UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
KENTUCKY at ARKANSAS
BUD WALTON ARENA | FAYETTEVILLE, ARK.
FEB. 26, 2022
ATTENDANCE: 19,200

Final Score: No. 18/18 Arkansas 75, No. 6/3 Kentucky 73
 
Team Records, Series Notes, Etc.

• Both teams are 23-6 overall, tied for second with a 12-4 record in the Southeastern Conference.

• UK leads the series, 33-13, but Arkansas has won the last two. 
  • The Wildcats lead 9-8 in games played in Fayetteville.
• Next for Kentucky: UK has Senior Day on Tuesday when the Wildcats play host to Ole Miss.  Game time is 7 p.m. and it will be televised on ESPN.

 
Team Notes

• Kentucky won the rebounding, 39-32, and is 20-3 this season when winning the boardwork.
• UK fell behind by double-figures in the opening half for the fourth straight game.
• The Wildcats won points in the paint, 42-36.
• UK also edged out Arkansas in fast-break points, 16-9, and second-chance points, 13-7.
• UK’s bench outscored the Hogs by a 24-7 margin.
• The 17 lead changes were a season-high for the Wildcats. The previous high was 15 at Notre Dame.
• Today’s loss snapped a three-game winning streak for UK in Fayetteville.

 
Player Notes                                                                                                                         

• Oscar Tshiebwe totaled a career-high-tying 30 points, 18 rebounds, two assists, three blocked shots and a steal. He also had 30 points on Jan. 11 at Vanderbilt.

  • It is his 11th-straight double-double, first Wildcat to do that since Dan Issel had 12 consecutive double-doubles in the 1969-70 season.
  • It is his 23rd double-double of the season, ranking second in the nation in that category.
    • It’s the third-most in a single season in UK history.
  • He has scored in double figures in 11 straight games, best at UK since Immanuel Quickley had a 20-game stretch during the 2019-20 season.
  • The nation’s leading rebounder has 16 straight games with double-figure rebounds and grabbed double-figure boards in all but two games this season.
  • It is his sixth game this season with 20 points and 15 rebounds, first Wildcat to do that since Jim Andrews had six 20-15 games in 1972-73.
  • He now has 445 rebounds this season, moving past Frank Ramsey (434 in 1950-51) for fourth place on the UK single-season list.
• Keion Brooks Jr. had 14 points, five rebounds and two steals.  It is his 15th double-figure scoring game of the season.
• After missing two games because of injury, Sahvir Wheeler tallied 14 points, three rebounds and five assists.  It is his first double-figure scoring game since Jan. 25 vs. Mississippi State.
• After missing two games because of injury, TyTy Washington Jr. had 10 points, three assists and two steals.

 
Coach John Calipari

• Calipari is now 362-99 at UK.
  • UK is 67-43 against Associated Press ranked competition under Calipari.
• Calipari has an 807-239 all-time on-court record. 
• Calipari has tallied a 379-120 all-time record within conference play as a head coach and owns a 171-54 record since joining the SEC.
• Calipari is 13-8 vs. Arkansas.  

 
In the First Half

• The starting lineup was Davion Mintz, Kellan Grady, Jacob Toppin, Keion Brooks Jr. and Oscar Tshiebwe for the third game in a row. 

  • It marked this group’s first loss as a starting unit.
• After missing the two previous games because of injury, Sahvir Wheeler and TyTy Washington Jr. were the first Kentucky substitutions at the 16:52 mark, the first time this season that they have not been in the starting lineup in games in which they played. 
• Tshiebwe scored the first basket of the game at 18:18, but the Wildcats went cold for more than five minutes. Arkansas scored 15 straight points and led the remainder of the half.
• Tshiebwe scored UK’s first nine points and the first other Cat to score was a Toppin dunk at 10:43.
• Tshiebwe reached a double-double with a rebound with 4:46 remaining. 
• Still trailing by 13 points with four minutes remaining, UK closed the half with a 9-2 run, bringing the score to 34-28 at halftime.
• Tshiebwe led the Wildcats with 14 points and 12 rebounds in the opening period.
• UK is now 2-4 this season when trailing at intermission.

 
In the Second Half

• Kentucky began the second half with Wheeler, Washington, Grady, Brooks and Tshiebwe. 
• A fast-break layup by Brooks at the 14:53 mark put UK ahead 41-40, first lead since 2-0.
• From there, neither team led by more than four points the remainder of the game.
• Grady’s 3-pointer with 2:20 to go put UK ahead 70-69.
• Jaylin Williams’ short hook shot with 1:22 remaining put Arkansas ahead 71-70 and his two free throws with 36 seconds left made the lead 73-70. 
• A pair of single free throws made it 75-70 before Washington banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer. 
• Tshiebwe had another outstanding half with 16 points and six boards in the final stanza.