Back on December 3rd, Kentucky lost to UCLA at Rupp Arena 97-92. You have to be somewhat delusional if you think Kentucky forgot about losing a close game against UCLA at home. TJ Leaf and Issac Hamilton had dominated Kentucky, Leaf finished with 17 points, and Hamilton finished 19 points. Lonzo Ball also finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and six rebounds.
Now let's fast forward to last night, UCLA and Kentucky were going at it the first half. Kentucky lead at the end of the first half 36-33 over UCLA. But, it was just something different about last night game. The Kentucky Wildcats was playing like they wanted to win more than the UCLA Bruins.
The second half was no different, De'Aaron Fox came out the second half with a quick layup, followed by a steal that led to a dunk. Malik Monk tried not to be outshined by his backcourt running mate by hitting a quick three, followed by a made jumper, and another three-point shot made.
By that point, Kentucky jumped out to a 60-51 lead over UCLA with 11:30 left in the second half. Kentucky didn't let up either, Kentucky even got some scoring contributions from Dominique Hawkins, and Isiah Briscoe who are more known for defense.
Kentucky sealed the game with De'Aaron Fox making free throws, Edrice Adebayo making a statement dunk, and Malik Monk with an exclamation block at the end of the game on Bryce Alford. Kentucky defeated UCLA 86-75, to advance to Elite Eight, to face number one seed North Carolina on Sunday.
Lonzo Ball struggled all night he shot four for ten from the field, one for six from the 3 point line. Lonzo finished with ten points, eight assists, three rebounds, two blocks, and four turnovers. TJ Leaf finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Bryce Alford finished with 13 points, two rebounds, and two assists. Issac Hamilton had 17 points and five rebounds. Thomas Welsh had nine points, seven rebounds, and one block before he fouled out.
Kentucky point guard De'Aaron Fox had a career-high 39 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals. Malik Monk finished with 21 points, three rebounds, one assist, two blocks, and one steal. Derek Willis had eight points, eight rebounds, four assists, and one block. Dominique Hawkins had a 11 points off the bench, and one steal.
