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Attendance: 24,396, highest of the season and ninth-best in Rupp Arena history
FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 73, Louisville 66
Team Records, Notes
- Kentucky closes the regular-season non-conference schedule with a 10-3 record and its first victory over a ranked opponent. Louisville is 11-2.
- Kentucky leads the series 31-15, including 5-1 under Coach John Calipari.
- This was Kentucky's first game against a team from the American Athletic Conference.
- Kentucky is open this week, then begins the Southeastern Conference schedule by playing host to Mississippi State on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 8 p.m. The game will be televised over the air on the channels affiliated with SEC TV.
First-Half Facts
- Kentucky started Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, James Young, Julius Randle and Willie Cauley-Stein.
- Louisville began the game with an 8-0 run, including a pair of 3-point baskets by Chris Jones.
- UK got on the board with a foul shot by Julius Randle at 17:38, followed by a driving dunk and short driving bank shot by Randle. That started a 12-2 Wildcat run, capped by an Andrew Harrison three-point play at 14:24, that put Kentucky in the lead.
- James Young swished UK's first 3-pointer at 10:40, putting the Wildcats up 17-16.
- Tied at 19, Kentucky went on a 15-6 run, going ahead 34-25 for the largest lead of the half.
- UK led at halftime, 41-36, including a 12-0 advantage on second-chance points. Randle's 17 points led all scorers.
Second-Half Story
- After a Kentucky basket to open the second half, Louisville went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 43.
- Tied at 45, Kentucky got a 6-1 run to go up 51-46. Louisville responded with a 6-0 spurt to re-take the lead at 52-51.
- Tied at 53, UK had a 13-3 spurt to go up 66-56 – largest lead of the game — forcing a pair of Cardinal timeouts.
- UK led by at least five points the rest of the way en route to the 73-66 win.
Team Notes
- Kentucky has won 17 consecutive home games and is 76-2 in Rupp Arena under Coach Calipari.
- Kentucky had a decisive edge around the basket today.
- UK led the rebounding 44-36 and won second-chance points 17-6.
- UK won points in the paint 42-24.
- UK limited Louisville to 39.7 percent from the field. The Wildcats are 8-0 this season when keeping the opponent under 40 percent.
Individual Notes
- James Young had his first Wildcat double-double with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
- He was selected for the game's Most Valuable Player Award by the Bluegrass Sports Commission.
- Andrew Harrison notched a career-high 18 points, adding four rebounds and two assists.
- Julius Randle had 17 points and three rebounds, all coming in the first half.
- He has scored in double figures in all 13 games this season.
- Persistent leg cramping limited him to just four minutes in the second half.
- Aaron Harrison had 10 points, his eighth-straight game scoring in double figures.
- Willie Cauley-Stein had two points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.
- It was his fifth double-figure rebounding game of the season, 10th of his career.
- Alex Poythress came off the bench to tally seven points and five rebounds. UK had a +20 scoring margin when he was in the game.
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.
