Kentucky Wildcats vs Mississippi State Bulldogs: Inside the Numbers
By Corey Price
Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Neighborhood Block Watch
Willie Cauley-Stein
• 1 block vs. Auburn
• 207 career blocks (5th most in school history)
• Needs 5 blocks to tie Andre Riddick for 4th most in school history
Karl-Anthony Towns
• 4 blocks vs. Auburn
• 64 blocks this season
• Anthony Davis blocks through 27 games, 2011-2012: 131
Kentucky
• 6 blocks vs. Auburn
• 188 blocks this season
• Kentucky team blocks through 27 games, 2011-2012: 250
Assist-To-Turnover Ratio
The school single-season record for best assist-to-turnover ratio by a team is 1.41:1 by the 1995-1996 team. The school single-season record for best assist-to-turnover ratio by a player is 3.3:1 by Anthony Epps in 1995-1996. Both records could be broken this season.
Kentucky
• 1.67:1 assist-to-turnover ratio vs. Auburn (25 assists, 15 turnovers)
• 1.37:1 assist-to-turnover ratio this season (415 assists, 302 turnovers)
• Kentucky assist-to-turnover ratio through 27 games, 1995-1996: 1.33:1 (583 assists, 437 turnovers)
Tyler Ulis
• 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio vs. Auburn (2 assists, 2 turnovers)
• 3.5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio this season (91 assists, 26 turnovers)
• Anthony Epps assist-to-turnover ratio through 27 games, 1995-1996: 2.86:1 (126 assists, 44 turnovers)
Kentucky: Best Defense Of The 35-Second Shot Clock Era?
It has been fairly obvious how dominating Kentucky’s defense has been so far this season. But, how does this season’s Kentucky team stack up against past great team defensive performances? I decided to compare only teams in the 35-second shot clock era, since the 1993-1994 season, so that there’s a level playing field. I decided to look at scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense, and scoring margin. Here’s how Kentucky stacks up:
Scoring Defense
• NCAA record during 35-second shot clock era: 50.9 points per game, 2003-2004 Air Force
• Kentucky scoring defense through 27 games: 52.6 points per game
• 2003-2004 Air Force scoring defense through 27 games: 50.1 points per game
Field-Goal Percentage Defense
• NCAA record during 35-second shot clock era: 35.2%, 1999-2000 Stanford
• Kentucky field-goal percentage defense through 27 games: 34.2%
• 1999-2000 Stanford field-goal percentage defense through 27 games: 34.8%
Scoring Margin
• NCAA record during 35-second shot clock era: +24.7 points per game, 1998-1999 Duke
• Kentucky scoring margin through 27 games: +22.1 points per game
• 1998-1999 Duke scoring margin through 27 games: +25.4 points per game