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Kentucky was a perfect 9-9 in the final 10:24 of the game plus boxscore and other game notes

Kentucky was a perfect 9-9 from the field in the final 10:24 of the game. UK’s last miss from the field came with 12:05 left in the game.

Go here for boxscore.

  • Team records: Kentucky is 38-0, 32-6.
  • Kentucky leads the all-time series 43-19
  • With Kentucky’s 38 consecutive victories …
    • Kentucky is the first team in the history of college basketball to start a season 38-0.
    • It extends the longest win streak in Kentucky history.
    • It extended the longest win streak for a -coached team.
  • With its 38th win, has tied the most wins in a season in Division I history. John Calipari’s 2008-09 Memphis team and the 2011-12 national champion Wildcats also won 38 games.
  • Kentucky is 215-27 all-time when ranked No. 1 and has won 60 of the last 62 games as the Associated Press top-ranked team.
  • Calipari has led three schools to a No. 1 ranking (Massachusetts, Memphis, Kentucky) and has a 104-9 record as the top-ranked coach, including 63-4 at UK.
  • Calipari is now 190-37 (.837) as head coach at Kentucky, the best winning percentage of any coach in UK history.
  • Kentucky advanced to its 17th Final Four, tied for the second most among all Division I teams.
    • Kentucky makes consecutive Final Four appearances for the fourth time in program history. UK advanced to the national semifinals in 1948 and ’49, ’96-’98 and 2011 and ’12. UK won the national title in each of the previous three times it made consecutive Final Four trips (1948, ’49, ’96, ’98 and 2012).
  • Kentucky has reached the Final Four in four of the last five seasons and in each of its last four NCAA Tournament appearances, all under John Calipari.
  • Next for the Wildcats: UK will play Wisconsin on Saturday in the Final Four in Indianapolis. The matchup is a rematch of last year’s national semifinal game, a 74-73 UK win.

In the NCAA Tournament

  • Kentucky won its nation-leading 120th NCAA Tournament game. UK is 120-47 (.719) all-time in the Big Dance.
  • Since 1992, the Wildcats are 119-32 (.788) in postseason play (NCAA, NIT and SEC).
  • Kentucky also leads the country in wins in the tournament since 2010 (22), when John Calipari first led UK to the Big Dance.
  • UK is 22-3 in NCAA Tournament games under John Calipari.
  • Kentucky improved to 3-0 vs. Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament and 2-0 in Elite Eight contests.
  • Kentucky improved to 3-1 in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed playing a No. 3 seed.
  • Kentucky is 17-18 in the Elite Eight.

Team Notes

  • Kentucky shot 53.2 from the field, the 12th time this season UK has shot 50 percent or better.
    • UK shot 37.0 percent (10-27) from the field in the first half, but connected on 75 percent (15-20) of its field goals in the second half.
    • Kentucky was 4-8 (50 percent) from 3-point range, the fifth time this season UK made at least 50 percent of its 3-pointers.
  • Kentucky was 14-20 (70.0 percent) from the free throw line, the 11th consecutive game UK shot 70 percent or better from the charity stripe.
  • Kentucky is 80-108 (.741) from the free throw line in the NCAA Tournament.
  • Notre Dame hit 10 free throws, marking the 10th consecutive game UK made more foul shots than its opponent.
  • Kentucky entered the game as the nation’s top-rated shooting-percentage defense, but Notre Dame shot 46.4 percent from the field. It is the fifth-highest shooting percentage for a UK opponent this season.
    • Kentucky is holding opponents to a combined total shooting percentage of .352.
  • UK trailed for 21:51 and held a lead for 11:42. The Wildcats have trailed for only 212:56 of a possible 1,535 minutes this season.
  • The two-point win was just the third time this season a game was decided by five or fewer points. It is tied for the smallest margin of victory of the season (UK won at LSU, 71-69 on Feb. 10).
  • UK out-blocked UND, 9-1. The Wildcats have outrebounded their opponents in all but four contests this season.
  • UK won bench points today, 15-5. Kentucky has won bench points in all but one game this season (vs. Arkansas in the SEC Tournament championship game).
    • Kentucky won the bench points 8-0 in the second half.

Game Facts

  • Kentucky’s opening lineup featured Andrew Harrison, , , Karl-Anthony Towns and for the 18th time this season.
  • , , and Dakari Johnson entered the game at the 16:22 mark.
  • Kentucky and Notre Dame were tied at the half, 31-31. UK is 3-0 this season when tied at the half.
  • The opening half featured 10 ties and 13 lead changes, the final tie coming at the buzzer thanks to a Trey Lyles tip-in.
  • Kentucky’s largest lead in the first half was two points, while Notre Dame held a four-point lead with 2:43 left.
  • Trailing 26-22, UK scored nine of the final 14 points of the half for a 31-31 halftime score.
  • Kentucky’s streak of 938 consecutive games with a 3-pointer was extended when Devin Booker connected from deep at the 15:19 mark in the first half.
  • UK opened the second half on a 7-2 run to take a 38-33 lead with 18:08 left. The five-point lead was UK’s largest of the game.
  • Aaron Harrison hit a 3-pointer with 3:15 left to give UK a 64-63 lead. The three capped an 8-2 run for the Wildcats and gave them their first lead since 15:28 in the second half.
  • Kentucky was a perfect 9-9 from the field in the final 10:24 of the game. UK’s last miss from the field came with 12:05 left in the game.
    • UK trailed 61-56 with 5:21 remaining but ended the game on a 12-5 run.
    • The Wildcats held Notre Dame scoreless for the last 2:30.
  • Kentucky and Notre Dame both scored 40 points in the paint and both teams had 10 second-chance points.
  • Kentucky owned a 29-28 rebounding edge, with a 19-15 advantage in defensive boards. Notre Dame had 13 offensive rebounds to Kentucky’s 10.
  • UK had 11 turnovers and forced Notre Dame into seven. The Wildcats scored six points off turnovers, while the Fighting Irish turned in 16 points off of takeaways.

Player Notes

  • Karl-Anthony Towns led UK with a career-high and game-high 25 points.
    • The 25 points is the second most by a Wildcat in a single game this season.
    • Was 10 of 13 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free throw line. His 10 made field goals was a career best.
    • Had a team-high-tying five rebounds and recorded four assists and two steals, both tying a career high.
  • Trey Lyes had nine points, five rebounds and two blocks with a career-high-tying one steal.
    • Shot 4 of 10 from the field and was third on the team with nine points.
    • Was one of two Wildcats with five rebounds and one of three with at least two blocks.
  • Devin Booker had 10 points with two rebounds and one block.
    • Was 4 of 6 from the field, including 2-3 from three point range to record 10 points, second on the team.
    • Posted two rebounds, both defensive, and tied a career high with one block.
  • Aaron Harrison had six points and four rebounds.
    • Was one of six Wildcats to score at least six points.
    • Was one of four Wildcats with at least four rebounds.
    • Harrison is now 33 points away from 1,000 for his career.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein recorded six points with four rebounds and two blocks.
    • Went 3 of 5 from the field.
    • Totaled two blocks for 231 in his career and has posted two or more rejections in each of the last seven games.

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.

Next Game

Kentucky vs Troy (On time)

On This Day in UK Basketball History

On March 19, 1966, in one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, top-ranked UK, featuring “Rupp’s Runts,” loses in the NCAA Championship game, 72-65, to Texas Western.

 

On March 19, 1966, Pat Riley joined the 1,000-point club.  He did it in 54 games.

 

On March 19, 1989, in the wake of an NCAA investigation, Eddie Sutton resigns as UK basketball coach.

 

Wildcats Born on This Date

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