POSTGAME NOTES: No. 8 Kentucky Whips Fairleigh Dickinson 83-52 Saturday
Postgame Notes By UK Athletics
Final Score: Kentucky 83, Fairleigh Dickinson 52
Dec. 7, 2019
Rupp Arena/Lexington, Ky.
Team Records and Series Notes
· Kentucky improves to is 7-1 on the season. Fairleigh Dickinson drops to 2-6. UK is on a five-game winning streak.
· It was the first meeting between the two schools.
· This afternoon's game was the first of five December games, UK’s lightest month on the schedule.
· Next up: Kentucky has a full week off before welcoming Georgia Tech next Saturday at 5 p.m. That game will be televised by ESPN.
· 20,080 fans were in attendance.
Team Notes
· Kentucky notched its 600th all-time regular-season win in Rupp Arena. The Wildcats reached 600 wins in Rupp Arena faster than any other school ever has in one venue. UCLA reached 600 wins in 689 games. UK did it in 670. Kentucky is now 600-70 all-time in Rupp Arena.
· In the spirit of the giving season, Kentucky continued its unselfish ways with 20 assists. The Wildcats have combined for 79 assists over the last four games, the best four-game stretch of assists since passing out 79 from Nov. 25 to Dec. 7, 2016 (UT Martin, Arizona State, UCLA, Valparaiso).
· The Wildcats scored nine of their 32 field goals (28.1%) by way of dunks. Montgomery led the way with five of his 12 made field goals coming from a slam. It marked a season-high number of flushes for the Cats, besting the seven they had against UAB in their last game.
·The Wildcats are a perfect 76-0 under Calipari when holding the opponent to 55 points or less. UK is 179-7 under Calipari when the opponent scores 63 points or less, including 5-0 this season.
· UK led by as many as 34 points in the game. The Wildcats are 267-6 under Calipari when leading by at least 10 points during the game.
· Kentucky outrebounded FDU by nine (42-33). The Wildcats have outrebounded each of their last five opponents.
· The Wildcats held FDU to just 32.3% shooting. UK improved to 192-17 under Calipari when holding the opponent to 40% or less.
· All but two of Kentucky’s opponents this season have failed to hit 40%.
· Kentucky made 17 of 19 from the free-throw line, good for 89.5%. For the season, the Cats are shooting 79.5%.
· UK has made 75% or better from the charity stripe in six of eight games.
Player Notes
· EJ Montgomery set a career-high scoring mark for the second straight game with 25 points.
o He scored 16 points last time out against UAB. He narrowly missed on registering his second-career double-double with nine rebounds. The sophomore was 12 of 16 from the floor. He is the first Wildcat with at least that many makes since Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 vs. Vanderbilt on Jan. 30, 2018. He had 14 points and seven rebounds at halftime.
· Nick Richards reached double figures for a fifth straight game and a team-high-tying sixth time in eight games this season with 12 points. He added a team-high 10 rebounds for a double-double. He’s registered a team-high four double-doubles this season. He’s now UK’s leading scorer and rebounder on the season with an average of 14.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
· Ashton Hagans posted his second career double-double with 11 points and 11 assists. His streak of five games with six or more assists is a career long.
· It’s the longest streak of five or more assists in consecutive games since De’Aaron Fox dished out five or more in seven games from Nov. 15, 2016, to Dec. 7, 2016. He’s averaging nine assists over the last five games.
· Keion Brooks Jr. scored a career-high 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting in an efficient 14 minutes of action. He added five rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot.
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