Kentucky-LSU Men's Basketball Postgame Notes

KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
PETE MARAVICH ASSEMBLY CENTER | BATON ROUGE, LA.
FEB. 21, 2024
ATTENDANCE: 9,493

Final Score: LSU 75, No. 17 Kentucky 74

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 18-8 on the season, 8-5 in the Southeastern Conference.
• LSU is 14-12 overall, 6-7 in league play.
• Kentucky leads the series 92-29, including 32-20 in games played in Baton Rouge.
• Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats return home to host Alabama on Saturday.  Game time is 4 p.m. and it will be televised on CBS.

Team Notes

• In a game featuring 12 ties and 13 lead changes, LSU got a buzzer-beater for the win.
• Kentucky is now 7-4 away from Rupp Arena this season, including 5-3 on opponents’ home courts.  Tonight’s game ended UK’s three-game road win streak.
• Kentucky led by as many as 15 points.  UK is 345-17 (95.3%) under Coach John Calipari when leading by at least 10 points during the game.
• Kentucky made all 12 free throw attempts.  It is the second time this season that the Wildcats canned 12 of 12 at the line, also at Vanderbilt.

• It is the sixth time in school history that UK made all of its free throws with at least 12 attempts.

• With Tre Mitchell shelved with a shoulder injury, UK has not played a complete game this season with all players available.

• Including tonight, eight players have missed a total of 50 games because of injury, illness or other factors.  Among regular players, Antonio Reeves, Reed Sheppard and Jordan Burks are the only ones who have been available every game.

Player Notes

• Antonio Reeves had a game-high 25 points.
  • He now has 1,001 points during his two seasons at Kentucky, the 62^nd Wildcat to reach the 1,000 mark.
  • He has 24 games with at least 20 points in his two seasons at UK, the most 20-point games for a player in the Calipari era.
  • He has 14 games with at least 20 points this season and has scored in double figures in every game but one this season.
  • He also has hit at least one 3-pointer in every game but one this season.
• Rob Dillingham had 23 points, 21 of them in the second half, and scored UK’s last 12 points of the game.
  • It his 20^th double-figure game of the season.
• Justin Edwards had nine points, tying a career best for 3-pointers with three triples.
• Adou Thiero totaled eight points, led the Wildcats in rebounds with nine, and added two assists, two steals and tied a career high for blocked shots with four rejections.
• Reed Sheppard had seven points and five steals.
  • This is the third straight game, and fourth in the last five, with five steals.
  • He has had at least two thefts in 21 of 26 games.

Coach John Calipari

• Calipari has an 850-261 (76.5%) all-time on-court record, including 405-121 (77.0%) at Kentucky.
• Calipari is 334-70 against unranked opponents while at Kentucky.
• Calipari is 401-131 in conference games during his career, including 194-65 in the SEC.
• Calipari is 15-5 vs. LSU.

In the First Half

• Kentucky started D.J. Wagner, Antonio Reeves, Justin Edwards, Adou Thiero and Ugonna Onyenso for the second time.
• Rob Dillingham, Reed Sheppard, Jordan Burks and Aaron Bradshaw were UK’s first substitutions with 13:13 remaining.
• Ahead 24-22 with 7:34 to go, UK went almost five minutes without scoring but the defense kept the Wildcats in the game and a Sheppard jumper at 2:43 tied it at 26.
• UK closed the half on a 10-0 run to take a 36-27 lead at halftime, the third straight game that the Wildcats held the opponent under 30 points in the opening stanza.
  • Reeves led the Wildcats with 16 points.
• UK is 16-3 this season when leading at halftime.

In the Second Half

• Kentucky began the second half with the starting lineup.
• UK opened the half with consecutive threes by Edwards and Reeves to extend the run to 16-0 and the Wildcat lead to 42-27.
• LSU called timeout at 19:08 and went on a 21-4 run, retaking a 48-46 lead with 13:14 on the clock.
• LSU lengthened the spurt to 27-7 to take a 54-49 lead.
• A Reeves free throw with 8:26 left gave him 1,000 points for his UK career, the 62^nd Wildcat to hit the milestone.
• Dillingham knotted the count at 67 with a 3-pointer with 2:29 remaining and at 69 with two free throws at the 2:01 mark.
• A 3-pointer by LSU’s Will Baker with 1:33 left put the Tigers ahead 72-69.
• Dillingham got a basket-and-one with 52 seconds left to close within 73-72.
• A Thiero steal with 30 seconds left returned the ball to the Wildcats.
• Dillingham hit a high arching 18-footer with 12 seconds left to put UK ahead 74-73.
• LSU’s Jordan Wright’s shot with three seconds remaining was blocked by Thiero, but Wright grabbed the ball and lobbed to Tyrell Ward in front of the rim, who caught and shot in one motion for the winning basket at the buzzer.