Notes from the Drexel game

Some of the notes from the UK-Drexel game are obvious. For instance, did you hear UK won their 2,000th game? Here are a couple other notes that may have flown under the radar.

The streak is over
After going 18-for-18 at the foul line on Saturday against Austin Peay, the Cats continued their foul shooting streak into the game against Drexel.

UK made their first 13 free throws of the game before senior guard Ramon Harris missed a free throw with 14:33 to go in the second half.

Freshman forward DeMarcus Cousins, who entered the game shooting 57.6 percent from the foul stripe, went 8-8 from the foul line against Drexel. Cousins went 5-5 in the Cats’ game against Austin Peay.

Hot start
UK’s 12-0 start is the best start for UK since the 1983-84 season that also opened with 12 straight wins.

That team went on to the NCAA Final Four and won the Southeastern Conference championship along with the SEC Tournament Championship.

The 1977-78 team started out 14-0. If the Cats beat Long Beach State on Wednesday, that will be the next season to top on the most wins out of the gate.

UK’s all-time record is now 2,000-635-1. That means they’ve won over 75 percent of the games they’ve played.

Player notes
Cousins scored on four of UK’s first five possessions of the game. Though he played only 14 minutes, Cousins scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Patrick Patterson shot 6-7 from the field and 2-2 from behind the arc. Patterson and Cousins tied for the game-high in points with 18. Patterson only snagged one rebound though, his lowest total of the season.

Some of the biggest cheers of the game came from the play of sophomore guard DeAndre Liggins. The Chicago native was 2-2 from behind the arc in 11 minutes of play.

Freshman guard John Wall scored 16 points. He’s scored in doubled figures every game this season. Wall dished out a game-high seven assists and turned the ball over four times. His 26 minutes of play were tied for a season low. He also played 26 minutes against UNC Asheville.

All 13 players for UK reached double figures in minutes played, and 11 of 13 players scored.

The attendance figure of 24,354 is the 11th largest crowd in Rupp Arena history.

The Cats held a 38-14 advantage on points in the paint. They also outscored the Dragons 17-5 on second chance points, and 14-2 on fast break points.