In a clash of college basketball heavyweights, No. 1 Kentucky proved to be Muhammad Ali.
The Wildcats erupted out of halftime on a 18-2 run and held off No. 6 Texas’ late comeback attempt en route to a 63-51 victory on Friday in Lexington, Kentucky.
The Longhorns clearly missed injured sophomore point guard Isaiah Taylor against Kentucky’s high-pressure defense. Junior point guard Javan Felix struggled to bring the ball up the court against the Wildcat’s full-court press and turned the ball over five times. His backup, sophomore guard Kendall Yancy, also committed four turnovers.
The Texas big men, on the other hand, struggled with foul issues all night long against the enormous Kentucky frontcourt. Junior center Cam Ridley and freshman forward Myles Turner each fouled out, while senior forward Johnathan Holmes and junior center Prince Ibeh each committed four fouls.
Texas led 20-14 through 15 minutes in the game and entered halftime tied 26-26, but it failed to replicate that success in the second half. The Longhorns didn’t score in the first five minutes after the break and found themselves down 44-28 after the Wildcats’ 18-2 run.
The Longhorns failed to contain Kentucky junior forward Willie Cauley-Stein, who led the game with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Holmes led Texas with 14 points while hauling in six boards.
The loss drops Texas to 7-1 on the season. The Longhorns are now 0-8 all-time against No. 1 ranked teams.