Kentucky fights back but falls short against No. 16 UCLA in Madison Square Garden

There will be plenty more opportunities for Kentucky to play against ranked teams during this college basketball season, but Saturday’s game posed a particularly tough test at an especially critical time.

Things didn’t go all that well for the Wildcats.

UK made it a game in the second half — and nearly took the lead at one point — but a terrible beginning ultimately doomed the 13th-ranked Cats in a 63-53 loss to No. 16 UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic in Madison Square Garden.

Kentucky (7-3) is now 0-2 against teams ranked inside the AP Top 25 this season, with a loss to No. 15 Gonzaga last month, along with a defeat against Michigan State a few days before that. And the Cats will go into the new years still searching for their first marquee victory.

This game started out pretty evenly, with the score tied at 7-all going into the first TV timeout. From there, it was pretty much a disaster on every level over the next several minutes for the Wildcats, who allowed more open looks out of that stoppage and struggled mightily at their own offensive end.

John Calipari had touted UCLA’s defense earlier in the week, warning his players of the physical style the Bruins played and foreshadowing what was to come a couple of days later.

“Defensively, they get their hands on a lot of balls,” Calipari said Thursday. “So when you drive … you gotta be aware. And the guy that you’re throwing it to has gotta move to a more open area. If you stay where you are, they get their hands on balls.”

The Bruins were relentless all over the court to start things off. Of UCLA’s first seven misses from the field, six were recovered via offensive rebounds. Kentucky didn’t get its second defensive rebound until nearly nine minutes had ticked off the clock.

And UCLA made things difficult, to say the least, whenever the Cats had possession.

Kentucky committed its 10th turnover with 8:50 still left in the first half, and the Cats had so much trouble moving the ball that, at one point, they went 2 minutes and 35 seconds without even attempting a shot. By the time Antonio Reeves drained a three-pointer to end that terrible run, UCLA had already opened up a 27-15 lead.

UK missed its next nine shots from there.

It was rather amazing that the Cats trailed by only eight points at halftime — down 35-27 at the break. They committed 12 turnovers in the first half and shot just 11-for-31 from the field.

Calipari shook things up toward the end of the first half, subbing in Lance Ware to team up with Oscar Tshiebwe, forming a two-big lineup that outscored the Bruins, 9-4, over the final 6-plus minutes of the period.

Kentucky’s coach stuck with the shakeup to start the second half, benching Reeves (1-for-9 in the first half, 1-for-6 from three) and a struggling Jacob Toppin in favor of Chris Livingston and Ware. And the Cats kept chipping away at UCLA’s lead, going on an 11-3 run out of halftime — with eight of those points coming from Livingston — to improbably tie the game at 38-all.

Less than a minute later, Tshiebwe missed a free throw that would have given Kentucky the lead, and UCLA rattled off six straight points after that. While UK kept it close down the stretch, the Bruins never trailed again.

Livingston led the Cats with a career-high 14 points in a career-high 24 minutes. Sahvir Wheeler had 11 points and six assists, but he also committed six turnovers. (The team as a whole finished with 18 turnovers).

No other Wildcat scored in double figures. Tshiebwe was next with eight points, along with 16 rebounds.

UCLA’s victory tied the all-time series with Kentucky at eight wins apiece, and the Bruins have now won four of their past five meetings with the Wildcats.

Kentucky’s next game will be Wednesday in Rupp Arena against Florida A&M, which dropped to 2-7 on the season following Saturday’s 61-55 loss at Louisville (2-9), a game the struggling Cardinals led just 22-20 at halftime. The Rattlers came into Saturday at No. 357 (out of 363 schools) in the KenPom ratings, and their only two victories so far this season have come against Albany State (Ga.) and Edward Waters University, both of which are Division II programs.

After Florida A&M, the Cats travel to Missouri for their league opener Dec. 28 before a return to Rupp Arena to play rival Louisville three days later. And then, the new year, which will bring eight games against teams currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.

Kentucky will go into 2023 without a victory against such an opponent.

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