Experience trumps youth as Kentucky suffers rare double-digit loss in Rupp Arena
On a historic day for Kentucky basketball, youth was not served.
Richmond, a team starting two seniors and two graduate students, beat freshman-dependent Kentucky 76-64 on Sunday.
It was the first time in program history that Richmond had beaten a team ranked in the top 10 by The Associated Press on the road. Kentucky came into the game ranked No. 10.
It was also only the 15th time in the history of Rupp Arena, which opened in the 1976-77 season, that Kentucky lost a home game by a double-digit margin. The only two times it happened previously in John Calipari’s 12 seasons as coach came when Florida won 69-59 on Feb. 15, 2014, and Texas A&M won 83-71 on Jan. 12, 2013.
Richmond (2-0) pulled away in the second half. A 21-10 run put Kentucky behind 72-56 with less than two minutes left.
Kentucky (1-1) was led by Brandon Boston with 20 points. Olivier Sarr, who was much more active than in the opening-night victory against Morehead State, posted a double-double: 17 points and 11 rebounds. Terrence Clarke added 15 points.
Blake Francis and Nathan Cayo led Richmond with 18 points apiece. Two teammates chipped in double-digit points.
After a slow start, star guard Jacob Gilyard spurred Richmond’s 48-32 lead in the second half. He had all but one of his six assists plus five steals after halftime.
With Sarr leading the way, Kentucky had a 32-28 lead at halftime.
Sarr had 14 points and seven rebounds by intermission. That included UK’s last six points of the half.
Sarr showed early on that he would be more active in game two. Barely two minutes after tip-off, he had taken three shots (or half the number he took against Morehead State).
Boston chipped in 12 first-half points.
But perhaps the more telling action happened at Kentucky’s defensive end of the court. Richmond made only 10 of 35 shots (two of 12 from three-point range). The Spiders’ combination of experience and Princeton-style of offense made no impression.
In Friday’s 82-64 victory over Morehead State, Richmond had 52 points in the paint.
“Just being spaced out” was how forward Cayo explained that production. He was referencing the Princeton style (not inattentive players).
“We got a lot of backdoors, wide-open layups,” he said. “Every time they had to guard every player on the court. So, we got a lot of backdoor (plays).”
Against Kentucky, Richmond failed to cash in a single backdoor cut. And when the Spiders got near the basket, three UK blocks (and numerous other “contests”) made that unproductive.
Gilyard had little impact in the first half. Richmond’s star guard, and a player on the watch list for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year award, missed all six off his shots. He had one steal and one assist in the first half.
Gilyard got off to a fast start in the second half. He had a steal and two assists inside the first three minutes. That helped put Kentucky behind 36-30, which was at that time the Cats’ largest deficit.
Richmond got its first backdoor score with 12:01 left. Big man Grant Golden passed to a cutting Andre Gustavson for a layup that put Kentucky behind 46-43.
A pass that led to a better shot netted a three-pointer for Richard. That put Kentucky behind 51-44 and prompted a UK timeout with 10:37 left.
The deficit grew after the timeout. Gilyard’s steal and fast-break layup put Richmond ahead 55-46.
After a UK turnover, Golden made a three-point shot — the ball hit off the rim, then dropped through — to give Richmond a 58-46 lead.
Kentucky closed within 58-50. Then Gilyard answered with a fast-break layup. Then his backhand flip pass set up a three-pointer by Matt Grace that put Richard ahead 63-50 with 4:26 left.
Next game
No. 10 Kentucky vs. No. 6 Kansas
What: Champions Classic
When: 9:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
TV: ESPN
This story was originally published November 29, 2020 at 3:28 PM.
