UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
KENTUCKY at LSU
PETE MARAVICH ASSEMBLY CENTER | BATON ROUGE, LA.
JAN. 4, 2021
ATTENDANCE: 11,808
Final Score: No. 21/21 LSU 65, No. 16/13 Kentucky 60
Team Records, Series Notes, Etc.
- Kentucky ended a four-game win streak and is now 11-3 this season and 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference. LSU is now 13-1 and 1-1 in the league.
- The Wildcats now have a 91-28 all-time record vs. LSU, including 32-19 in games play in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- UK fell to 1-3 in games away from Rupp Arena this season and 0-2 in true road contests.
- Next up: Kentucky will host Georgia on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Rupp Arena. SEC Network will carry the game.
Team Notes
- Kentucky shot its lowest field-goal percentage of the season, 36.2%. The Wildcats are 0-2 this season when shooting less than 40%.
- LSU entered the game with the nation’s best field-goal percentage.
- UK shot 50% from the free-throw line (10 of 20), tying its lowest percentage of the season.
- The Wildcats also shot 50% last game but attempted just eight free throws.
- Kentucky and LSU tied the rebounding at 39 apiece. UK is 11-0 this season when winning the rebounding by at least 14 boards but 0-3 otherwise.
Player Notes
- Sparked by four 3-pointers in the second half, Kellan Grady finished with 13 points
- It was his eighth game with three or more 3-pointers and the fourth time in the last five games.
- He has made 24 of 43 treys over the last five games.
- Davion Mintz reached the 1,000-point mark with a 3-pointer early in the second half. With a team-high 16 points Tuesday, he is up to 1,014 career points over 133 games at Creighton and Kentucky.
- Jacob Toppin scored a season-high and team-high 14 points and tied his career high with eight rebounds, which are the most in his two seasons at UK.
- Thirteen of his points were in the first half, when he went a perfect 6 for 6 from the floor.
- Oscar Tshiebwe, the nation’s leading rebounder, added 13 more vs. LSU and has grabbed double-figure boards in all but two games.
- He added eight points and two steals.
Coach Calipari
- John Calipari is now 350-96 at UK.
- Calipari now has a 795-236 all-time on-court record.
- UK is now 64-40 under Calipari in games vs. Associated Top 25 competition.
- When both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25, Calipari is 86-60, including a 55-32 mark at Kentucky.
- Calipari is now 13-4 all-time vs. LSU.
- Calipari has tallied a 368-117 all-time record within conference play as a head coach and owns a 160-51 record since joining the SEC.
- Calipari-led teams at UK are 112-55 on the road.
In the First Half
- Kentucky started Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington Jr., Kellan Grady, Keion Brooks Jr. and Oscar Tshiebwe for the 13th time this season and the sixth game in a row. UK is now 10-3 with that starting lineup.
- For the second straight game, Washington opened the contest with a 3-pointer on the first possession, the 11th time in the last 12 games he has hit a 3-pointer.
- Jacob Toppin checked in at 16:58 mark as UK’s first sub.
- The Tigers opened the game on an 8-3 run.
- Wheeler was knocked out of the game after running into a screen at the 16:07 mark and did not return.
- After a sluggish start and falling behind 15-9, Kentucky put the clamps down defensively and outscored LSU 9-1 over a four-minute span to take an 18-16 lead with 8:28 left in the half.
- After a back-and-forth next couple of minutes, LSU went on a 7-0 run to take a 26-20 advantage with 5:01 left.
- Toppin responded with a strong sequence. He grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in to start a 6-0 run, made a jumper and then got out in transition for a dunk to even it up at 26 apiece with 3:14 left in the half.
- What turned into a game of runs for the second part of the first half resulted in another 7-0 LSU run to take a 35-28 lead.
- Toppin’s personal run reached 10 straight points with an offensive rebound and jumper just before the buzzer.
- The last Wildcat to score before halftime other than Toppin was Lance Ware at the 7:29 mark.
- UK trailed 35-30 at halftime. The Wildcats are now 0-2 this season when trailing at the half.
- Toppin enjoyed his best half as a Wildcat, surpassing his UK high of 12 points with 13 in the first half. He made all six shots, grabbed four rebounds and did all of that in just eight minutes.
- The Wildcats got into early foul trouble. Tshiebwe went to the bench with two fouls at the 11:23 mark and did not return. Ware also picked up two, as did Dontaie Allen.
In the Second Half
- Kentucky opened the second half with Washington, Davion Mintz, Grady, Toppin and Ware.
- UK came out on fire with nine straight points – all 3-pointers – to storm in front 39-35 in the first three minutes of the second half.
- Mintz had two of the treys, the first of which put him over 1,000 career points.
- Going back to Toppin’s jumper just before the buzzer to end the first half, it was an 11-0 run overall.
- The overall run extended to 19-4 going back to the first half by the time Kentucky had increased its lead to 44-37.
- Grady completely flipped around an 0-for-7 first half with four 3s in the first eight minutes of the second half. His fourth triple gave the Wildcats a 50-41 lead with 13:06 left but LSU stormed right back.
- The Wildcats went 6:22 without a point to aid a 10-0 LSU run and put the Tigers in front 51-50 with 7:06 to play.
- Tshiebwe ended the drought with a dunk.
- LSU tacked on 10 more for a total run of 20-2, flipping UK’s nine-point lead to a nine-point deficit at 61-52, the largest lead of the game for each team.
- The Wildcats scored eight straight – the last seven by Mintz (two free throws, a 3-pointer and a layup) – to narrow the gap to 61-60 with 27 seconds left.
- On the ensuing possession, Tshiebwe came up with a steal but misfired on the pass and LSU iced the game with a pair of dunks in the closing seconds.
