BATON ROUGE, La. — Kentucky was able to hold off LSU on the road thanks to 7 straight three pointers in the second half. The Wildcats win by three. Below are some post game notes the Wildcats released after the game.
Final Score: No. 10/10 Kentucky 79, LSU 76
Team Records and Series Notes
- Kentucky has won five in a row and is 21-5 overall.
- UK remains in first place in the Southeastern Conference with an 11-2 league record.
- The Wildcats are 6-2 in true road games this season, 5-2 in the SEC. They’ve won three straight on the road.
- LSU is 18-8 overall, 9-4 in league play.
- UK leads the series 90-27.
- UK leads 32-18 in games played in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- Next up: on Saturday, Kentucky plays host to Florida at 6 p.m. It will be televised on ESPN.
Player Notes
- Immanuel Quickley led the Wildcats with 21 points and six assists, also chipping in four rebounds and three steals.
- It is his 15th consecutive game in double figures, most since Malik Monk had a 30-game streak during the 2016-17 season.
- He is averaging in 18.6 points in eight road games this season.
- Quickley is now averaging 18.0 points over the last 15 games with 33 3-pointers and 43.4% shooting from long range. He has six 20-point games in that span.
- Nick Richards had 13 points and six rebounds. He blocked six shots, one shy of his career best.
- UK is 20-1 this season when he scores in double figures and 7-1 when he blocks four or more shots.
- Tyrese Maxey posted 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.
- It is his 18th game this season in double figures.
- Ashton Hagans had 11 points, three rebounds and four assists but sustained a leg injury late in the game.
- Playing 27 minutes – most since the win over Missouri – Nate Sestina had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
- He made three 3-pointers and has made 5 of 8 from long distance in the last two games.
- His first-half basket put him over the 1,000-point mark in his career. He now has 1,010 points as a collegian, including 874 in his three seasons at Bucknell.
Coach John Calipari
- Calipari is now 326-76 at UK.
- He has a 771-216 all-time on-court record.
- UK is 264-43 against unranked foes under Calipari.
- Kentucky is 147-40 under Calipari in SEC regular-season games.
- Calipari is 12-3 all-time vs. LSU.
Team Notes
- UK had a sizzling second half, shooting 73.9% from the field (17 of 23).
- The 73.9% shooting is the Wildcats’ best mark in a half since making 84.2% (16 of 19) vs. Alabama on March 10, 2018, in the SEC Tournament.
- After making only 2 of 10 from long range in the first half, the Wildcats made their first seven 3-pointers of the second half.
- For the game, UK made nine 3-pointers, one shy of the season high.
- Five Wildcats scored in double figures, the last time coming 10 days ago at Tennessee.
- Kentucky limited LSU to 39.4% from the field.
- UK is 201-19 (.914) under Calipari when keeping the opponent at 40 percent or less, including 14-3 this season.
- The Wildcats have held seven straight opponents to 40% or less from the floor.
- UK won the game despite losing the rebounding, 45-33.
- LSU got 23 offensive rebounds – the most UK has surrendered this season – leading to 26 second-chance points.
- Entering the game fifth in the nation at 78.9% at the foul line, the Wildcats had another solid performance at 75% (12 of 16).
- UK has made at least 75% at the line in nine straight games.
- Kentucky led by as many as 15 points. UK is 280-7 (.976) in the Calipari era when leading by at least 10 points during the game.
In the First Half
- The starting lineup consisted of Ashton Hagans, Tyrese Maxey, Immanuel Quickley, EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards for the 12th time this season. UK is 10-2 with the lineup.
- Nate Sestina was UK’s first substitute at the 16:02 mark.
- Montgomery initiated the scoreboard with a follow-up basket on the game’s first possession.
- Four points was the largest margin of the closely contested half.
- LSU led 28-24 but did not score the final three minutes of the half. Meanwhile, Richards hit a jump hook in the lane and Hagans’ 3-pointer with 30 seconds left, following a hustling offensive rebound by Sestina, sent the Wildcats to intermission ahead 29-28.
- UK is now 17-2 when leading at halftime.
In the Second Half
- Kentucky began the second half with the opening lineup.
- After LSU scored the first basket to retake the lead, Kentucky had an 8-0 run for a 37-30 bulge and the Wildcats never trailed again.
- Ahead 59-52, a pair of free throws by Richards and back-to-back 3-pointers by Sestina suddenly gave UK a 67-52 lead, forcing an LSU timeout with 5:13 to go.
- LSU stormed back, outscoring the Cats 24-12 in the final five minutes, but ran out of time as a Tiger layup with one second left put the final score at 79-76.
