6 Headscratching Stats from Kentucky's loss to Michigan State

It’s only November, but that was a really frustrating basketball game. There’s a lot to be mad about in Kentucky’s 86-77 double-overtime loss to Michigan State. I’m going to start with six stats that jumped out at me.

23 points by Joey Hauser

Hauser was a pest tonight. Coming in, the senior forward was averaging 10.0 points over two games. Tonight, he finished with 23 points on 8-16 shooting, 4-7 from the outside, and 3-4 from the free-throw line. He also had eight rebounds. Against Gonzaga on Friday, Hauser only scored two points, which he blamed on the wind on the aircraft carrier.

Part of Hauser’s success tonight may have been due to Jacob Toppin being in foul trouble. Toppin picked up two fouls early on and had to sit, allowing Hauser to warm up. The same thing happened in the second half.

28.0% three-point shooting

Coming into tonight, Kentucky was shooting 51.2% from the outside in large part thanks to Antonio Reeves and CJ Fredrick, who combined for 16 of the Cats’ 22 threes through two games. Tonight, Fredrick and Reeves were 2-9 from the outside. The rest of the team was 5-14, bringing the team’s percentage to 28.0%. Ouch.

7 missed free throws in the second half and overtimes

Free throws, free throws, free throws. Kentucky missed eight tonight (16-24), four of those in the second half and another three in the overtimes. Cason Wallace had a chance to put Kentucky up three with 0:14 left in regulation but missed one of his free throws. Michigan State’s Malik Hall got the dunk to send the game to OT. Wallace got another chance to extend Kentucky’s lead to three with 0:07 left in overtime, but missed one of two, leading to another Hall dunk to send it to double OT.

3 overtime minutes for Antonio Reeves

Antonio Reeves struggled tonight, going 1-7 from the floor in 22 minutes. Reeves connected on only one of three three-pointers. That said, when Kentucky needed a big shot at the end, the Cats’ leading scorer was nowhere to be seen. Reeves only played three minutes in the two overtimes. CJ Fredrick also didn’t play well but got seven minutes of time in the extra periods.

Clearly, neither knock-down shooter was feeling it in Indy, but you cannot convince me the offense Kentucky ran at the end of the game was a better option.

13-1: Michigan State’s run to end the game

The Spartans owned double overtime, ending the game on a 13-1 run and holding Kentucky without a field goal for the final four minutes.

1-5: Kentucky’s record in the last six Champions Classic games

Tonight’s loss is Kentucky’s third straight in the Champions Classic and fifth in the last six. Kentucky was 4-2 in their first six Champions Classics. This is also just the latest heartbreak in the city of Indianapolis. After Kentucky’s win over Louisville in the 2014 Midwest Regional Semifinal at Lucas Oil Stadium, it’s been mostly downhill. Since then, here’s how the Cats have fared in Indy:

• 2015: 71-64 Loss to Wisconsin in the Final Four (Lucas Oil Stadium)
• 2018: 118-84 Loss to Duke in the Champions Classic
• 2017: 79-70 Win over Northern Kentucky, 65-62 win over Wichita State in NCAA Tournament
• 2020: 65-62 Loss to Kansas in the Champions Classic
• 2022: 85-79 Loss to Saint Peter’s in the NCAA Tournament
• 2022: 86-77 Loss to Michigan State in the Champions Classic

No more games in Indy for a while, okay?

Box Score