LEXINGTON, KY – After suffering a loss to LSU on January 4, No. 6 Kentucky was on upset alert again as they took on the Tigers at Rupp Arena on Wednesday.
After trailing in the first half, the Wildcats answered back with a phenomenal second half to avoid an upset, defeating LSU 71-66, improving their record to 23-5 (12-3) on the year.
The first half of this matchup was controlled by LSU. However, it was storied by Kentucky’s inability to shoot the ball well in the opening half.
The Wildcats lead the SEC and rank No.9 in the nation in scoring at 80.9 points per game entering play, but Kentucky shot only 33% from the field and missed all five of their three-point attempts in the first half.
The Wildcats turned things around in the second half as they avoided the upset scare, pulling off the comeback and holding off the Tigers down the stretch.
Kentucky improved their field goal percentage to 46.9% and made their way to the three-throw line a good amount, hitting 22 of their 30 shots from the charity stripe.
Kentucky’s Contributors, Pinson’s Scoring Show
The Wildcats had four players reach double-digit scoring in this game. Led by Oscar Tshiebwe’s 17 points, Kentucky had 13 points scored from each Kellan Grady, Davion Mintz and Bryce Hopkins.
Xavier Pinson was a large reason why LSU almost pulled off a second victory over Kentucky this season.
The senior guard scored 26 points and had 8 assist to add to his offensive production.
The scoring output for Pinson was a season-high for him.
However, Pinson scored 16 of his 26 points in the first half, a big factor in why they went into the half leading. In the second half, Kentucky found ways to lock him down and stifle the Tiger’s offense as a whole.
Injured Kentucky
The Wildcats remain without their leading assist man Sahvir Wheeler with 7.1 on the season.
Wheeler appeared to be dealing with a wrist injury in the latter part of the game played against Tennessee on February 15.
Kentucky was also missing TyTy Washington who is the second-leading scorer on the team with 12.4 points per game. Washington has been dealing with a left leg injury suffered in a game against Florida on February 12.
SEC Standings
With just two weeks to play in the regular season, the Wildcats rank as the No.2 team in the SEC trailing Auburn (13-2) by one game for the top seed.
The Tigers fall to 7-8 in conference play and tied for No.7 in the SEC.
Up Next
Kentucky will travel to Arkansas for a matchup with the No. 18 Razorbacks on Saturday, February 26.
LSU heads home to face the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, February 26.
