Basketball Postgame Notes: Kentucky 86, South Carolina 76

[Jeff Drummond]

UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
KENTUCKY at SOUTH CAROLINA

COLONIAL LIFE ARENA | COLUMBIA, S.C.
FEB. 8, 2022ATTENDANCE: 12,009


Final Score: No. 5/4 Kentucky 86, South Carolina 76



Team Records, Series Notes, Etc.

• Kentucky is now 20-4 on the season and has won five in a row. UK is 9-2 in the SEC.
• South Carolina is 13-10 overall, 4-7 in the SEC.
• Kentucky leads the series, 54-13, and has won two in a row.
  • UK leads 21-9 in games played in Columbia.
• Next for UK: the Wildcats play host to Florida on Saturday at 4 p.m. ESPN will televise the game.

Team Notes

• Kentucky has won five of the last six road games.
• South Carolina shot 37.8% from the field (31 of 82). UK is 220-24 (.902) under John Calipari when the opponent shoots 40 percent or less, including 11-0 this season.
• Kentucky shot 56.7 percent from the field (34 of 60). UK is 11-1 this season when making at least 50 percent from the field.
• Kentucky had six players score in double figures for the second time this season, also vs. Robert Morris on Nov. 12.
• Kentucky led by as many as 14 points. UK is 305-13 (95.9%) under Calipari when leading by at least 10 points at any time in the contest.
• Tonight’s game was a credit to Kentucky’s perseverance.
  • UK was outrebounded 41-40 and gave up 22 offensive rebounds to USC. It is the third game in a row that UK has been outrebounded, but the Wildcats have won all three.
  • Kentucky also managed to win despite losing the turnover battle, 16-11, and points off turnovers, 23-13.

Player Notes

• After a relatively quiet first half (six points, two rebounds), Oscar Tshiebwe had a huge second half and totaled 18 points and 14 rebounds.
  • It is his sixth-straight double-double, first Wildcat to do that since Julius Randle in 2014.
  • It is his 18th double-double of the season, ranking second in the nation in that category.
  • The nation’s leading rebounder has grabbed double-figure boards in all but two games this season.
  • He has 11 straight games with double-figure rebounds, first Wildcat to do so since Dan Issel had 12 in a row in the 1969-70 season.
  • He added two assists, three blocked shots and two steals tonight. He has had at least two steals in eight straight games.
• Coach Calipari said that Keion Brooks has become “Steady Eddie” recently.
  • He had 15 points tonight on 6 of 9 shooting and added nine rebounds.
  • He is averaging 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game during UK’s current five-game win streak.
• TyTy Washington had 14 points, three rebounds and three assists.
  • He has averaged 14.4 points in the 19 wins in which he has played this season, vs. 6.0 points per game in UK’s four losses.
• Again leading UK in minutes played with 38, Kellan Grady had 12 points.
  • Over the last 15 games he is averaging 13.7 points per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the field (70 of 144), including 46.4 percent (51 of 110) from 3-point range.
  • Has made a 3-pointer in 17 straight games, most since Jamal Murray made a three in all 36 games of the 2015-16 season.
  • Grady has made at least two 3-pointers in six straight games.
  • He has led the team in minutes played for the last seven games.
• Davion Mintz made three 3-pointers, leading to 10 points. Over the last three games, he has made 8 of 15 from long range.
• Jacob Toppin sparked the Cats with 10 points in the first half, but did not return after suffering an ankle injury.
• Sahvir Wheeler, the SEC leader in assists, had 11 tonight to go along with four points.
  • It is his fourth double-figure assist game of the season, first since Nov. 26 vs. North Florida.

Coach John Calipari

• Tonight’s win marked John Calipari’s 27th on-court 20-win season, his 12th at Kentucky.
• Calipari is now 359-97 at UK.
  • UK is 293-56 against unranked competition under Calipari.
• Calipari has an 804-237 all-time on-court record.
• Calipari has tallied a 376-118 all-time record within conference play as a head coach and owns a 168-52 record since joining the SEC.
• Calipari is 16-4 against South Carolina.

In the First Half

• The starting lineup was Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington Jr., Kellan Grady, Keion Brooks Jr. and Oscar Tshiebwe for the 20th time this season. That lineup now has a 16-4 record.
• Lance Ware and Jacob Toppin were the first Kentucky substitutions at the 13:19 mark, second time this season that Ware has been first off the bench and it is the 13th time for Toppin.
• A Washington layup gave UK a 5-4 lead and the Wildcats eventually built an 18-8 advantage.
• Six straight points from Toppin gave UK its largest lead at 39-28 but South Carolina closed the half with a 6-0 run and the halftime count was 39-34.
• Toppin led Kentucky in the first half with 10 points but left the floor with an apparent injury with 1:42 remaining and did not return.
• UK is 19-2 this season when leading at intermission.

In the Second Half

• Kentucky began the second half with the starting lineup.
• South Carolina steadily ate into the UK advantage and tied the game at 43 with 16 minutes left – all totaled a 15-4 run spanning both halves.
• Kentucky steadied with a 5-0 run, forcing a Gamecock timeout with 14:45 on the clock. Out of the timeout, a Grady steal and stuff made the spurt 7-0 and put UK back ahead 50-43.
• UK eventually stretched the lead to its largest of the game, 70-56, with 7:52 remaining.
• The pesky Gamecocks kept battling and pulled within 74-67 but got no closer.
• Tshiebwe was dominant in the second half with a dozen points and rebounds.

 

[BBN Catz 89]

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