CLEMSON, S.C. — No. 4 Kentucky men’s basketball suffered a 70-66 loss on the road inside Littlejohn Coliseum against the Clemson Tigers during the second annual ACC/SEC Challenge late Tuesday night.
The loss was the first of the season for the Wildcats and the first of Head Coach Mark Pope’s tenure in Lexington.
The Wildcats entered the match kicking off the month of December and a two-road-match stint after finishing the first month of play undefeated.
Looking to take the court in Pope’s first true road game with the Wildcats, Kentucky marched out a familiar starting lineup of Otega Oweh, Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams.
The game remained close for much of the first half of play, with Kentucky rarely trailing for the first quarter. Traveling UK fans were also treated to quick arrivals from Koby Brea, Brandon Garrison, Ansley Almonor and Kerr Kriisa.
Unfortunately for those fans, Kentucky would go cold after the first quarter of play, allowing the Tigers to take the advantage in the contest.
Things quickly changed as, in the blink of an eye, the Wildcats rattled off a 9-0 scoring run and forced a Clemson timeout with a five-point advantage as audible, “Go Big Blue,” chants broke out inside Littlejohn Arena.
Despite that, the run ended just as quickly as it started as the Cats returned to their frozen state, allowing Clemson to finish the half on a 14-2 scoring run to lead by seven at the break.
Returning for the second half of play, Kentucky responded as it needed to, pulling back within one — with possession — by the first timeout despite Butler, an integral part of the system, being rattled on an alley-oop play.
Kentucky would even briefly take the lead before it would fluctuate between tied or the Tigers having an advantage after the Cats would go nearly three minutes without a field goal.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Clemson refused to back down and continued forcing turnovers and outrebounded UK, beginning to create separation once again with just under eight remaining in the contest.
Despite that, Kentucky managed to pull back within three points with five minutes remaining as it was the Tigers who went cold from the floor.
Despite the best efforts of the Cats, however, Clemson was able to steadily lead and without the size down low and an inability to hit clutch threes, Kentucky had no way to regain the advantage in South Carolina, ultimately falling short.
Kentucky will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 7, as it ventures across the country to face No. 7 Gonzaga inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. Tipoff against the Bulldogs is slated for 10 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN2.
