Kentucky loses first SEC road game at LSU 65-60

Sahvir Wheeler injury and second-half scoring drought prove too much to overcome for UK

January 4, 2022

Tom Kenny,

BATON ROUGE, La. (WTVQ/UK ATHLETICS) – Tari Eason capped his 13-point performance with a dunk following a Kentucky turnover with 13 seconds left, and No. 21 LSU held off the 16th-ranked Wildcats 65-50 on Tuesday night.

Xavier Pinson added 11 points for LSU (13-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference), capped by a flamboyant dunk in the final seconds after Kentucky’s 15th and final turnover, setting off a wild celebration inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Brandon Murray added 10 points for the Tigers in a tight contest that saw neither team lead by more than nine points.

Darius Day’s third 3 of the game and Eason’s inside basket put LSU ahead 61-52 with 2:35 to go, but Kentucky (11-3, 1-1) nearly rallied all the way back.

Davion Mintz’s 3 and driving layup through cluster of converging players in the paint capped an 8-0 run that made it 61-60 with 27 seconds to go.

LSU then turned the ball over on a long inbound attempt, but Mintz gave it right back. Pinson’s third steal led to Eason’s slam to begin the Tigers’ finishing flourish.

Mintz, who played 28 minutes after an injury to starting point guard and assist leader Sahvir Wheeler, led the Wildcats with 16 points. Jacob Toppin added 14 points Kellan Grady scored 13, while center Oscar Tshiebwe had 13 rebounds.

Kentucky had to play all but the first four minutes of the game without Wheeler. The 5-foot-9 Georgia transfer, who came in averaging 10.3 points and 7.8 assists per game, was flattened near midcourt when he ran head-first into a what was ruled a legal screen the 7-foot Efton Reid had set as Pinson dribbled by in transition.

With Wheeler lying dazed on the court, Pinson pulled up unguarded for a 3 and hit it, getting LSU an early 8-3 lead.

LSU led for most of the first half, but never by more than seven.

The game was tied at 28 when Murray hit a 3 that ignited a 7-0 spurt capped by Pinson’s breakaway dunk.

As the half ended, Toppin grabbed an uncontested rebound on Mintz’s missed 3 and hit a short jumper at the horn to make it 35-30 – a sequence that sent LSU coach Will wade stomping off the court in a tirade.

Kentucky then opened the second half with three straight 3s – two by Mintz – to take a 39-35 lead and led 50-41 after Grady’s 3. But Eric Gaines answered with a 3 as LSU began to close the gap.

BIG PICTURE

Kentucky: Wheeler’s injury and early foul trouble for Tshiebwe proved difficult for Kentucky to overcome on the road against an LSU squad that was eager to bounce back from an ugly loss at Auburn a week ago. Tshibwe’s eight points were well below his team-leading average of 15.8 points per game coming in.

LSU: The performance helped validate the Tigers’ ranking and 12-0 record in nonconference play before the loss to Auburn. LSU matched Kentucky’s physicality and athleticism on the defensive end with Reid blocking a game-high three shots. The Tigers also made clutch shots down the stretch.

To view the game’s box score, click here

DALE BROWN COURT

At halftime, LSU held a ceremony to name the court inside the Maravich Assembly Center for former coach Dale Brown.

”My name would not be any bathroom in this building, but it’s on the court. Look here. This is why,” Brown said, gesturing toward former players and associates gathered on the court around him for the occasion. ”The best potential of me is we. This is an example.”

The 86-year-old Brown coached at LSU from 1972-97, leading the Tigers to Final Four appearances in 1981 and ’86.

Some of his former players on hand included Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who went by the name Chris Jackson when he played for the Tigers, and Johnny Jones. Shaquille O’Neal, who said he could not make the event because he was taking care of children with COVID-19, sent a recorded message congratulating Brown that was played on the scoreboard.

”Congratulations,” O’Neal said. ”This is past due.”

UP NEXT

Kentucky: Hosts Georgia on Saturday.

LSU: Hosts No. 18 Tennessee on Saturday.

Here are additional game notes from UK Athletics:

Team Records, Series Notes, Etc.

Kentucky ended a four-game win streak and is now 11-3 this season and 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference. LSU is now 13-1 and 1-1 in the league.
The Wildcats now have a 91-28 all-time record vs. LSU, including 32-19 in games play in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
UK fell to 1-3 in games away from Rupp Arena this season and 0-2 in true road contests.

Next up: Kentucky will host Georgia on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Rupp Arena. SEC Network will carry the game.

