In the Lane

Kentucky dominates on glass

Arkansas lost 87-72 to Kentucky Tuesday Feb. 20, 2018 at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Razorbacks had trouble keeping Kentucky off the glass during the Wildcats' 87-72 victory Tuesday night.

Kentucky finished with a 46-29 edge in rebounds, including 23-12 in the second half.

ADVERTISEMENT

More headlines

"It seemed like they were so quick to the ball going down the stretch," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "In the second half, they imposed their will on the glass."

The Wildcats had 18 offensive rebounds, including six from Jarred Vanderbilt, and cashed in with 16 second-chance points.

"They had 18 offensive rebounds and you could truly say that cost us the game," Arkansas guard Daryl Macon said.

"Mainly, we just wanted to crash the boards and dominate," Vanderbilt said. "I figured we had an advantage, considering how long and strong we are in the post."

Kentucky averaged 1.225 points per possession and scored on 56.3 percent of its possessions. By comparison, Arkansas averaged 1.029 points per possession and scored on 45.7 percent of its possessions.

The Wildcats' offensive board work was epitomized by a play midway through the second half. With Kentucky ahead 72-65 coming out of a timeout, guard Quade Green missed a three-point shot, but Kevin Knox slapped the rebound out deep and Green seized it.

Moments later, Knox slipped out to the left corner, took a pass from Green and drilled an uncontested three-point shot for Kentucky's first double-digit lead at 75-65.

Hyped

Kentucky Coach John Calipari pointed out the pride he had in his team for bouncing back from an 11-0 deficit with Walton Arena in full roar.

"I'm proud," he said. "To be able to come in here ... this is a hard place to play. Thank God it rained like it did, which probably kept some people away."

Arkansas guard Daryl Macon was asked whether the Hogs were overhyped.

"I'm not going to say we were hyped," Macon said. "We were taking Kentucky as just another game on our schedule. You guys watch, that's how we play every home game. We play with emotion every game, not just because it's Kentucky. We'd play with emotion if it was UALR."

Free style

Kentucky sizzled from the free-throw line with a 17-of-20 performance, including 4 of 4 by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The 85 percent free-throw shooting included 11 consecutive made free throws through the middle portion of the game.

Arkansas went 13 of 18 from the stripe for 72.2 percent. Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford took nine free throws, all in the first half, one shy of his career high. The freshman made his first four free throws but finished 5 of 9.

3-point match

Something had to give when the SEC's No. 1 three-point shooting team faced the league's top three-point defensive club.

The Razorbacks finished 9 of 24 (37.5 percent) from beyond the arc, only slightly lower than their SEC-best 40 percent.

Arkansas ranked No. 21 in the country, while Kentucky was No. 3 in three-point defense at 28.9 percent.

Off the bench

The Wildcats outscored Arkansas 38-6 in points off the bench, one of the most lopsided totals against the Razorbacks all season.

Three Kentucky reserves finished in doubles figures: PJ Washington with 13 points, Quade Green with 12 and Jarred Vanderbilt with 11. Trey Thompson scored four for the Razorbacks' reserves, and Gabe Osabuohien added two.

Early T.O.

Kentucky Coach John Calipari called a timeout 70 seconds into the game after a rough start by his club.

The Wildcats committed offensive rebound fouls on their first two possessions after missed shots by Wenyen Gabriel. At the other end, Jaylen Barford made a three-point shot at the 19:27 mark, then Daryl Macon swished a three-pointer from the left side of the circle at the 18:52 mark, prompting the Calipari timeout.

The Razorbacks took an 11-0 lead on another Macon three-pointer and a Dustin Thomas jumper at the 17:01 mark before the Wildcats scored on a PJ Washington's layup at 16:12 after Kentucky's 0 for 6 start.

Ankle breaker

Arkansas guard Daryl Macon made a three-point shot with two seconds left in the first half that put the hurt on the Wildcats.

Macon's fancy dribbling at the top of the circle put 6-10 forward Sacha Killeya-Jones on skates before he fell to the court.

Slumping C.J.

Arkansas guard C.J. Jones missed all of his four shots, including 0 for 3 from three-point range. The sophomore's shooting slump has now extended to 1 of 16 from three-point range in the past seven games.

Tip-ins

• Tuesday was the 19th anniversary of the Hogs' 74-70 victory over No. 6 Kentucky at Walton Arena.

• The Razorbacks were tied at the half for the first time this season.

• Daryl Macon was the last Razorback to leave the court after the pre-game layup line. The senior took a few three-point shots around the perimeter and left after making one from the top of the circle.

Sports on 02/21/2018