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Kentucky overwhelms West Virginia 78-39 in NCAA Sweet 16

Trey Lyles scored 14 points, Andrew Harrison added 13 and the unbeaten Wildcats, chasing history and a ninth national title, rolled into the Elite Eight.
Trey Lyles - photo by Walter Cornett

Trey Lyles – photo by Walter Cornett

Trey Lyles scored 14 points, Andrew Harrison added 13 and the unbeaten Wildcats, chasing history and a ninth national title, rolled into the Elite Eight.

Kentucky (37-0) advanced to Saturday’s regional final to play third-seeded Notre Dame.

With stunning ease, the Wildcats built a 26-point lead in the first half over the Mountaineers (25-10), who led the nation in steals and figured their full-court press would at least bother Kentucky into some turnovers. West Virginia shot only 24.1 percent (13 of 54), including 2 of 15 from 3-point range.

West Virginia didn’t eclipse 20 points until the 11:41 mark of the second half.

Juwan Staten scored 14 points to lead West Virginia.

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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.

On This Day in UK Basketball History

On March 2, 1970, Dan Issel scored 42 points against Auburn.

 

On March 2, 1991, before a crowd of 24,310, the then-largest crowd in Rupp arena history, the Wildcats closed out the 1990-91 season with a 22-6 overall record. Although UK was ineligible for the SEC title because of probation, the Wildcats secured the best record in the league (14-4) with a 114-93 win over Auburn to end its two-year probation. A ceremony and parade followed.

 

On March 2, 1996, with a 101-63 victory over Vanderbilt in Rupp Arena on Senior Day, UK became the first team in 40 years to finish with a perfect record in the SEC, a 16-0 sweep. It was the Wildcats’ 25th win in a row, tying the school record for consecutive wins in a season. Two games later, they set the new record at 27 games.

 

On March 2, 2012, Darius Miller, in his final performance at Rupp Arena, led Kentucky in scoring with 17 points on Senior Night in a 30-point win over Georgia.

 

Wildcats Born on This Date

March 2, 1897

Marshall Barnes

March 2, 1924

34 Ed Allin

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