Kentucky-Kansas State Postgame Notes

UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
KENTUCKY vs. KANSAS STATE
NCAA TOURNAMENT, EAST REGION SECOND ROUND
GREENSBORO COLISEUM | GREENSBORO, NC
MARCH 19, 2023
ATTENDANCE: TBA

Final Score: No. 15 Kansas State 75, Kentucky 69

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 22-12 overall.  Kansas State is 25-9.
• UK leads the series 9-2, including 2-2 in the NCAA Tournament.

Kentucky and Coach John Calipari in the NCAA Tournament

• Kentucky is now 130-54 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• Kentucky holds NCAA records for most tournament appearances (60) and most games played (184).  UK is second for most victories (130) and fourth in winning percentage (.707, 130-54).
• UK is 28-8 in “round of 32” games in the NCAA Tournament. (Note that in various tournaments they were designated as first-round games, second-round games, or third-round games.)
• UK is 1-2 as a No. 6 seed in the tournament since seedings began in 1980 (0-1 in 1982).
• UK is 32-10 in the NCAA Tournament under Calipari. Since he took over in the 2009-10 season, going into this year’s tournament, no team has more:
  • NCAA Tournament wins – 31
  • Final Four appearances – four
  • Elite Eight appearances – seven
  • Sweet 16 appearances – eight

Team Notes

• The game featured 12 ties and 12 lead changes, with Kansas State not taking the lead for good until less than three minutes to go.
• UK won the rebounding 44-25, leading to a 17-7 advantage in second-chance points.
  • UK is 22-7 this season when winning the rebounding.
• Kentucky has a 2-3 record in the Greensboro Coliseum.  The three games prior to this year were regular-season tilts vs. North Carolina in December of 1960, 1967 and 1973.

Player Notes

• Oscar Tshiebwe had 25 points and 18 rebounds, his 20^th double-double of the season.
  • His total of 48 double-doubles in 66 UK games is second-most in school history.
  • He is the only SEC player in the last 25 years to have multiple seasons of 20 or more double-doubles.
  • It was his second game this season with at least 25 points and 15 rebounds, also the Georgia home game (37 and 24).
  • In his three NCAA Tournament games at Kentucky, Tshiebwe averaged 21 points and 19.7 rebounds per game.
  • He has 1,117 points in his two seasons at Kentucky and today became the 48^th player in UK history to reach 1,100.
  • He has 952 rebounds in 66 games at UK, setting the school record for rebounding average with 14.4 per game. The previous record is 13.4 boards per game by Cliff Hagan in the early 1950s
  • He has 952 rebounds at UK and moved past Kenny Walker (942) for sixth place on the UK career rebound list.
• Despite continuing to deal with injury issues, Cason Wallace had perhaps his best game as a Wildcat with 21 points – making 9 of 11 from the field – along with a career-high nine rebounds and team-best four assists.
  • It was his fourth 20-point game of the season.
• Chris Livingston had 11 points and seven rebounds, his seventh double-figure scoring game of the season.

Coach John Calipari

• Calipari has an 832-253 all-time on-court record and is 387-113 in 14 seasons at UK.
• UK is 69-49 (58.5%) against ranked competition under Calipari.
• Calipari is 169-58 (74.4%) as a collegiate head coach in games played in March and April.
• Calipari is 2-2 vs. Kansas State, including 1-2 while at Kentucky.

In the First Half

• Kentucky starters were Cason Wallace, Antonio Reeves, Chris Livingston, Jacob Toppin and Oscar Tshiebwe for the eighth time, becoming the most-used starting lineup of the season.  This lineup had a 5-3 record.
• CJ Fredrick was UK’s first substitute at the 13:22 mark.
• Kentucky led by as many as eight points at 17-9.
• Kansas State ended the half on a 12-4 run to take a 29-26 lead into halftime.
• Tshiebwe led the Wildcats with a first-half double-double, 11 points and rebounds.
• UK is now 3-12 this season when trailing at halftime.

In the Second Half

• Kentucky began the second half with the starting lineup.
• K-State got the first basket for their then-largest lead at 31-26 but UK responded with a 9-0 run (35-31) and coaxed a KSU timeout at 17:31.
• A Wallace layup and Tshiebwe follow-up pushed the run to 13-0 for a 39-31 lead.
• Kansas State came back with its own 8-0 run to tie at 39.
• At that point, the teams traded leads multiple times until the final three minutes.
• Trailing 62-61 with 2:30 to go, Kansas State made two 3-pointers for a 67-62 lead and made 8 of 8 free throws down the stretch to preserve the win.