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Kentucky’s second-half collapse leads to second-worst home loss of Calipari era plus Boxscore and Other Game Notes

Boxscore: Kentucky basketball saw its six-game SEC winning streak snap Tuesday night at Rupp Arena with an 88-73 loss to Arkansas.

 

Go here for boxscore.

KENTUCKY MEN'S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
RUPP ARENA AT CENTRAL BANK CENTER | LEXINGTON, KY

FEB. 7, 2023
ATTENDANCE: 19,855

Final Score: 88, Kentucky 73

Team Records and Series Notes

  • Kentucky is now 16-8 overall, 7-4 in the Southeastern Conference, ending a six-game winning streak in conference play.
  • Arkansas is 17-7 overall, 6-5 in the SEC, and has a five-game win streak in league action.
  • Kentucky leads the series 33-14 but Arkansas has won the last three meetings.
  • leads 15-5 in games played in Lexington.
  • Next up: Kentucky embarks on a two-game road swing, beginning Saturday at noon at Georgia in a game that will be televised on ESPN.

Team Notes

  • Kentucky won the rebounding, 31-26. UK is 16-3 this season when outrebounding the opponent.
  • Arkansas shot 62.7% for the game, connecting on 32 of 51 shots from the field. The last time UK allowed an opponent to shoot at least 60% from the field was when March 4, 2007, at Florida when the Gators shots 64.0% (32-50).
  • Arkansas connected on 20 of 24 attempts (83.3%) from the foul line. Kentucky's last six opponents have connected on at least 80% of their free throws, totaling 79 of 89 (88.8%) from the stripe.

Player Notes  

  • led the Wildcats with 24 points, his second-straight 20-point game and third of the season. It's his most points this season against an SEC opponent.
    • He also led the Cats with five assists and three steals.
  • tallied 11 points and eight rebounds, his seventh-straight game in double-figure scoring.
    • He paced the Cats in rebounding for the fourth time this season.
  • had 13 points, his third double-figure game of the season and first against an SEC opponent. It is one point shy of his season high.
  • came off the bench to tally 11 points, his 18th double-figure game of the season and ninth in the last 10 games.
  • came off the bench to post a season-high seven points in only eight minutes of action.
    • In the last three games, he has totaled 14 points and four rebounds in 15 minutes of playing time.

Coach

  • Calipari is 13-9 vs. Arkansas, including 10-7 at UK.
  • Calipari has an 826-249 all-time on-court record and is 381-109 in 14 seasons at UK.
  • UK is 313-61 (83.7%) against unranked competition under Calipari. 

Rupp Arena

  • Kentucky is 645-80 (89.0%) in the 47-year history of Rupp Arena.
  • Kentucky is 218-20 (91.6%) in Rupp Arena under Calipari.

In the First Half

  • Kentucky opened with a starting lineup of Cason Wallace, , Chris Livingston, Jacob Toppin and for the seventh time this season. UK is now 5-2 with this starting lineup.
  • Antonio Reeves was the first substitute at 14:02.
  • Tied at 26, Arkansas had a six-point run for the largest lead of the half by either team.
  • The teams continued to battle back-and-forth and UA took a 42-41 lead at halftime.
  • Six Wildcats scored at least four points in the half, led by Wallace's 11.
  • UK is now 2-8 this season when trailing at halftime.

In the Second Half

  • Kentucky opened the second half with the starting lineup. 
  • Arkansas scored the first basket, then got two steals and breakaway dunks for a 47-40 lead, prompting a UK timeout at 18:39 on the clock.
  • UA scored 11 points on its first five possessions of the half, stretching the lead to 52-43. 
  • Kentucky got as close as 54-50.
  • Ahead 64-58, Arkansas added an 8-0 run for a 72-58 lead.
  • Arkansas' largest lead was 16 points at 78-62. 

 

On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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