Kentucky Basketball

Kentucky’s big men got the first 5 assists of the game plus boxscore and other game notes

January 17, 2015
Walter Cornett

Go here for boxscore.

  • Kentucky is 17-0, 4-0 in the Southeastern Conference. is 12-5, 2-2 in league play, and ended its 14-game home winning streak.
  • Kentucky leads the series 104-37, including 29-23 in Tuscaloosa. The teams have a rematch two weeks from today, Jan. 31 in Lexington.
  • Along with Virginia, Kentucky is one of two undefeated teams in Division I.
  • With 17 consecutive victories to begin the season, is off to the fourth-best start in program history.
  • Kentucky is 195-27 all-time when ranked No. 1 and has won 35 of the last 37 games as The Associated Press top-ranked team.
  • Calipari has led three teams to a No. 1 ranking (Massachusetts, Memphis, Kentucky) and has a 79-9 record as the top-ranked coach, including 38-4 at UK.
  • Kentucky returns to action Tuesday at home against Vanderbilt. Game time is 9 p.m. EST and it will be televised on the Network.

Team Notes

  • Kentucky made 50 percent from the field, 23 of 46, the sixth time this season the Wildcats made at least half their shots.
  • UK made 8 of 17 (47.1 percent) on 3-point shots today. Over the last seven games, Kentucky has shot 44.2 percent on 3-pointers, 61 of 138.
  • For the second consecutive game, Kentucky shot a season-best at the free throw line. After making 80 percent of their foul shots vs. Missouri, the Cats canned 88.9 percent today (16 of 18).
  • UK has made at least 70 percent of its foul shots in five straight games.
  • In a mostly halfcourt game, UK averaged 1.25 points per possession.
  • Kentucky dominated bench points, 37-16.
  • Second year in a row that UK held Alabama to 48 points. UK won 55-48 last season in Lexington.
  • UK is 101-5 in the John Calipari Era when holding opponents to 63 or fewer points, including 13-0 this season.
  • UK is 51-0 in the John Calipari Era when holding opponents to 55 or fewer points, including 13 times this season.
  • No drama today in extending Kentucky's streak of 917 consecutive games with a 3-pointer as  connected a triple at the 16:24 mark of the first half.

First-Half Facts

  • Kentucky's opening lineup featured Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, , Karl-Anthony Towns andWillie Cauley-Stein.
  • Kentucky big men passed the ball well early, getting all five of the team's assists in the first 10 minutes.
  • Kentucky had three big runs on the first half:
    • Trailing 4-2, UK jumped ahead with a 10-0 run
    • With the score 13-9, the Wildcats put together an 8-0 run for a 21-9 advantage
    • At 21-14, a 10-0 spurt gave the Cats a 31-14 lead.
  • UK's largest lead of the half was 18 on two occasions — at 33-15 and the halftime score of 35-17.
  • It is the 14th time this season that Kentucky held an opponent under 20 points in a half.

Second-Half Story

  • Kentucky started the second half with the same lineup that opened the game.
  • Switching to a man-to-man defense, Alabama scored the first seven points of the second half.
  • Alabama eventually got as close as 39-30 before the Wildcats put the game away with a 16-2 run to make it 55-32.
  • Kentucky's largest lead was 28 points at 68-40 with 4:09 to play.

Player Notes

  • led the Wildcats with 13 poinst, including three of six on 3-point shots. He has made 20 of 28 3-pointers (71.4 percent) over the last seven games.
  • Tyler Ulis tallied 11 points, including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers. It's his third double-figure game of the season.
  • also had 11 points, his first double-figure game since notching 11 vs. Texas on Dec. 5.
  • , Karl-Anthony Towns and Dakari Johnson shared game-high rebounding honors with five caroms each as the Wildcats won the rebounding, 30-21.
  • sat out the game because of a medical procedure earlier this week.