Kentucky Basketball

Boxscore and Game Notes: Kentucky vs Texas

December 5, 2014
Walter Cornett

Go here for boxscore.

  • is 8-0 and is 7-1.
  • Kentucky defeated an undefeated team for the second-consecutive game after knocking off Providence on Sunday.
  • Kentucky leads the series 2-0.
  • Kentucky is 186-27 all-time when ranked No. 1 and has won 26 of the last 28 games as The Associated Press top-ranked team.
    • Coach has led three teams to a No. 1 ranking (Massachusetts, Memphis, Kentucky) and has a 70-9 record as the top-ranked coach, including 29-4 at .
  • Kentucky returns to action Sunday at home against Eastern Kentucky. Game time is 6 p.m. and it will be televised on the SEC Network.

First-Half Facts

  • Kentucky's opening lineup featured , , , Karl-Anthony Towns and for the sixth time this season.
  • The game stayed tight early. Tied at 13 midway through the period, Texas went on a 7-1 run to take the largest lead of the half at 20-14.
  • Towns sparked a 6-0 Wildcat surge by making two free throws on a flagrant foul, taking the inbounds pass and sinking a jumper, then grabbing a defensive rebound and feeding Tyler Ulis for a fastbreak jumper that knotted the game at 20. Willie Cauley-Stein made it an 8-0 run and 22-20 UK lead with a jump hook.
  • Texas rallied to re-take the lead, then Cauley-Stein canned another jump hook in the final minute of the half, sending the teams to intermission tied at 26.

Second-Half Story

  • Kentucky started the second half with Tyler Ulis, , Trey Lyles, Willie Cauley-Stein and .
  • The Wildcats scored on five of their first six possessions to take a 36-26 lead.
  • Texas tallied its first basket of the half at the 14:24 mark on a dunk by Prince Ibeh. UK responded with eight more points, outscoring the Longhorns 18-2 in the first 8:40 of the period to make it 44-28.
  • Texas responded with runs of 7-0, 6-0 and 5-0 to get within five at 51-46.
  • UK got its first 3-pointer of the game, by Andrew Harrison with 2:45 to play, making the score 56-47.  Harrison's three extended UK's streak of 908 games with at least one triple.
  • Texas got back within 56-51, but Cauley-Stein clinched the win with a foul shot, alley-oop dunk and two more free throws in the final two minutes.

Team Notes

  • Texas was limited to 29.8 percent from the field.  UK entered the game holding opponents to just 27.9 percent from the field, leading the nation in that category.
  • Kentucky has held all eight opponents under 40 percent shooting, including five games under 30 percent.
  • Key stat for Kentucky was turnovers. UK won that 22-8, leading to a 19-7 edge in points off turnovers.
  • Kentucky won points in the paint 28-16.
  • UK was outrebounded tonight, 42-31, first time that has happened this season.
  • UK won bench points 17-16 and has won bench points every game this season.
  • Kentucky is now 45-0 under Coach Calipari when holding the opponent to 55 or fewer points.

Player Notes

  • Willie Cauley-Stein totaled a career-high 21 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, his first double-double of the season.
    • WCS added a season-high five steals along with three blocked shots.
    • He also played 33 minutes, the first Wildcat to reach 30 minutes in a game this season.
  • Dakari Johnson had 11 points, his sixth double-figure game of the season, and added six rebounds.
  • Karl-Anthony Towns had 10 points, his third straight game in double figures, including a career-best 6-of-6 at the free-throw line.