Kentucky Wildcats vs Ole Miss Rebels Postgame Notes
By Paul Jordan
Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
Kentucky Wildcats vs Ole Miss Rebels Postgame Notes
#18/16 Kentucky 84, Ole Miss 70
Feb. 18, 2014
Tad Smith Coliseum – Oxford, Miss.
Team Records, Notes
With the win, Kentucky improves to 20-6 and 10-3 in Southeastern Conference action. Ole Miss drops to 16-10 and 7-6 against league competition.
Kentucky has now charted its 58th 20-win season in program history and fifth-consecutive under John Calipari. Calipari has coached a 20-win team in 20-consecutive seasons as an NCAA head coach dating back to his Massachusetts days.
The 10 league victories mark the 57th time since 1946-47 that UK has garnered 10 or more conference wins. UK has achieved the feat in all five seasons under Calipari.
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Ole Miss by a 102-13 margin including a 27-10 clip in Oxford. Kentucky has won five straight in the series.
Kentucky returns to the floor on Saturday, Feb. 22. UK will welcome LSU to Rupp Arena at 4 p.m. ET with the game set to air live on ESPN.
Today’s attendance was 8,476.
First Half Facts
Kentucky started Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Dakari Johnson, Julius Randle and Dakari Johnson for the sixth consecutive game. It’s the 10th time this season UK has opened with an all-freshman lineup and UK is 9-1 in those contests.
UK’s first substitution was Willie Cauley-Stein marking the 10th time this season he was the first man off the bench.
Kentucky extended it’s 3-point streak to 886 games when Andrew Harrison connected from long range at the 18:32 minute mark. The streak is the third longest such stretch among all teams in the country.
After the Rebels began the scoring, UK scored eight-straight points to force the home team into a timeout at 17:03 on the clock.
Ole Miss gained a one-point edge at 11-10, but then Kentucky went on a 15-0 run over the next 4:13 to take a commanding 27-11 lead. It was the 12th time this season the Wildcats had a run of 10-0 or better.
The Wildcats took a 42-25 lead into the break. UK improves to 17-2 overall and 9-1 in league play when leading at the half. The 17 point halftime lead was the largest of the season against league foes this season.
Kentucky shot .586 percent from the field in the opening stanza with 12 assists on 17 made field goals. UK also connected on six 3-pointers in the half. Seven of Kentucky’s 17 made field goals came in the form of dunks.
Second Half Facts
Ole Miss trimmed the Kentucky advantage to six at 76-70 with 1:57 remaining in the game. It was the closest the Rebels had been since early in the opening half.
UK responded by hitting its final six free throws with Randle, Cauley-Stein and Aaron Harrison all connecting on a pair to keep the home team at bay.
The Wildcats were 25-28 from the charity stripe in the second half good for an .893 percentage. Randle led the way by going 11-13 in the second half.
Individual Notes
Aaron Harrison finished with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Andrew Harrison scored 10 points and added four assists.
Julius Randle capped the game with a game-highs in points (25) and rebounds (13).
James Young had 16 points, six rebounds and a five assists.
o Has scored in double-figures on 20 occasions this season.
o Hit a 3-pointer to continue his streak of at least one long ball in a team-best seven straight
outings.
o Notched his third consecutive double-figure scoring game.
o Went 4-4 at the free throw line and has now made his last 15 attempts at the charity stripe.
o Logged four assists and has three or more in 17 games this season.
o With four assists he moved into the top 10 in the freshman record books for assists on the season.
o Charted a double-double in the first half with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
o It’s the third-straight double-double effort and the 14th of the season for the freshman.
o Moved to 13th on the single-season double-double record list for any player. It’s the second-most double-doubles by a freshman in program history. Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins both logged 20 in their freshman campaigns.
o Notched a 13-14 performance at the free throw line. The 13 made free throws matches a career-best which he also achieved vs. Belmont.
o The 13 made free throws is the most by any UK player in the Calipari era.
o His 146 made free throws on the season is good for fourth in program history for a freshman.
o Advanced to 13th on the freshman scoring list with 417 points on the season.
o Posted the 19th double-figure scoring effort of his career.
o Has at least one assist in four of the last five games.