Team Notes

Kentucky shot its lowest field-goal percentage of the season, 36.2%. The Wildcats are 0-2 this season when shooting less than 40%.
- LSU entered the game with the nation’s best field-goal percentage.
UK shot 50% from the free-throw line (10 of 20), tying its lowest percentage of the season.
- The Wildcats also shot 50% last game but attempted just eight free throws.
Kentucky and LSU tied the rebounding at 39 apiece. UK is 11-0 this season when winning the rebounding by at least 14 boards but 0-3 otherwise.

Player Notes

Sparked by four 3-pointers in the second half, Kellan Grady finished with 13 points
- It was his eighth game with three or more 3-pointers and the fourth time in the last five games.
- He has made 24 of 43 treys over the last five games.
Davion Mintz reached the 1,000-point mark with a 3-pointer early in the second half. With a team-high 16 points Tuesday, he is up to 1,014 career points over 133 games at Creighton and Kentucky.
Jacob Toppin scored a season-high and team-high 14 points and tied his career high with eight rebounds, which are the most in his two seasons at UK.
- Thirteen of his points were in the first half, when he went a perfect 6 for 6 from the floor.
Oscar Tshiebwe, the nation’s leading rebounder, added 13 more vs. LSU and has grabbed double-figure boards in all but two games.
- He added eight points and two steals.

Coach Calipari

John Calipari is now 350-96 at UK.
Calipari now has a 795-236 all-time on-court record.
UK is now 64-40 under Calipari in games vs. Associated Top 25 competition.
When both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25, Calipari is 86-60, including a 55-32 mark at Kentucky.
Calipari is now 13-4 all-time vs. LSU.
Calipari has tallied a 368-117 all-time record within conference play as a head coach and owns a 160-51 record since joining the SEC.
Calipari-led teams at UK are 112-55 on the road.

In the First Half

Kentucky started Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington Jr., Kellan Grady, Keion Brooks Jr. and Oscar Tshiebwe for the 13th time this season and the sixth game in a row. UK is now 10-3 with that starting lineup.
For the second straight game, Washington opened the contest with a 3-pointer on the first possession, the 11th time in the last 12 games he has hit a 3-pointer.
Jacob Toppin checked in at 16:58 mark as UK’s first sub.
The Tigers opened the game on an 8-3 run.
Wheeler was knocked out of the game after running into a screen at the 16:07 mark and did not return.
After a sluggish start and falling behind 15-9, Kentucky put the clamps down defensively and outscored LSU 9-1 over a four-minute span to take an 18-16 lead with 8:28 left in the half.
After a back-and-forth next couple of minutes, LSU went on a 7-0 run to take a 26-20 advantage with 5:01 left.
Toppin responded with a strong sequence. He grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in to start a 6-0 run, made a jumper and then got out in transition for a dunk to even it up at 26 apiece with 3:14 left in the half.
What turned into a game of runs for the second part of the first half resulted in another 7-0 LSU run to take a 35-28 lead.
Toppin’s personal run reached 10 straight points with an offensive rebound and jumper just before the buzzer.
- The last Wildcat to score before halftime other than Toppin was Lance Ware at the 7:29 mark.
UK trailed 35-30 at halftime. The Wildcats are now 0-2 this season when trailing at the half.
Toppin enjoyed his best half as a Wildcat, surpassing his UK high of 12 points with 13 in the first half. He made all six shots, grabbed four rebounds and did all of that in just eight minutes.
The Wildcats got into early foul trouble. Tshiebwe went to the bench with two fouls at the 11:23 mark and did not return. Ware also picked up two, as did Dontaie Allen.

In the Second Half

Kentucky opened the second half with Washington, Davion Mintz, Grady, Toppin and Ware.
UK came out on fire with nine straight points – all 3-pointers – to storm in front 39-35 in the first three minutes of the second half.
- Mintz had two of the treys, the first of which put him over 1,000 career points.
- Going back to Toppin’s jumper just before the buzzer to end the first half, it was an 11-0 run overall.
- The overall run extended to 19-4 going back to the first half by the time Kentucky had increased its lead to 44-37.
Grady completely flipped around an 0-for-7 first half with four 3s in the first eight minutes of the second half. His fourth triple gave the Wildcats a 50-41 lead with 13:06 left but LSU stormed right back.
The Wildcats went 6:22 without a point to aid a 10-0 LSU run and put the Tigers in front 51-50 with 7:06 to play.
- Tshiebwe ended the drought with a dunk.
LSU tacked on 10 more for a total run of 20-2, flipping UK’s nine-point lead to a nine-point deficit at 61-52, the largest lead of the game for each team.
The Wildcats scored eight straight – the last seven by Mintz (two free throws, a 3-pointer and a layup) – to narrow the gap to 61-60 with 27 seconds left.
On the ensuing possession, Tshiebwe came up with a steal but misfired on the pass and LSU iced the game with a pair of dunks in the closing seconds.