UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
LSU at KENTUCKY
RUPP ARENA | LEXINGTON, KY.
JAN. 8, 2021
ATTENDANCE: 19,343

Final Score: No. 16/13 Kentucky 92, Georgia 75
 
Team Records, Series Notes, Etc.

• Kentucky got back on the winning track with Saturday’s victory to improve to 12-3 this season and 2-1 in the Southeastern Conference. Georgia fell to 5-10 and 0-2 in the league.
• The Wildcats are now 130-27 all-time vs. the Bulldogs, including 63-5 in games played in Lexington, Kentucky.
  • UK has won 10 straight vs. Georgia in Rupp Arena.
• The Wildcats moved to 11-0 in games at Rupp Arena this season and have a 12-game winning streak at home dating back to last season.

• Next up: Kentucky goes back on the road Tuesday to play Vanderbilt. That game will tip at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT in Nashville, Tennessee) on SEC Network.

 
Team Notes

• All 12 of Kentucky’s wins this season have been by double figures.
• This was Kentucky’s fourth 90-point game of the season. It is the first time UK has scored at least 90 points four times in one season since 2017-18.
• UK shot 57.1% (40 of 70), the team’s seventh game making at least half of its shots this season. The Wildcats are 7-0 in those games.
• Kentucky led by as many as 22 points. The Wildcats are 298-12 under Calipari when leading by at least 10 points during the game.
• UK had 23 assists tonight, the sixth game this season with at least 20 dimes. The Wildcats are 8-0 this season when accumulating at least 16.

 
Player Notes  

• TyTy Washington Jr. set the single-game school record with 17 assists. He eclipsed John Wall’s previous record of 16 set vs. Hartford on Dec. 29, 2009. It ties for the seventh most in SEC history.

  • Washington tied the record with an offensive rebound and pass to Keion Brooks Jr.  for a dunk with 59 seconds to play.
  • On the game’s last basket, with 25 seconds to play, Washington fed Oscar Tshiebwe for a basket to break the record.
  • Adding 17 points, Washington notched the second double-double of his career and his first of the points-assists variety.
    • He is the first Wildcat since Ashton Hagans in the 2019-20 season to post a double-double with points and assists and points and rebounds in the same season.
  • The freshman guard has recorded at least five assists in five of the last eight games and has a combined 52 dimes over the last eight contests.

• Oscar Tshiebwe notched his 11th double-double – by halftime, no less – with a career-high 29 points and 17 rebounds.

  • His 29 points are the most by a Wildcat this season and the most since Immanuel Quickley scored 30 points at Texas A&M on Feb. 25, 2020.
  • He is the first UK player with at least 29 points and at least 17 rebounds in a game since Jamal Mashburn totaled 38 points and 19 boards vs. Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 8, 1992.
  • He remains second nationally in double-doubles.
  • The nation’s leading rebounder has grabbed double-figure boards in all but two games this season.
  • He is the first UK player with three games of at least 20 points and at least 15 rebounds since Kenny Walker did it five times in the 1984-85 season.
  • He is the first Wildcat with four games of at least 20 points and at least 10 rebounds since PJ Washington did it four times during the 2018-19 season.
• Davion Mintz, who reached the 1,000-point mark last game at LSU, followed up a season-high 16 points in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with 19 on Saturday.
  • It was Mintz’s third straight game in double figures. He is averaging 15 over that stretch.
  • He hit a season-high five 3-pointers. 
• Keion Brooks Jr. reached double-figure scoring for the eighth time this season with 14 points, making 6 of 8 from the field.
• Sahvir Wheeler, who entered Saturday ranked third nationally in assists per game, was unavailable vs. the Bulldogs with a neck injury he suffered Tuesday at LSU.
  • Wheeler transferred from Georgia after last season after setting the program’s single-season assists record and leading the conference in assists in 2020-21.

 
Coach Calipari

• John Calipari is now 351-96 at UK.
• Calipari is now four wins short of career win No. 800 and has a 796-236 all-time on-court record. 
• UK is 287-56 under Calipari vs. opponents ranked outside the Associated Press Top 25.
• Calipari is now 20-3 all-time vs. Georgia.
• Calipari has tallied a 369-117 all-time record within conference play as a head coach and owns a 161-51 record since joining the SEC.
• Calipari is 199-17 all-time in the venue as Kentucky head coach.
  • UK is 177-11 vs. AP unranked teams in Rupp Arena under Calipari.

 
In the First Half

• With Sahvir Wheeler unavailable due to a neck injury suffered Tuesday at LSU, Kentucky started TyTy Washington Jr., Kellan Grady, Jacob Toppin, Keion Brooks Jr. and Oscar Tshiebwe for the first time this season.   
• For the third straight game, Washington opened the contest with a bucket – this time a pull-up jumper.
• Georgia went on an early 7-0 run to take a 7-2 lead.
• John Calipari wasted little time trying to shake things up by going to Davion Mintz as the first sub at the 16:20 mark. He capitalized with a bucket on his first offensive possession to end the Georgia run.
• UK roared in front 13-12 with a 7-0 burst in less than a minute, punctuated by a Grady steal and dunk in the open court.
• The Wildcats went up 20-15 on the shoulders of a 14-3 run, but the Bulldogs answered with a 6-0 run.
• Up 31-27, Kentucky surrendered another 6-0 run as Georgia went in front 33-31 with 4:15 left in the half.
• UK held Georgia without a point for the final 3:09 of the first half to take a 40-37 lead into the halftime locker room.
• Tshiebwe notched a double-double by halftime with 12 points and 10 rebounds
• Washington posted nine points and six assists, Mintz scored eight points and Grady chipped in with seven points.
• UK shot 51.4% in the first half, but Georgia countered with 52.0% shooting and was 4 of 9 from long range and 7 for 7 from the free-throw line.

 
In the Second Half

• Kentucky began the second half with Washington, Mintz, Grady, Brooks and Tshiebwe.
• Scoring the last four points of the first half and the first four of the second half, Kentucky went on an 8-0 run to go up 44-37, its biggest lead to that point.
• A 12-3 run, ending with a Mintz triple from the right corner, provided a double-figure lead for the Wildcats for the first time Saturday at 57-45 with 15:28 to go.
• Up 60-52, Kentucky began to put some separation between itself and Georgia with a 15-6 stretch to take a commanding 75-58 lead with 8:45 left.
• UK stretched the lead to 22 points, 84-62, with 5:01 to go before coasting to victory.
• Tshiebwe led the Cats in the second half with 17 points, while 11 of Washington’s assists came in the second stanza.