Connect with us

Isaiah Jackson recorded 8 official blocked shots plus boxscore and other game notes

Kentucky falls to 1-2 and Kansas is 2-1 on the season; UK is 23-10 against Kansas all-time and 8-3 in neutral-site games.

Go here for boxscore.

Team Records and Series Notes

  • falls to 1-2 and is 2-1 on the season.
  • is 23-10 against Kansas all-time and 8-3 in neutral-site games.
  • Next: Kentucky plays Georgia Tech in the Holiday Hoopsgiving on Sunday at 5 p.m. at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Champions Classic

  • The Wildcats fall to 5-5 in the Champions Classic, tied with Kansas. Duke leads the event with a 6-4 record and Michigan State is 4-6 after the beating the Blue Devils in Durham, North Carolina, earlier in the night.
  • UK is now 2-2 vs. Kansas in the Champions Classic.
  • The Wildcats are 1-2 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in the Champions Classic.

Player Notes 

  • finished the game with seven points, 12 rebounds and eight blocked shots.
    • The eight blocks are the most since Willie Cauley-Stein had nine against Boise State on Dec. 10, 2013.
    • Leads the team with 10.0 rebounds per game on the season.
    • Had seven points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in the opening half.
  • Jr. scored 12 points and added six rebounds.
    • He’s scored in double digits in all three games.
  • scored a season-high 12 points.
    • He tied a season high with a pair of 3-pointers.
  • scored six points and added three rebounds.
    • His six points came consecutively to help spark a run for the Wildcats in the second half.
    • It’s a season-high total for Toppin.

Coach

  • Calipari is now 331-79 at UK.
  • Calipari has a 776-219 all-time on-court record.
  • UK is 63-34 all-time under Calipari against Associated Press Top 25 ranked teams.
  • Kentucky falls to 55-14 under Calipari following a loss.
    • This marks the first back-to-back losses under Calipari since Dec. 18 and Dec. 21, 2019 in Las Vegas.

Team Notes

  • Kentucky led by as many as 13 in the first half. This is the first time UK has lost a double-digit lead since surrendering a 17-point lead to Tennessee on March 3, 2020.
    • UK is now 282-9 (.969) all-time under Calipari when leading by at least 10 at any point in the game.
  • UK held Kansas to just 29.9% (20 of 67) from the floor. It’s the second time this season UK has held an opponent to less than 30% (Morehead State).
    • Kentucky drops to 203-20 (.910) under Calipari when holding a team to less than 40% from the floor.
  • Kentucky made three 3-pointers on 21 attempts (.143).
    • UK is shooting just 19.1% (9 of 47) through the first three games of the season.

In the First Half

  • The starting lineup consisted of freshmen , Brandon Boston Jr., Terrence Clarke, Isaiah Jackson and senior , for the second time this season.
    • Davion Mintz was UK’s first substitute at the 16:15 mark.
  • Both teams got off to tough starts offensively, with Kansas not scoring until the 17:37 mark and the Wildcats scratching the scoreboard at 16:43.
    • Clarke scored UK’s first points with a second-chance layup. It was the first time this season he’s tallied the Wildcats’ first points.
  • UK went on a 5-0 spurt to take a 7-5 edge at the first media timeout at 15:57. The Cats were sparked by a traditional three-point play from Jackson and a steal and layup by Mintz.
    • The run extended to 15-0 for a 17-5 lead and the Cats held the Jayhawks without a point for 6:50 of clock.
    • Kansas had six turnovers during the stretch.
    • It was the largest run of the season thus far for the Cats, bettering a 7-0 spurt against Morehead State in the opener.
  • After not hitting a 3-pointer against Richmond, Kentucky began the game 0 for 6 from 3-point range. Dontaie Allen made Kentucky’s first 3 with 6:12 to play.
    • Dating back to the Morehead State game, UK had missed 19 consecutive 3-point attempts until Allen’s make.
  • UK did not make a field goal over the final 4:20 of the half allowing Kansas to pull to within six at halftime.

In the Second Half

  • Kentucky began the second half with its starters.
  • UK suffered a 7:28 scoring draught and Kansas turned a nine-point deficit into a one-point lead with 12:46 to play.
    • It was the Jayhawks’ first lead since 5-4 at the 16:15 mark of the opening stanza.
    • Boston’s layup at 12:02 marked just the second field goal of the second half for UK.
  • Kansas eventually extended its run to 15-2 over 8:30 of clock and earned a four-point edge at 44-40.
    • Jacob Toppin hauled in an offensive rebound and converted a put-back to snap the spurt.
    • He scored six straight for the Wildcats to give Kentucky a 46-45 lead.
  • Kansas earned its largest lead of the game at 60-55 with 2:26 remaining.
  • Mintz knocked down a desperation 3 with 12 seconds to play to pull UK to within one, but Kansas’ Ochai Agbaji drained two free throws with 10.2 to play to give the Jayhawks’ a three-point lead.
    • Mintz had one last look at it to tie the game and missed with seconds to play.

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

Tennessee vs Kentucky (TBD)

On This Day in UK Basketball History

On March 24, 1947, before a Madison Square Garden record crowd of 18,493, Wat Misaka held Ralph Beard to two points and Utah ended the Wildcats’ bid for back-to-back NIT Championships.

 

On March 24, 1951, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 5 Illinois in the 1951 NCAA Final Four.  After UK standouts Bill Spivey and Cliff Hagan fouled out, Shelby Linville, a 6-foot-5 junior, scored Kentucky’s final six points, including the game-winning basket on a layup with 12 seconds left before 16,425 in the old Madison Square Garden in New York City.

 

On March 24, 2017, in a highly anticipated matchup with UCLA, which beat the Wildcats in the regular season in Rupp Arena, freshman point guard De’Aaron Fox scores an NCAA Tournament freshman record 39 points to propel UK to the Elite Eight.

 

Wildcats Born on This Date

More in Kentucky Basketball