Box score and MVP from Kentucky’s loss to Arkansas

Feb 8, 2023 - 4:33 AM

The Kentucky Wildcats came into Tuesday night’s matchup against the Arkansas Razorbacks on a 6-game SEC winning streak and had a chance to pick up a quad 1 win on their home floor.

The first half of this one was full of energy and a lot of scoring with the Rupp Arena crowd at its best.

This game was tied at 5 at the first media timeout, and at the under-12 timeout, the Razorbacks held a 16-13 lead.

Both teams were exchanging baskets throughout the half, but it was still Arkansas holding onto a 24-23 lead with just under 8 minutes to go.

Down the stretch, there was a lot of scoring by both teams, but a buzzer-beater by Daimion Collins sent this one to halftime with Arkansas leading it 41-40.

The second half couldn’t have started any worse for the Cats as a quick 6-0 run fueled by turnovers allowed the lead to grow to 47-40 forcing Calipari to take a timeout.

Kentucky found themselves trailing 52-43 but a quick 7-2 run made this a 54-50 ballgame with just over 13 minutes remaining.

Unfortunately, it was the Razorbacks that stepped up and reclaimed momentum and by the under-8 timeout had built a 68-58 lead.

Down the stretch, Arkansas controlled the game and was able to go on to win this one 88-73.

Box Score

MVP

With Sahvir Wheeler out due to a tweaked ankle, Cason Wallace was going to have to be the primary ball handler for all of this game, and he stepped up making him tonight’s MVP.

Wallace put on a show in the first half as he scored 11 of his 24 points in the opening half. He also added 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.

Unfortunately, he also had a turnover bug early in the second half that allowed Arkansas to gain control of this game, and they never looked back.

A roller coaster performance but he was still the best player on the floor for the Cats in this one.