Kentucky Wildcats Basketball: UK vs. EKU Postgame Notes

Postgame notes from tonight’s Kentucky Wildcats game against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.

Eastern Kentucky at Kentucky, Men’s Basketball

Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.

Dec. 7, 2014

FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 82, Eastern Kentucky 49

Kentucky is 9-0 and Eastern Kentucky is 4-3.
Kentucky leads the series, 11-0.
Kentucky is 187-27 all-time when ranked No. 1 and has won 27 of the last 29 games as The Associated Press top-ranked team.
- Coach John Calipari has led three teams to a No. 1 ranking (Massachusetts, Memphis, Kentucky) and has a 71-9 record as the top-ranked coach, including 30-4 at UK.
Kentucky returns to action Wednesday at home against Columbia. Game time is 7 p.m. and it will be televised on ESPN2.

First-Half Facts

Kentucky’s opening lineup featured Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Alex Poythress, Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein for the seventh time this season.
Kentucky scored the first five points of the game and never trailed as the Colonels made only one of their first 11 shots.
UK got the ball inside well as 10 of the Wildcats’ first 11 baskets were layups or dunks.
Andrew Harrison had five assists in the first 12:10 of the game.
Kentucky had five runs of at least 5-0 or better in the first half, including a 15-0 spurt to end the period and make the halftime score 41-14.
It was the eighth half of the season that UK had held its opponent under 20 points.

Second-Half Story

Kentucky started the second half with Andrew Harrison, Devin Booker, Trey Lyles, Marcus Lee and Dakari Johnson.
EKU scored the first seven points of the half, cutting the lead to 41-21, but the Colonels got no closer.
For the second game in a row, Kentucky extended its streak of consecutive games with a 3-pointer in the final three minutes of the game. Andrew Harrison hit the big triple late in the Texas game and tonight it was Aaron who canned one with 2:57 remaining in the contest.
The Wildcats stretched the lead to as many as 34 points before finishing with an 82-49 victory.

Team Notes

Eastern Kentucky was limited to 26.1 percent from the field. UK entered the game holding opponents to just 28.2 percent from the field, leading the nation in that category.
Kentucky has held all nine opponents under 40 percent shooting.
Kentucky has held six opponents under 30 percent from the field, including the last five in a row.
EKU’s 49 points is a season low for the Colonels. Eight of UK’s nine opponents (all except Boston) have scored their season-low against the Wildcats.
Key stat for Kentucky was points in the paint, as UK led that 52-20.
Kentucky blocked 11 shots, the fifth time in nine games that the Wildcats have reached double figures in rejections.
Kentucky featured balanced scoring as seven Wildcats had at least six points.
UK won bench points 34-19 and has won bench points every game this season.
Kentucky is now 46-0 under Coach Calipari when holding its opponent to 55 or fewer points, including the last five in a row and eight of nine games this season.

Player Notes

Karl-Anthony Towns had a career-high 19 points, including going 8-of-9 from the field. It is his fourth consecutive game in double figures. He also claimed nine rebounds.
Trey Lyles tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds, his first Wildcat double-double. It is his fourth game in double-figure scoring and a season high for rebounds.
Willie Cauley-Stein notched 11 points, his third consecutive double-figure effort.
Marcus Lee posted a season-best 10 points on 5-of-6 from the field.
In addition to his streak-extending 3-pointer, Aaron Harrison had a season-best six rebounds.
After getting five assists early in the game, Andrew Harrison finished with a season high of six.
Dominique Hawkins tallied a career-high six assists.