Anthony Hickey poked away a steal on Kentucky’s first possession. Johnny O’Bryant swished an 8-foot jumper with a hand in his face. Shavon Coleman and Jarell Martin buried 3-pointers on consecutive possessions — all before the shivering fans had a chance to settle in.
A game that was in peril from the beginning seemed out of reach within the first five minutes.
As Winter Storm Leon threw an icy punch outside, it was LSU who drew first blood Tuesday in the PMAC, racing out to a 22-6 lead within the first six and half minutes and never trailing in an 87-82 upset of No. 11 Kentucky.
“To get that big of a lead early and never look back was huge,” O’Bryant said. “It helped us and we kept pushing.”
O’Bryant led all scorers with 29 points, besting Kentucky’s vaunted frontline and preseason Southeastern Conference Player of the Year Julius Randle.
Randle finished with six points on just 3-of-11 shooting, a testament to the 2-3 zone the Tigers (13-6, 4-3 SEC) employed all evening, which was a contrast from Johnny Jones’ customary man-to-man defensive gameplan.
“I thought our length helped us on the perimeter with the great shooters that they have,” Jones said. “We wanted to make sure that we were able to rebound the basketball out of the zone.”
The Wildcats (15-5, 5-2 SEC) out-rebounded the Tigers 42-37, but saw the Tigers block 11 shots and swipe 11 steals.
O’Bryant outscored the Wildcats 10-6 during the early 22-6 onslaught as Kentucky sent a mix of Randle, freshman Dakari Johnson and sophomore 7-footer Willie Cauley-Stein at the Tiger forward defensively.
“I was just attacking,” O’Bryant said. “I knew they were younger guys and I had an advantage in experience and body type. I was just trying to attack them and go at them.”
It was an attack Kentucky coach John Calipari said his youthful bunch was ill prepared for.
“We weren’t ready for the physical part of the game,” Calipari said. “We weren’t ready for the energy of the game and the viciousness of the game. They beat us to every 50-50 ball from the beginning of the game to the end.”
Kentucky forward James Young buoyed an otherwise stagnant Wildcat offense in the early going, scoring 12 of his team-high 23 points in a seven minute span that whittled the LSU lead down to three.
With the Tiger lead still at three after an Andrew Harrison bucket, Hickey scored the game’s next four points to stretch the Tiger lead to seven. A 3-pointer from senior guard Andre Stringer followed, putting the LSU lead at eight.
For Hickey, a Hopkinsville, Ky. junior and the state’s former Mr. Basketball, the game was three years in the making.
“I grew up watching UK all the time,” Hickey said. “I feel so great right now. I just wanted to at least get ’em once while I was here.”
Holding a 44-36 lead coming out of the locker room, the Tigers protected their lead despite numerous Kentucky threats.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Hickey and Stringer with just over 13 minutes to go swelled the LSU lead to 62-48.
But as was expected, the Wildcats came with a run. Randle bullied his way for a layup through contact and Young followed with a jumper in the paint to bring the deficit to ten at 62-52.
That would be the plot line for the majority of the second half as Kentucky got the LSU lead down to ten four different times within the final nine minutes, but couldn’t capitalize with defensive stops.
“Kentucky’s a great basketball team and we knew they would make runs,” Jones said. “Our guys were able to settle in, get rebounds, second-chance opportunities, cutbacks.”
In front of a bigger than expected crowd comprised mostly of students, Jones’ Tigers continued a season surrounded by hype and plagued by inconsistency with what Jones termed the biggest win of his tenure.
Jones was quick to thank those students, grabbing a microphone seconds following the win and addressing the PMAC crowd.
“You’re the reason we got the victory tonight,” Jones told the crowd. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
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LSU freshman forward Jordan Mickey (25) and his teammates reach for the ball amongst Kentucky defenders Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Wildcats.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) loses control of the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) prepares to pass the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU senior guard Andre Stringer (10) passes the ball from under the goal Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) dunks the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU freshman forward Jordan Mickey (25) lays up the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) lays up the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) attempts to regain control of the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) expresses frustration after having a foul called on him Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU freshman forward Jarell Martin (12) dunks the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) attempts to move past a Kentucky defender Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against the Wildcats.
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LSU senior forward Shavon Coleman (5) lays up the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU senior forward Shavon Coleman (5) lays up the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) lays up the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU senior forward Shavon Coleman (5) lays up the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU senior forward Shavon Coleman (5) lays up the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) lays up the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU senior forward Shavon Coleman (5) moves the ball down the court Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) hugs teammate senior forward Shavon Coleman (5) Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 after the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against the Wildcats.
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LSU freshman forward Jordan Mickey (25) dunks the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) attempts to move past a Kentucky defender Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against the Wildcats.
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LSU freshman forward Jordan Mickey (25) lays up the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU freshman forward Jordan Mickey (25) lays up the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 victory against Kentucky.
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LSU freshman forward Jarell Martin (12) drives past a Kentucky defender Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 in the PMAC.
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LSU head basketball coach Johnny Jones thanks the fans following the win against Kentucky on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in the PMAC.
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Kentucky head basketball coach John Calipari instructs his team in the first half of a 87-82 loss to LSU on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 in the PMAC.
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LSU junior guard Anthony Hickey (1) shoots the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 win against Kentucky in the PMAC.
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Kentucky freshman forward Julius Randle (30) steals the ball from LSU senior forward Shavon Coleman (5) on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, during the Tigers’ 87-82 win against the Wildcats in the PMAC.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) blocks a Kentucky shot Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 win against the Wildcats in the PMAC.
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LSU freshman forward Jordan Mickey (25) shoots around Kentucky freshman forward Julius Randle (30) on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 win against the Wildcats in the PMAC.
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LSU freshman Jordan Mickey (25) shoots the ball Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, during the Tigers’ 87-82 win against Kentucky in the PMAC.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) tries to block a shot by Kentucky sophomore forward Alex Poythress (22) on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, during the Tigers’ 87-82 win against the Wildcats in the PMAC.
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LSU senior forward Shavon Coleman (5) celebrates after making a three-pointer Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the TIgers’ 87-82 win against Kentucky in the PMAC.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) grabs a rebound Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 win against the Wildcats in the PMAC.
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LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III (2) shoots over the Kentucky defense Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers’ 87-82 win against the Wildcats in the PMAC. O’Bryant finished the night with 29 points and 9 rebounds.
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LSU senior forward Shavon Coleman (5) dribbles past a Kentucky defender Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, during the Tigers’ 87-82 win over the Wildcats in the PMAC. Coleman finished the night with 14 points and nine rebounds.
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