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Kentucky turned the ball over 12 times in the 2nd half plus boxscore and other game notes

Kentucky committed 18 turnovers and have five such games this season with 18 or more miscues, including two straight.

Go here for boxscore.

Team Records and Series Notes

  • falls to 4-8 overall, 3-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
  • Auburn is now 8-6 on the season, 2-4 in league play.
  • Kentucky still leads the series 95-22. leads 31-17 in games played in Auburn.
  • The series has been very competitive of late. Auburn has won five of the last nine games.
  • Next up for the Wildcats: After a few days back home for practice, Kentucky will be back on the road. UK will play at Georgia on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game is on Network.

Player Notes 

  • led the Wildcats for a team-leading fifth time this season with 11 points.
    • He knocked down a 3-pointer for the fifth straight game.
  • Jacob Toppin contributed 10 points and a team-high-tying six rebounds.
    • It’s the second time he’s reached double-figure scoring this season, he also had 10 at Louisville.
  • . scored eight points and added a team-high-tying six rebounds.
  • poured in eight points – all in the first half – which included a pair of 3-pointers and his first career dunk.
    • He is 15 of 30 from 3-point range in league play.

Coach John Calipari

  • Calipari is now 334-85 at UK.
  • Calipari has a 779-225 all-time on-court record.
  • UK is 271-50 under Calipari against teams unranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
  • Calipari is 12-5 in his career vs. Auburn.
  • Kentucky is 56-19 under Calipari in the game following a loss (does not count end-of-season losses).

Team Notes

  • Kentucky lost the rebounding battle 41-38 and surrendered 16 offensive rebounds to the Tigers.
  • The Wildcats committed 18 turnovers and have five such games this season with 18 or more miscues, including two straight. UK has lost four of those five games.
  • UK blocked six shots and has six or more in seven outings this season.
    • The Wildcats have swatted six or more in five consecutive games.
  • The loss snapped a two-game winning streak away from home.
  • Kentucky is shooting 48.1% from the floor and 44.4% from 3-point range in its four wins, but only 38.5% overall and 23.0% from 3-point range in its losses.
  • UK’s 59 points tied a season low. The Wildcats also scored 59 in the loss at Louisville.
  • The Wildcats lost despite holding Auburn to 38.3%. UK is 205-21 under Calipari when holding the opposition to 40% or less from the floor and now 3-2 on the season.

In the First Half

  • The starting lineup consisted of , Davion Mintz, Jr., Isaiah Jackson and for the third time this season. UK is now 1-2 when that lineup starts.
    • and Dontaie Allen were the first substitutes at the 18:20 mark.
  • It was a sluggish start for both teams. The Wildcats started 0 of 6 from the floor with two turnovers before making their first field goal and Auburn started 1 for 16 overall before making its second field goal nearly 10 minutes into the game.
    • Allen broke the 0-for-6 Kentucky start with a thunderous one-hand slam, his first dunk of his Kentucky career.
    • The two teams ended up combining to make just two of their first 23 over the first 6:58 of game time.
  • Allen was the only Wildcat to score for the first 7:53 of game time until Jacob Toppin made a driving layup to put UK up 7-2.
  • After starting with a 9-2 lead thanks to the stingy UK defense, Auburn answered with a 6-0 run.
  • The Wildcats gave up 12 offensive rebounds but only allowed it to turn into four second-chance points.
  • Kentucky held the Tigers to 24.2% shooting, a season best for a half.
  • UK led 25-21 at halftime. Kentucky is now 2-4 when leading at the half.
    • It was a season-low point total in a half (tied for Auburn) for both teams.
  • Allen and Toppin led UK with eight points apiece.

In the Second Half

  • Kentucky opened the second half with Askew, Mintz, Boston, Jackson and Sarr.
  • The teams traded baskets for much of the first 10 minutes of the second half.
  • UK led by as many as four at the 14:16 mark on a Brooks Jr. second-chance putback.
  • Auburn utilized a 9-0 spurt to take a seven-point lead, 50-43, at the 7:37 mark.
  • The lead swelled to as many as 10 with 5:36 remaining.
  • UK clawed back and pulled to within two twice, the latest coming on a Toppin dunk with 58 seconds to play.
  • The Tigers closed the game with a made layup and a perfect 4 of 4 from the free-throw line to keep the Wildcats from getting any closer.

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 26, 1949, Alex Groza had 25 points to lead Kentucky to its second straight NCAA title before 12,500 in the Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle.  Alex Groza had 25 points to lead Kentucky.  Of Kentucky’s eight NCAA title game victories, this is the only one that came in a matchup of teams ranked No. 1 vs. No. 2. It was also an NCAA championship game meeting of coaching giants Adolph Rupp and Henry Iba.

 

On March 26, 1983, in the first meeting between the schools in 24 years, Louisville defeats UK 80-68 in overtime to earn a trip to the Final Four.

 

Wildcats Born on This Date

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