KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES 
KENTUCKY at MISSOURI
MIZZOU ARENA | COLUMBIA, MO.
FEB. 3, 2021 
ATTENDANCE: 3,033
 
Final Score: #18/17 Missouri 75, Kentucky 70
 
Team Records and Series Notes                                       

• Kentucky falls to 5-11 overall, 4-5 in the Southeastern Conference.
  • UK has lost five of its last six games after starting league play 3-0.
• Missouri improves to 12-3 and 5-3 in league play.

• Kentucky still leads the series 13-2 and 4-2 in Columbia, Missouri.
  • The loss snapped a three-game winning streak vs. the Tigers.
• Next up: Kentucky hosts No. 11/10 Tennessee on Saturday for the first of two regular-season meetings vs. the Volunteers. The game will tip at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

 
Player Notes   

• Davion Mintz led the Wildcats with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 4 of 9 from behind the arc.

  • His 18 points were his most since scoring 19 at Louisville on Dec. 26.
  • He tied a season high with four treys, also done at Louisville.
  • He’s led UK in scoring a team-high seven times.
• Isaiah Jackson had his fingerprints all over the game with eight points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three steals.
  • He’s led the team in rebounding a team-high eight games.
  • He has led UK in blocks in a team-high 14 games.
  • It was his seventh game this season with three or more blocks.
  • His three steals matched his career high.
• Lance Ware enjoyed his best overall game as a Wildcat with a career-high eight points, 10 rebounds and a career-high three blocks.
  • It’s the second time in three games Ware has set a career high in points.
• Keion Brooks Jr. scored 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting with two 3-pointers.
  • He has reached double-figure scoring in five of the seven games since his 2020-21 debut at Florida on Jan. 9.
• Brandon Boston Jr. reached double-figure scoring with 10 points and was 2 of 3 from 3-point range.
  • He has scored in double figures a team-high 12 times.
• Olivier Sarr scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting but fouled out in 12 minutes.

 
Coach John Calipari 

• Calipari is now 335-88 at UK.
• Calipari has a 780-228 all-time on-court record. 
• UK is 63-37 under Calipari against Associated Press Top 25 teams but has lost four straight games vs. ranked teams.
• Calipari is 10-4 in his career vs. Missouri.

 
Team Notes 

• Kentucky fell to 0-4 vs. opponents ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time of the of the game this season.
• It was UK’s first game in eight days after a 48-hour pause this weekend due to a combination of positive testing for COVID-19, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the program that led to the cancellation of Saturday’s game against Texas.
• The Wildcats lost despite shooting 47.3% from the floor and holding Missouri to 39.3% shooting.
  • UK has held six of its last seven opponents to less than 40% from the floor, including five straight games, but only won two games during that seven-game stretch.
  • Kentucky is 206-24 under Calipari when holding the opposition to 40% or less from the field but only 4-5 this season.
  • The Wildcats fell to 4-4 in 2020-21 when owning a better shooting percentage than the opponent.
• UK blocked nine shots, the fifth game this season with nine or more rejections for one of the nation’s best shot-blocking teams.
• Kentucky made 9 of 20 from behind the 3-point line, its second-most made 3-point field goals this season and the most in a regulation game.
• It’s the first time this season UK has scored between 66 and 75 points this season. UK entered the game 0-10 when scoring 65 or fewer but 5-0 when totaling at least 76 points.
• Kentucky committed 17 turnovers that led to 19 Missouri points.
  • It’s the fifth time in six games the Wildcats have turned the ball over 17 times or more.
  • UK is averaging 16.7 turnovers in its losses this and 11.6 turnovers in its wins.
• The Wildcats were without Jacob Toppin (illness unrelated to COVID-19) and Terrence Clarke (right leg injury), both of whom did not make the trip to Columbia, Missouri.
  • UK has not played a single game this season with its full complement of scholarship players.

 
In the First Half 

• Kentucky started Devin Askew, Davion Mintz, Brandon Boston Jr., Isaiah Jackson and Olivier Sarr for the fourth time this season. UK is 1-3 with this lineup.

  • UK has used seven different starting lineups this season, none of which have started more than four games.
  • Lance Ware was the first substitution at the 15:45 mark.
• Askew broke out of a recent shooting slump by making two of his first three shots with a free throw and scored five of the Wildcats’ first eight points.
• Missouri made three of its first four 3-pointers to take a 17-11 lead.
• Keion Brooks Jr., coming off the bench for the first time in three games, started off hot with eight points in his first seven minutes, including two 3-pointers.
• Cam’Ron Fletcher checked in at the 7:28 mark, his first appearance since Dec. 19 vs. North Carolina.
• Missouri, which came into the game ranked 297th nationally in 3-point field-goal percentage, hit 7 of 11 in the first half.
• UK closed within 32-26 at the 5:01 mark but did not make a field goal the rest of the half.
• Kentucky trailed 40-27 at the break, UK’s second-biggest halftime deficit of the season.
• Missouri outscored UK 11-0 on second-chance points.
  • The Wildcats trailed by 18 in a 64-63 loss to Notre Dame.
  • Kentucky is 2-7 when trailing at halftime this season.

 
 In the Second Half 

• Kentucky opened the second half with the same starting lineup.
• The Wildcats went on an 8-0 run to start the half.
• UK held Missouri without a point for nearly the first four minutes of the second half and without a field goal for the first 7:14 of clock.
• The Wildcats cut the 12-point halftime deficit to 43-42 thanks to a 15-3 run at the 14:39 mark.
  • Missouri answered with a 10-3 stretch.
• Midway through the half, Mintz drilled two 3-pointers in less than 30 seconds to close the gap to 53-51.
• After a flurry of 3-pointers by both teams, Kentucky went inside with a dunk by Jackson and a field goal in the paint by Sarr to slice the deficit to 63-60.
• Kentucky trailed 68-65 heading out of the final media timeout (3:45) but Missouri scored six straight points out of the timeout to take control.
  • UK is now minus-39 in the final four minutes of games in regulation this season (does not count any of the overtime periods vs. Mississippi State) but plus-17 over the first 36 minutes of regulation in games.
• UK shot 59.3% from the floor in the second half, including 6 of 10 from behind the arc.