LEXINGTON, Ky. — Indiana men’s basketball and the University of Kentucky hadn’t faced off in the regular season since former Hoosiers forward Christian Watford drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in 2011 to take down the top-ranked team.
Fourteen years later, the two resumed their historic rivalry Saturday night inside Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
And although the Hoosiers entered with an 8-2 record to the Wildcats’ 6-4 mark, it was the latter who emerged with a 72-60 victory over the Cream and Crimson. Fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson and redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries led all scorers with 15 points apiece.
After the two squads went back and forth to start the contest, the Hoosiers scored six consecutive points to take the early advantage. However, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run to regain a one-point lead midway through the first half.
Much of the first half was marked by fouls for Indiana. Senior forward Reed Bailey and Wilkerson each committed three first-half fouls, while three other Hoosiers had two.
Despite converting just 21.4% of its 3-point attempts in the opening half, Indiana still led by seven points at halftime thanks to a late 7-0 spurt.
Wilkerson, who chose Indiana over Kentucky last spring out of the transfer portal, began the second half in the same manner he ended the first: with a foul. He picked up his fourth foul of the contest just two minutes after the break.
Although the Hoosiers led by seven points with 14 minutes left in the game, the Wildcats took over. With Indiana’s offense struggling to make shots, Kentucky went on a 17-2 run to take an eight-point lead at the under-eight media timeout, sending the Wildcat fans inside Rupp Arena into a frenzy.
During the Wildcats’ run, Wilkerson returned to the contest just one foul away from being forced to exit. Kentucky bumped its lead to 11 before Indiana cut it to seven at the under-four media timeout.
However, the Hoosiers failed to pull any closer throughout the final minutes, falling by 12 points in their third loss of the season.
Indiana finished the contest with a 34.1% mark from the field while draining just four of 24 3-point attempts. The Hoosiers committed 18 turnovers to the Wildcats’ four — Kentucky’s fewest this season.
Indiana (8-3, 1-1 Big Ten) has a week off until it returns to the hardwood at 1 p.m. Dec. 20 against Chicago State University inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
