Fox’s 39 points ranks among UK’s greatest NCAA tourney games ever
The 39 points De’Aaron Fox scored for Kentucky on Friday night was the fourth-most ever by a Wildcat in an NCAA Tournament game.
Fox made 13 of 20 field goal attempts and 13 of 15 free throw attempts on the night. He missed his only three-point attempt.
Kentucky defeated UCLA 86-75 to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight on Sunday against North Carolina.
Fox threatened the Kentucky record of 44 points set on March 12, 1970, by Dan Issel in a 109-99 Wildcats victory over Notre Dame.
The only two other Cats to exceed 40 points in an NCAA Tournament game were Jack Givens, who scored 41 in UK’s NCAA championship game win over Duke in 1978 and Tayshaun Prince, who also went for 41 when Kentucky beat Tulsa in in 2002.
Here are the top 10 individual scoring games in Kentucky NCAA Tournament history:
Rank | Player | Date | Opponent | Result | Points |
1 | Dan Issel | March 12, 1970 | Notre Dame | 109 - 99, W | 44 |
2 | Jack Givens | March 27, 1978 | Duke | 94 - 88, W | 41 |
2 | Tayshaun Prince | March 16, 2002 | Tulsa | 87 - 82, W | 41 |
4 | De’Aaron Fox | March 24, 2017 | UCLA | 86-75, W | 39 |
5 | Dan Issel | March 15, 1968 | Marquette | 107 - 89, W | 36 |
5 | Dan Issel | March 15, 1969 | Miami (Ohio) | 72 - 71, W | 36 |
7 | Joe Crawford | March 20, 2008 | Marquette | 74-66, L | 35 |
8 | Louie Dampier | March 11, 1966 | Dayton | 86 - 79, W | 34 |
8 | Kevin Grevey | March 31, 1975 | UCLA | 92-85, L | 34 |
10 | Bob Burrow | March 16, 1956 | Wayne State | 84 - 64, W | 33 |
This story was originally published March 25, 2017 at 12:21 AM with the headline "Fox’s 39 points ranks among UK’s greatest NCAA tourney games ever."