The stage was set. All eyes were on Kentucky. The Cats failed to deliver. Kansas snapped a three-game losing streak with a 77-68 victory on the road in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Kentucky actually capitalized early on the energy inside Rupp Arena. Typically a slow-starting group, John Calipari’s team was off and running. Jacob Toppin and Chris Livingston did the heavy lifting early, primarily in transition, to help Kentucky build a five-point lead.
The Cats owned the first quarter of the game, but that was about it. Once Kansas retook the lead with 9:17 left in the first half, Kentucky played from behind for the rest of the night.