Kentucky had a tough finish to Saturday night’s loss.
The Kentucky Wildcats suffered yet another troubling loss this weekend, falling 82-78 at Texas.
The Wildcats simply couldn’t stop the likes of Tre Johnson and Tramon Mark. The Longhorns duo scored 58 of their team’s 82 points and took over the game late in the second half to close the deal.
Not only is the loss disappointing because Kentucky led for over 22 minutes of the game, but Saturday’s defeat was also the fourth time Kentucky has been upset by an unranked opponent.
While Jaxson Robinson and Lamont Butler were both sidelined for Saturday’s game, almost the same lineup(s) closed out Tuesday’s win over No. 5 Tennessee at Rupp Arena.
It also wasn’t like Texas made everything they looked at or had an officiating advantage.
The Longhorns simply played much better than the Wildcats down the stretch and took a lot better care of the basketball in key moments.
With the regular season winding down, Saturday was the perfect opportunity to build some momentum before the final stretch.
Instead, Kentucky goes into their game with Vanderbilt on Wednesday needing a bounce-back win.
Here’s what head coach Mark Pope and his Wildcats had to say following the loss.
And here are the postgame notes via UK Athletics.
Team Records and Series Notes
- Kentucky is now 17-8 overall, 6-6 in the Southeastern Conference. Texas is 16-10 overall, 5-8 in the league.
- Kentucky leads the series, 2-1. This was the teams’ first meeting in Austin.
- Mark Pope is 204-116 as head coach, including 17-8 at Kentucky.
- Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats play host to Vanderbilt on Wednesday. Game time is 7 p.m. and it will be televised on the SEC Network.
Team Notes
- Kentucky limited Texas to 21.7 percent on 3-point shooting, making 5 of 23. UK is 11-1 this season when the opponent makes less than 25 percent.
- Amari Williams made his first 3-pointer of the season, UK’s 12th player who has made at least one this season. That’s the most Wildcats who have made a 3-pointer since the 2008-09 team.
- With Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson and Kerr Kriisa out tonight, UK has played only seven games this season at full strength.
Player Notes
- Otega Oweh led the Wildcats with 20 points.
- He has scored in double figures in every game this season, the only SEC player to do so and one of 11 (entering tonight) in Division I.
- He has UK’s longest double-figure streak since Malik Monk did so in 30 consecutive games in 2016-17.
- Amari Williams collected 18 points, 12 rebounds and three assists.
- It is his eight double-double of the season, his sixth in the last 10 games.
- It is the eighth time in the last 10 seasons that a Wildcat has totaled at least 18 points, 12 rebounds and three assists in a game.
- Williams made his first 3-pointer of the season.
- Ansley Almonor had 11 points, his 10th game of the season in double figures.
- Trent Noah had seven points and a career-high six rebounds.
Making his first collegiate start, Travis Perry had six points and a career-high three assists.
- Koby Brea had four points, but did not hit a 3-pointer, ending his streak of 39 straight games with at least one triple.
- He tied his career high for steals with three.
In the First Half
- Kentucky’s starters were Travis Perry, Koby Brea, Otega Oweh, Ansley Almonor and Amari Williams, the first time this lineup has been used.
- Andrew Carr and Trent Noah were UK’s first substitutions at 16:33.
- Kentucky jumped out to a 9-2 lead, prompting a Texas timeout at 16:33.
- Texas rallied and took its first lead at 20-17.
- Tied at 37, UK got the last four points of the half and took a 41-37 lead into the locker room.
- Williams led the Kentucky effort with nine points and five rebounds.
- UK is now 14-1 this season when leading at halftime.
In the Second Half
- Kentucky began the second half with the starters.
- Ahead 48-41 after an Almonor 3-pointer at the 16:58 mark, Kentucky went cold, going more than six minutes without a basket, and Texas regained the lead.
- Trailing 60-59, a 6-0 Wildcat spurt put UK up 65-60 and Texas called timeout at 5:35.
- Kentucky led 69-64 with 3:51 left when Texas took control with a 14-1 run.