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Kentucky is 0-4 vs. opponents ranked in the AP Top 25 plus boxscore and other game notes

Kentucky fell to 0-4 vs. opponents ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time of the of the game this season.

Go here for boxscore.

Team Records and Series Notes

  • falls to 5-11 overall, 4-5 in the Southeastern Conference.
    • has lost five of its last six games after starting league play 3-0.
  • improves to 12-3 and 5-3 in league play.
  • Kentucky still leads the series 13-2 and 4-2 in Columbia, Missouri.
    • The loss snapped a three-game winning streak vs. the Tigers.
  • Next up: Kentucky hosts No. 11/10 Tennessee on Saturday for the first of two regular-season meetings vs. the Volunteers. The game will tip at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Player Notes 

  • led the Wildcats with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 4 of 9 from behind the arc.
    • His 18 points were his most since scoring 19 at Louisville on Dec. 26.
    • He tied a season high with four treys, also done at Louisville.
    • He’s led UK in scoring a team-high seven times.
  • had his fingerprints all over the game with eight points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three steals.
    • He’s led the team in rebounding a team-high eight games.
    • He has led UK in blocks in a team-high 14 games.
    • It was his seventh game this season with three or more blocks.
    • His three steals matched his career high.
  • enjoyed his best overall game as a Wildcat with a career-high eight points, 10 rebounds and a career-high three blocks.
    • It’s the second time in three games Ware has set a career high in points.
  • . scored 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting with two 3-pointers.
    • He has reached double-figure scoring in five of the seven games since his 2020-21 debut at Florida on Jan. 9.
  • Jr. reached double-figure scoring with 10 points and was 2 of 3 from 3-point range.
    • He has scored in double figures a team-high 12 times.
  • scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting but fouled out in 12 minutes.

Coach John Calipari

  • Calipari is now 335-88 at UK.
  • Calipari has a 780-228 all-time on-court record.
  • UK is 63-37 under Calipari against Associated Press Top 25 teams but has lost four straight games vs. ranked teams.
  • Calipari is 10-4 in his career vs. Missouri.

 Team Notes

  • Kentucky fell to 0-4 vs. opponents ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time of the of the game this season.
  • It was UK’s first game in eight days after a 48-hour pause this weekend due to a combination of positive testing for COVID-19, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the program that led to the cancellation of Saturday’s game against Texas.
  • The Wildcats lost despite shooting 47.3% from the floor and holding Missouri to 39.3% shooting.
    • UK has held six of its last seven opponents to less than 40% from the floor, including five straight games, but only won two games during that seven-game stretch.
    • Kentucky is 206-24 under Calipari when holding the opposition to 40% or less from the field but only 4-5 this season.
    • The Wildcats fell to 4-4 in 2020-21 when owning a better shooting percentage than the opponent.
  • UK blocked nine shots, the fifth game this season with nine or more rejections for one of the nation’s best shot-blocking teams.
  • Kentucky made 9 of 20 from behind the 3-point line, its second-most made 3-point field goals this season and the most in a regulation game.
  • It’s the first time this season UK has scored between 66 and 75 points this season. UK entered the game 0-10 when scoring 65 or fewer but 5-0 when totaling at least 76 points.
  • Kentucky committed 17 turnovers that led to 19 Missouri points.
    • It’s the fifth time in six games the Wildcats have turned the ball over 17 times or more.
    • UK is averaging 16.7 turnovers in its losses this and 11.6 turnovers in its wins.
  • The Wildcats were without Jacob Toppin (illness unrelated to COVID-19) and Terrence Clarke (right leg injury), both of whom did not make the trip to Columbia, Missouri.
    • UK has not played a single game this season with its full complement of scholarship players.

 In the First Half

  • Kentucky started , Davion Mintz, Brandon Boston Jr., Isaiah Jackson and Olivier Sarr for the fourth time this season. UK is 1-3 with this lineup.
    • UK has used seven different starting lineups this season, none of which have started more than four games.
    • Lance Ware was the first substitution at the 15:45 mark.
  • Askew broke out of a recent shooting slump by making two of his first three shots with a free throw and scored five of the Wildcats’ first eight points.
  • Missouri made three of its first four 3-pointers to take a 17-11 lead.
  • Keion Brooks Jr., coming off the bench for the first time in three games, started off hot with eight points in his first seven minutes, including two 3-pointers.
  • Cam’Ron Fletcher checked in at the 7:28 mark, his first appearance since Dec. 19 vs. North Carolina.
  • Missouri, which came into the game ranked 297th nationally in 3-point field-goal percentage, hit 7 of 11 in the first half.
  • UK closed within 32-26 at the 5:01 mark but did not make a field goal the rest of the half.
  • Kentucky trailed 40-27 at the break, UK’s second-biggest halftime deficit of the season.
  • Missouri outscored UK 11-0 on second-chance points.
    • The Wildcats trailed by 18 in a 64-63 loss to Notre Dame.
    • Kentucky is 2-7 when trailing at halftime this season.

In the Second Half

  • Kentucky opened the second half with the same starting lineup.
  • The Wildcats went on an 8-0 run to start the half.
  • UK held Missouri without a point for nearly the first four minutes of the second half and without a field goal for the first 7:14 of clock.
  • The Wildcats cut the 12-point halftime deficit to 43-42 thanks to a 15-3 run at the 14:39 mark.
    • Missouri answered with a 10-3 stretch.
  • Midway through the half, Mintz drilled two 3-pointers in less than 30 seconds to close the gap to 53-51.
  • After a flurry of 3-pointers by both teams, Kentucky went inside with a dunk by Jackson and a field goal in the paint by Sarr to slice the deficit to 63-60.
  • Kentucky trailed 68-65 heading out of the final media timeout (3:45) but Missouri scored six straight points out of the timeout to take control.
    • UK is now minus-39 in the final four minutes of games in regulation this season (does not count any of the overtime periods vs. Mississippi State) but plus-17 over the first 36 minutes of regulation in games.
  • UK shot 59.3% from the floor in the second half, including 6 of 10 from behind the arc.

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 May 12, 1997, UK’s director of athletics, C.M. Newton, introduced Orlando “Tubby” Smith as head coach.

 

Wildcats Born on This Date

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