When Lonzo Ball & UCLA Took Down No. 1 Kentucky At Rupp Arena! | December 3, 2016

The Wildcats had been one of the hardest teams to beat at home, but they didn't have an answer for UCLA. The 11th-ranked Bruins made timely baskets and rebounds, a consistent combination that grabbed momentum and eventually the game from the Wildcats. Isaac Hamilton scored 19 points, and UCLA beat Kentucky 97-92. The Bruins' victory marked their second upset of the top-ranked Wildcats in as many years. TJ Leaf added 17 points and 13 rebounds as the Bruins shot 53 percent from the field. More impressively, the Bruins won in their first-ever visit to storied Rupp Arena, where the Wildcats had won 42 straight coming in and 89 percent overall. "I don't think there was anything about them today that was a feeling-out process," said UCLA coach Steve Alford, whose team regained the lead for good late in the first half. "We talk about, 'Don't go in and jab around the ring to see if you belong. You're 8-0. You're playing well. Trust that you belong.' That was the key thing that guys did from the tip." The Bruins (9-0), who entered as the nation's third-ranked scoring team, matched their season scoring average to win this showdown of college basketball's winningest schools. Kentucky (7-1) cut a 14-point, second-half deficit to 95-92 on Derek Willis' 3-pointer with 8.3 seconds remaining, but Bryce Alford's two free throws with 7.4 left sealed the victory. Besides hitting 35 of 66 from the field, UCLA outrebounded Kentucky 41-38 and limited the Wildcats to 41 percent shooting. It was the most points scored against a Kentucky team coached by John Calipari, who credited the Bruins for controlling the tempo against his talented freshmen. "This is a lesson for us," said Calipari, whose team had posted three consecutive 100-point efforts coming in. "We didn't have the energy. I had to call a timeout a minute into the game. I mean, just wasn't the same team. There are great lessons out of this. I wish we would have come back and won. ... But sometimes you need to get hit on the chin, especially at home." Hamilton and Leaf led another balanced offensive performance that featured 14 points each from Lonzo Ball, Alford and Thomas Welsh, and 13 by Aaron Holiday. Malik Monk had 24 points and De'Aaron Fox added 20 for Kentucky, which fell to 124-5 at Rupp under Calipari.