Kentucky fends off upset-minded Wofford

For the sixth time under John Calipari and the fourth time in five years, the Kentucky Wildcats are going to the Sweet 16.

The Wildcats avoided an upset against #7 Wofford Saturday afternoon in Jacksonville, picking up a 62-56 victory over the Terriers.

The game was competitive throughout the first half, and the Wildcats looked to be in some trouble early in the second half as both EJ Montgomery and Keldon Johnson both were in foul trouble and it seemed like just a matter of time before Wofford’s Fletcher Magee, the NCAA’s all-time leading three-point shooter would start hitting threes.

However, to the benefit of the Wildcats, Magee had his career-worst three-point shooting game, going 0-12 from long range and recording just eight points on the afternoon, just his fourth single-digit scoring output of the season. It was hard to process what was happening. The likelihood of Magee making zero threes in 12 attempts was unfathomably low.

Magee’s loss, however, was Kentucky’s gain. After a Cameron Jackson layup tied the game at 37 for Wofford, the ‘Cats went on an 8-0 run to take a 45-37 lead. They would never trail again, as a balanced scoring attack from Ashton Hagans and Reid Travis (both with eight second half points) propelled Kentucky to victory.

Travis led the way with 14 points, and also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds for a double-double. The Wildcats will face the winner of Ohio State/Houston in the Sweet 16 next week.