland.
• UK won the rebounding battle 42-38, the fourth time in six games that the Wildcats have led the boardwork.
• Kentucky had eight assists and 16 turnovers, the fourth time that the Cats have had more miscues than assists.
• Four Wildcats fouled out, the first time that has happened since Jan. 30, 2016, at Kansas.

 
In the First Half 

• The starting lineup consisted of Davion Mintz, Brandon Boston Jr., Terrence Clarke, Isaiah Jackson and senior Olivier Sarr, for the second straight game.

  • After two early fouls by Jackson, Lance Ware was UK’s first substitute at the 17:02 mark.

• Kentucky got the opening tip and scored on the first two possessions for a 4-0 lead.
• Tied at 4, Mintz made the game’s first 3-pointer at the 16:35 mark. It was the first of three 3-points in a three-minute span for Mintz as UK lengthened its lead to 19-8.
• North Carolina responded with a 9-0 run to pull within 19-17.
• UNC took its first lead, 27-25, with a 3-pointer with 4:53 remaining.
• Trailing 29-27 with four minutes left, UK closed the half with an 11-5 run to go ahead 38-34.
  • Kentucky is 1-3 this season when leading at intermission.

 In the Second Half 

• The starting lineup opened the second half.  
• UK built a 48-42 lead but then went more than nine minutes without a basket.
• North Carolina came back with a 12-1 run, making it 54-49, and the Tar Heels never trailed again.
• UK edged within two at 56-54, but Ware, Jackson, Sarr and Clarke fouled out and the Wildcats got no closer.
• Jacob Toppin ended the field-goal drought with a 3-pointer with four minutes left, pulling within 62-57.