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Boxscore and Game Notes: Kentucky vs. Arkansas

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  • is 19-0, 4-0 in the Southeastern Conference while is 8-11 overall, 1-3 in league action.
  • Kentucky’s 19-0 start is its best since the 1965-66 squad opened with 23 consecutive wins.
  • This is only the third time in school history that the Wildcats have begun a season with at least 19 straight wins.
  • ‘s 19-0 start is the best start by a UK coach in his inaugural season in UK history.
  • This is the fifth time in John Calipari’s collegiate coaching career that he has had a winning streak of at least 19 games.
  • Calipari has won 65 consecutive games against league opponents, including conference tournaments, breaking Adolph Rupp’s NCAA record of 64 straight league wins from 1945-50.
  • Calipari also has won 54 straight regular-season conference games and already has eclipsed Rupp’s NCAA record in that category.
  • Kentucky leads the Arkansas series, 24-7, and has won 10 in a row vs. the Razorbacks.
  • C.M. Newton remains the only ex-Wildcat player to defeat his alma mater as an opposing head coach. The other eight ex-Cats have combined for an 0-17 mark vs. UK, including 0-3 by John Pelphrey.
  • Today’s attendance of 24,356 is the third-largest of the season.
  • Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday at 9 p.m. at South Carolina. The game will be televised by ESPN.

 

 

First-Half Notes

  • Kentucky used the starting lineup of Eric Bledsoe, , , and for the 17 th time this season.
  • Kentucky scored on its first four possessions – jumpers by Patterson and Cousins, a layup/free throw by Wall and a three-pointer by Miller – for a 10-0 lead. Arkansas called time out at the 18:12 mark.
  • Miller’s three marked the 730 th consecutive game that Kentucky has made a three-point shot.
  • Kentucky gradually padded its advantage and led by 30 points, 57-27, at halftime.
  • UK’s 57 points tied the Hartford game for the most points by the Wildcats this season in the first half.  

 

Second-Half Notes

  • UK opened the second half with a 12-0 run, extending the lead to 69-27. Arkansas called time out with 17:06 on the clock.
  • UK added another basket to make the run 14-0. It is the 21 st time this season UK made a run of at least 10-0.
  • Kentucky led by as many as 46 points on three occasions.
  • UK reached the century mark with 58 seconds left on a putback.

 

Team Notes

  • Kentucky scored 101 points, the third time this season the Wildcats have reached the century mark.
    • It is the first time UK notched 100 against an opponent since defeating Vanderbilt, 106-44, on March 5, 2003.
    • It is the first time UK has ever scored 100 vs. Arkansas.
  • UK dominated the rebounding, 59-39. It is the fifth game this season that UK has had a margin of +20.
  • UK blocked nine shots, most since the Rider game on Nov. 21.
  • Arkansas shot 30.6 percent from the field, marking the 13 th time this season that the Wildcats have held an opponent to less than 40 percent.

 

Individual Notes

  • DeMarcus Cousins totaled 16 points and 14 rebounds.
    • It his 10 th double-double of the season, one short of the UK freshman record by Chris Mills during the 1988-89 season.
    • It is his second-straight double-double game.
    • It is his 11 th -consecutive game in double-figure scoring.
  • Darius Miller tallied a career-high 18 points.
    • Miller made four three-pointers, tying his career high set earlier this season against Hartford.
  • John Wall scored 16 points. He has reached double-figure scoring in every game but one this season.
    • Wall’s seven assists are his best since his school-record 16 vs. Hartford.
  • Eric Bledsoe got 10 points, his sixth-consecutive game in double figures.
    • Bledsoe tied his season high for rebounds with seven.
    • Bledsoe tied his season high for assists with six.
  • had four blocked shots, the third time this season he has done that. Even more important, three of the four rejections stayed inbounds and were recovered by the Wildcats.

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.

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On This Day in UK Basketball History

On March 22, 1958, UK wins its fourth NCAA title by defeating Seattle and Elgin Baylor, 84-72, in Louisville before a home-state crowd of 18,803 in Freedom Hall. The “Fiddlin’ Five” was led by Vernon Hatton’s 30 points.  This is the only NCAA championship Kentucky won within the commonwealth.  The win gave Rupp his most coveted title, the one he vowed to win after the NCAA had suspended UK’s 1953 season.

 

On March 22, 1975, UK upsets undefeated Indiana in the Mideast Regional semifinals to earn a trip to the Final Four. It was the Hoosier's first loss in 34 games.  Indiana was 31-0 and had obliterated Kentucky 98-74 in a December meeting remembered for Hoosiers Coach Bobby Knight slapping UK head man Joe B. Hall in the back of the head.  With the Final Four at stake, Kentucky senior guards Mike Flynn (22 points) and Jimmy Dan Conner (17, five rebounds) came up huge to lead the Cats to sweet payback.

 

On March 22, 1984, Winston Bennett's three-point play with 13 seconds left pushed the Wildcats past Louisville into the Mideast Regional final.

 

On March 22, 1985, Joe B. Hall announces his retirement after UK loses to St. John’s, 86-70, in the NCAA West Regional in Denver.

 

On March 22, 1998, in one of the most anticipated matchups of the NCAA Tournament, UK roars back from a 17-point deficit with 9:38 remaining to defeat Duke, 86-84. Kentucky uncorked an NCAA Tournament rally for the ages behind the relentless penetration of junior point guard Wayne Turner (16 points, eight assists) and clutch three-point shooting from Heshimu Evans, Allen Edwards, Cameron Mills and Scott Padgett.

 

Wildcats Born on This Date

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