Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 77-68 in a high-stakes game at Rupp Arena. Both teams had a similar field goal percentage of 49%, but Kansas made more shots, 31 of 63 compared to Kentucky’s 25 of 51. Kansas also had a better 3-point shooting percentage, making 6 of 16 compared to Kentucky’s 2 of 13. Kansas dominated the boards, with a total of 34 rebounds, 8 of which were offensive, compared to Kentucky’s 29 rebounds, 4 of which were offensive.
Jalen Wilson led Kansas in scoring with 22 points on 9-18 shooting, including 2-3 from beyond the arc. Kevin McCullar contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds, and KJ Adams added 17 points and 3 assists.
For Kentucky, the leading scorer was Oscar Tshiebwe with 18 points, 6 of 9 from the field, 0 of 0 from the 3-point line and 6 of 8 from the free-throw line, along with 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
Cason Wallace had 14 points and 6 rebounds, while Jacob Toppin also scored 14 points. Antonio Reeves scored 10 points, while CJ Fredrick and Christopher Livingston scored 2 and 8 points respectively and Sahvir Wheeler added 2 points.
The bench players contributed 12 points to the team’s score, while 38 points were scored in the paint. Kentucky was able to take some advantage of their opponents’ mistakes, scoring 9 points off of turnovers. They recorded 4 offensive rebounds, but did not score any second chance points. The fastbreak opportunities resulted in 10 points and forced had 10 turnovers by Kansas.
Kentucky’s four game winning streak comes to and end and they fall to 14-7 on the season. Next up is Ole Miss on the road on Tuesday.
The attendance for the game was 20,418.
