Kentucky picks up biggest victory of season in 74-71 win over LSU

Let the good vibes roll.

On Tuesday night in Rupp Arena, Kentucky men’s basketball (10-4; 1-1) picked up its biggest win of the season so far, beating the LSU Tigers (12-2; 1-1) down the stretch by a final score of 74-71. Oscar Tshiebwe was the player of the game for the Wildcats, finishing with 19 points and 16 rebounds on 7-9 shooting from the floor.

The reigning national player of the year was helped out by 21 points (on 9-13 shooting) from senior forward Jacob Toppin, who chipped in three rebounds and three assists, as well. Point guard Sahvir Wheeler stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, six rebounds, and nine assists.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari stuck with a seven-man rotation for most of the night, tightening that down to just his starting five in the second half. Five Wildcats played at least 29 minutes. This was the first SEC victory for the ‘Cats.

Kentucky came out of the gate playing its most energetic basketball of the season. Both sides were trading buckets early as the Wildcats held a 9-8 lead at the first media timeout — and that trend continued throughout most of the first half. LSU held a 20-19 lead midway through the half before Kentucky began to establish a lead.

But the Tigers always found a way to respond when UK was on the verge of blowing the game wide open. Kentucky’s lead grew to as many as eight points on multiple occasions in the first half before settling on a 42-38 advantage at the break despite the ‘Cats dominating most of the opening 20 minutes.

The second half was more of the same: LSU finding ways to keep the game close. A KJ Williams three-pointer immediately cut the Wildcats’ lead to one, however, Kentucky responded with a timely 7-0 run. UK even extended its lead to 10 a handful of times before the Tigers crept right back in with an 8-0 run of its own, prompting a timeout from Calipari.

From there, it became a battle down the stretch. LSU converted on a tough layup to make it 67-66 in favor of Kentucky with under two minutes left in regulation. The ‘Cats then began to slow the pace down to near-halt, which stalled multiple offensive possessions, but a late-clock corner three-pointer from Toppin saved the day and the win.

LSU came right back with another score, but freshman Cason Wallace (who played all 40 minutes) delivered in the clutch, driving in for a layup that gave Kentucky a 72-68 lead with just 30 seconds to go. The Tigers would miss on the ensuing possession as the game slowed to a crawl from there with constant whistles. Toppin hit a pair of free throws with 3.4 seconds left that put UK ahead for good, giving us our final score of 74-71.