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Kentucky Basketball

Boxscore and Game Notes: Kentucky vs. Eastern Michigan

The teams battled evenly early. Tied at 12, Andrew Harrison put Kentucky ahead for good with a pair of foul shots.

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  • is 6-1 and is 5-1.
  • Kentucky leads the series 2-0.
  • Kentucky is 47-6 all-time against teams currently comprising the Mid-American Conference.
  • Kentucky notched its 500th win in Rupp Arena. Kentucky has a 500-62 record (.890) in its 38 seasons in the facility.
  • After wrapping up the Keightley Classic with four straight home games, Kentucky heads to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., to take on Providence on Sun. Dec. 1. Game time is 8:30 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports 1.

First-Half Facts

  • Kentucky started five freshmen for the fourth consecutive game — Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, James Young,  and .
  • The teams battled evenly early. Tied at 12,  put ahead for good with a pair of foul shots and the Wildcats gradually built their largest lead of the half at 29-19.
  • EMU rallied late in the half, pulling within 33-32, before 's dunk sent the Wildcats to the locker room ahead 35-32.

Second-Half Story

  • The Wildcats had a strong defensive start to the second half, holding EMU to 3-of-15 shooting with four turnovers in the first seven minutes, as UK extended the lead back to double digits at 51-38.
  • UK gradually pulled away, leading by as many as 21 at 79-58.

Team Notes

  • UK made 28 of 40 at the foul line tonight. The Wildcats have made at least 20 at the stripe in every game this season.
    • After some struggles early in the season, UK has made at least 71.6 percent of its free throws over the last four games, including 70 percent today.
    • UK drew 31 EMU fouls today. Opponents have committed at least 25 fouls in each game.
  • Outrebounding opponents by an average of 16.3 per game, UK won the battle of the boards by 18 today, 51-33. That led to a 23-4 advantage in second-chance points.
  • Kentucky is 78-3 under Coach  when limiting the opponent to 63 or fewer points.

Individual Notes

  • Julius Randle has a double-double in all seven games this season, totaling 14 points and 10 rebounds vs. EMU, all of which came in the second half except for one lone rebound in the opening period.
    • Only one Wildcat has begun a season with seven consecutive double-doubles — Jim Andrews, who began 1971-72 with seven straight.
    • The last Wildcat to have seven straight double-doubles in any games was DeMarcus Cousins in Jan.-Feb. 2010.
  •  poured in 22 points, his second 20-point game of the season, and had a season-high seven rebounds.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein had a season-high 15 points, eight rebounds and tied his career best for blocked shots with seven rejections.
  •  had a season-high 10 points and added seven rebounds in just 10 minutes of play.

On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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