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Kentucky Basketball

Boxscore and Game Notes: Kentucky vs Connecticut

Kentucky ends the season 29-11 overall and is now 18-3 (.857) in NCAA Tournament games under John Calipari.

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  • ends the season 29-11 overall, while improves to 32-8.
  • leads the all-time series the series 4-1.
  • The Wildcats lead the nation with a 116-47 all-time record in the Tournament.
  • is now 18-3 (.857) in NCAA Tournament games under John Calipari.
  • UK has amassed 18 tournament victories under Calipari which is the most of any school since 2010. Florida, Kansas and Louisville are next with 11 each.
  • Kentucky has appeared in 12 national title games. UK is 8-4 in such contests.
  • Tonight's attendance of 79,238 is a national title game record. The total number of 158,682 fans over the two-day event is an NCAA record.

Team Facts

  • Kentucky's starting lineup consisted of five freshmen in Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, , Julius Randle and . That lineup is 13-5 on the season.
  •  was the first sub off the bench for UK. It was his team-leading 24th time being the first called upon.
  • 's 3-pointer in the first half extended UK's 3-point streak to 900 consecutive games. It is the second-longest streak in the country.
  • John Calipari coached teams are now 129-39 in the months of March and April.
  • Calipari is 43-14 (.754) all-time as a coach in the NCAA Tournament. His career winning-percentage is the first among active head coaches.
  • Kentucky had won 11-straight NCAA Tournament games entering tonight's contest. That's the most consecutive victories for a team in the NCAA Tournament since Florida won 12-straight en route to its national titles in 2006 and 2007.

First Half Facts

  • UConn raced out to a 6-2 lead to open the half following consecutive fast-break opportunities.
  • A 7-0 spurt in under a minute of action gave UConn a 13-6 lead midway through the half. The lead extended to nine at 17-8 with 13:08 remaining.
  • A Shabazz Napier 3-pointer with 8:31 left gave UConn it's largest lead at 24-12, but Andrew Harrison followed with a 3-pointer of his own on the following possession.
  • UK stared at its largest deficit of the NCAA Tournament when the Huskies went up 30-15, but a quick 5-0 run quickly cut the lead to 10 at 30-20 with 5:13 remaining in the half.
  • The Wildcats closed the half on a 16-5 run to cut the double-digit deficit to just four, 35-31, going into the break.
    • UK is 6-9 on the year when trailing at the break, but 3-1 during postseason competition.

Second Half Facts

  • An  3-pointer on the first possession of the second half cut the UConn lead to 35-34.
  • After cutting it to just a two-point lead at 41-39, the Huskies scored nine-straight points to recapture a three possession lead at 48-39 with 10:59 to go.
  • An 8-0 run, over a 3:16 span, by the Wildcats made the score 48-47 with 8:17 to go. But Connecticut got back-to-back 3-pointers from Napier and Niels Giffee and UK got no closer than four points the remainder of the game.

Individual Notes

  • James Young led the Wildcats with 20 points and seven rebounds.
    • It was his ninth 20-point game this season.
    • Earned Final Four All-Tournament team honors.
  • Andrew Harrison had eight points, a game-high five assists and three steals.
    • Dished out four or more assists in 11 of UK's last 13 games.
  • Pushing through on a gimpy ankle, Julius Randle totaled 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
    • Randle got 417 rebounds this season and passed Anthony Davis (415) for the most rebounds by a freshman in single-season school history.
    • Earned Final Four All-Tournament team honors.

On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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