Top-ranked Kentucky fought off a slow start to cruise to a 74-56 victory over Mississippi State on Wednesday night to keep its undefeated season on track.
Trey Lyles scored a career-high 18 points and Aaron Harrison added 16 for Kentucky (28-0, 15-0 Southeastern Conference), which is the last remaining undefeated team in the country.
Its 28 straight wins are the most in a single season in program history.
The Wildcats had to work a little for this one, leading just 41-37 with 15:10 remaining. But they responded with an avalanche of points down the stretch – punctuated by a thunderous dunk by Karl-Anthony Towns – to turn the contest into another convincing blowout.
Mississippi State (12-16, 5-10) has lost eight in a row to the Wildcats. Fred Thomas led the Bulldogs with 14 points.
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.
On This Day In UK Basketball History
- On March 19, 1966, Pat Riley joined the 1,000-point club. He did it in 54 games.
- On March 19, 1966, in one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, top-ranked UK, featuring “Rupp’s Runts,” loses in the NCAA Championship game, 72-65, to Texas Western.
- On March 19, 1989, in the wake of an NCAA investigation, Eddie Sutton resigns as UK basketball coach.