Despite a sluggish start, the Kentucky Wildcats found a way to extend its winning streak to seven straight after holding off Southern 76-64 on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.
No. 10th-ranked Kentucky trailed 9-2 early as the Wildcats struggled in the opening half with 10 turnovers, cold shooting, and foul trouble as leading scorers TyTy Washington and Oscar Tshiebwe spent most of the half on the bench. However, Kellan Grady and Davion Mintz picked up the slack, connecting on five three-pointers to give the Wildcats a 38-34 halftime lead.
Southern would hang tough in the second half, cutting the lead to 57-51 with 8:10 remaining, but Kentucky extended the lead to 64-53 on a Washington free throw, back-to-back buckets by Tshiebwe, and a Washington lay up to create enough separation to seal the win.