No. 1 Kentucky routs West Virginia to reach Elite 8
CLEVELAND – Breaking down Kentucky's 78-39 victory against West Virginia in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday night.
WHAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT: Can anyone stop these darned Wildcats? Kentucky came out with a fury, steamrolled West Virginia's vaunted press, dialed in on defense and made this one a laugher, almost as funny as Mountaineer freshman Daxter Miles Jr.'s prediction that the Cats would lose. Aaron Harrison had 12 points in the first nine-and-a-half minutes of the game. He drilled his first four shots, including a pair of three-pointers. He was forced out of the game in the second half with what appeared to be a dislocated finger. He returned with the finger taped up.
"He seems to be fine," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "I kept looking, wondering is that his right or left hand. He said left I said. I said we're good. Just wanted him to take a shot or two when I put him back in."
Trey Lyles contributed 14 points and seven rebounds. Devin Booker added 12 points and four boards.
"It was what I was afraid could happen," WVU coach Bob Huggins said. "They (UK) shot the ball poorly last game. They're too good of a team to do that in back-to-back games. They were aggressive, took it to the basket. We couldn't score."
BOX SCORE:Kentucky 78, West Virginia 39
THE BIG PICTURE: Top-seeded Kentucky (37-0) advances to the regional final Saturday against third-seeded Notre Dame. The Mountaineers finish their season at 30-5. The Wildcats are chasing history, trying to become the first unbeaten team in Division I college basketball since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers. They are also bidding to make their 17th Final Four appearance. Kentucky has won eight national championships, the last in 2012. WVU was denied its fourth Elite Eight showing.
"They won because they were focused on how they had to do it against this team," Calipari said of his players.
THE DECIDING PLAY: The tipoff, which Kentucky won? Actually it was a 16-0 Wildcats run that netted an 18-2 lead at 12:20 of the first half. The Mountaineers looked devastated when Marcus Lee punctuated the streak with a stanchion-shaking dunk.
TOP PLAY: Andrew Harrison's reverse layup, completing a three-point play at the 6:20 mark of the second half.
BREAKOUT PLAYER: Dakari Johnson scored 12 points and was strong from both the field (4-for-5) and the free-throw line (4-for-4) in 24 minutes of play.
KEY STATS: Kentucky shot 60.9% (14-for-23) in the first 20 minutes in building a 44-18 lead. They held West Virginia to 19.2% (5-for-26) in the same span. West Virginia scored one point through the first eight-and-a-half minutes of the second half.
"They came out with a lot of energy," WVU guard Juwan Staten said. "That's probably the best I've seen them shoot the ball all year. And they played great defense."
AND-1: Miles didn't back up his mouth. He was scoreless in 19 minutes. Juwan Staten was a bright spot in an otherwise horrific night for the Mountaineers, finishing with 14 points.
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