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Game Notes: Kentucky 73, Michigan 69

Below are game notes from No. 19 Kentucky's 73-69 victory over the Michigan Wolverines on Sunday in London: 

Team Records and Series Notes

  • Kentucky is now 6-2 on the season, Michigan is 5-3.
  • Kentucky leads the overall series, 6-2, and has won two in a row.
    • UK leads 3-1 in games played at neutral sites.
  • Kentucky is now 6-1 in regular-season games played on foreign soil, 1-0 in England.
  • Next for UK: Kentucky plays host to Yale on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

Team Notes

  • Kentucky limited Michigan to 39.1% from the field as the Wolverines made 25 of 64. UK is 227-24 (90.4%) under Calipari when keeping the opponent to 40 percent or less shooting, including 6-0 this season.
  • Five Wildcats scored in double figures for the second time this season, also vs. South Carolina State.
  • UK held a 46-33 advantage on the boards, moving to 6-0 on the year when outrebounding its opponent.

Player Notes

  • Jacob Toppin tied for a team high in scoring with 14 points, pouring in 10 in the second half.
    • Toppin also grabbed five boards.
  • Cason Wallace matched Toppin with 14 points to go along with eight boards and five assists.
    • The eight rebounds matched his career best, recorded earlier this year against Howard.
    • Wallace also tied his career best in makes from distance, going a perfect 4-for-4 from deep.
  • Antonio Reeves went 3-for-4 from 3-point range on his way to an 11-point, four-rebound outing.
    • He has landed in double-figure scoring in seven of eight games this season.
    • He has made at least one 3-pointer in each game this season.
  • Oscar Tshiebwe notched his SEC-leading fourth double-double of the season and 44th of his career, going for 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
    • Tshiebwe, at 14.2 points and 13.5 rebounds per game, is the only player nationally this season to average at least 14 points and 13 rebounds per contest.
  • Sahvir Wheeler went for 11 points and game-best seven assists.
    • Scored his 1,000th collegiate point at the 11:18 mark of the first half and now has 1,008, including 644 at Georgia and 364 at Kentucky.
    • Wheeler also drew a game-high eight fouls.

Coach John Calipari

  • Calipari is 2-0 vs. Michigan. The other game was a 75-72 win in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
  • Calipari is 82-30 in neutral-site games at UK, including 4-0 in foreign countries.
  • Calipari has an 816-243 all-time on-court record and a 371-103 mark in his 14th season at UK.
  • UK is 304-58 (84.0%) against unranked competition under Calipari.

In the First Half

  • Kentucky started the combination of Sahvir Wheeler, Cason Wallace, Antonio Reeves, Jacob Toppin and Oscar Tshiebwe for the third straight game.
  • CJ Fredrick, Daimion Collins and Chris Livingston were UK’s first subs at the 13:19 mark.
  • The teams played evenly in the opening period, with Michigan’s 17-11 lead the largest of the half by either team.
  • Wheeler’s 3-pointer at the expiration of the shot clock with 11:18 remaining gave him 1,000 points for his collegiate career.
  • Trailing 34-29, UK closed the half with an 8-2 run and went to intermission ahead 37-36. Tshiebwe led Kentucky with 11 points and seven rebounds. Reeves hit three 3-pointers.

In the Second Half

  • UK started the second stanza with Wheeler, Wallace, Reeves, Collins and Tshiebwe.
  • Wallace got hot with eight quick points, including a pair of 3-pointers, as the Wildcats spanned the halves with a 16-3 run (8-1 to open second half), building their largest lead at 45-37.
  • UK led 49-42 when Michigan had an eight-point run and regained the lead at 50-49.
  • Ugonna Onyenso put UK back in the lead with a layup at 12:13, making it 51-50 and the Wildcats never trailed again.
  • Ahead 60-58, a six-point outburst by Wheeler gave UK its largest lead at 66-58.
  • Michigan closed within two points at 68-66 but a huge 3-pointer by Wallace with 1:11 on the clock put the Cats ahead 71-66 and UK led by at least two possessions the rest of the way.

For more on the win over the Wolverines, click here.

More on Cason Wallace and Sahvir Wheeler's performances here.

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.

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