LIVE BLOG: Kentucky vs. LSU, SEC Tournament First Round

Kentucky hangs on to win, 87-82

Kentucky survived the opening round of the SEC Tournament, beating the No. 16 seed LSU Tigers to advance to the next round. LSU hung around for most of the game, but a spirited Brandon Garrison run in the second half created enough separation to get the win. Garrison was great, scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Only Otega Oweh scored more for the Wildcats (23).

LSU cuts it to five

Kentucky couldn’t shut the door, and LSU has made it an 81-76 game with two minutes left. As I write this, Kentucky turns the ball over.

Please finish the job.

Under 4:00 timeout update

LSU won’t go away quietly. After UK pushed its lead to 12 with under seven minutes left, the Wildcats went three minutes without a basket, and the Tigers are within seven points. They’re playing with hope, but Kentucky should be able to protect a lead with 3:58 to go. Should. We’ll see.

The Cats lead by 10

Kentucky has its largest lead of the game with 7:44 to go. The crowd is into the run, and it’s time to put the Tigers away for good. Will they? Stay tuned. There’s an excitement in the building for it.

Baby BG is having fun in Bridgestone

That’s a proud toddler.

A technical foul on Kentucky

The fun took a slight hit when Denzel Aberdeen got T’d up for taunting. However, LSU missed the free throw, so no harm in the whistle. Once again, Big Blue Nation disagreed with the call.

IT’S BRANDON GARRISON TIME

Back-to-back Brandon Garrison threes extend the lead to seven, Kentucky’s largest lead of the second half. Garrison scored seven straight points to make it a 71-64 game with under 10 minutes left.

Dioubate finishes through contact and makes the free throw

Playing with three fouls, Dioubate stayed in the game, and his and-one just put Kentucky up by four in what has been a back-and-forth second half to this point.

LSU responded on the other end, only for Dioubate to push it back to four with another bucket.

Mo D’s third foul was questionable

Big Blue Nation did not agree with Mo Dioubate’s third foul with 16:30 on the clock. He swiped at the ball and appeared not to touch LSU’s Nwoko, but still drew a whistle and a foul. Pope left him in as Kentucky and LSU trade blows in the second half.

LSU ties it at 47 with a nasty dunk

LSU brought the fight to the second half with a thunderous dunk to tie the game. Malachi Moreno took a shot to the face on the play and stayed down, but appears to be OK enough to stay in. Kentucky needs to match the intensity.

HALF: Kentucky 46, LSU 43

Kentucky leads at halftime, but not by much. A last-second three by Max Mackinnon pulled the Tigers within three, 46-43. The Cats are shooting 52.9% from the field, LSU 48.5%.

Otega Oweh leads the way with 13 points, the only Kentucky player in double figures. Denzel Aberdeen has eight, and Andrija Jelavic and Collin Chandler seven each. With Malachi Moreno and Mo Dioubate on the bench with three fouls, Brandon Garrison is playing well so far, with six points, three rebounds, and two blocks in 13 minutes.

Still, LSU is hanging around. Time for the Cats to take care of business in the second half.

Back to a 2-point game

LSU isn’t going away. The Tigers are just two points down after a driving layup by Jalen Reece. Denzel Aberdeen continues to play well, up to seven points. He can add to that from the free-throw line after this timeout.

1:21 1H: Kentucky 41, LSU 39

4:48 1H: Kentucky 37, LSU 32

Welcome to party, Denzel Aberdeen! Kentucky’s point guard went on his own 5-0 run, hitting a three, then getting a steal and slam to put Kentucky up nine. LSU responded with back-to-back buckets to cut it to five and prompt Mark Pope to call a timeout.

Collin Chandler’s warming up…

Collin Chandler is determined to get out of his funk. Chandler just scored five straight, including a stepback three, to put Kentucky up four. Otega Oweh just added to that lead with a pair of free throws.

6:17 1H: Kentucky 32, LSU 26

Review on Mo Dioubate’s 2nd foul

We have our first review. Officials are taking a look at a foul on Mo Dioubate, his second in 11 seconds, to determine if there was contact to Pablo Tamba’s head. If so, this one might be upgraded. UPDATE: It was upgraded to a Flagrant 1. Dangit.

It’s Kentucky’s fifth foul of the game. On the other end, only one foul has been called on LSU in 12 minutes.

8:07 1H: Kentucky 25, LSU 21

Welcome back, Kam Williams!

Kam Williams is back. The sophomore just hit a three-pointer to put an exclamation point on his return. It prompted our first “Go Big Blue” chant of the day and put Kentucky up by five. Unfortunately, he picked up a foul about 20 seconds later.

10:09 1H: Kentucky 23, LSU 17

11:06 1H: Kentucky 18, LSU 17

Kentucky leads by one at the under-12 timeout, but LSU is here to play. The Tigers have hit three three-pointers so far. Kentucky is owning the post, with 10 points in the paint to LSU’s two. Brandon Garrison is part of that success, with a bucket and a block. BG being BG, he has also attempted a three. Kentucky is just 1-5 from the outside so far.

Kam Williams is checking in

Kam Williams will play after all. The sophomore wing checked in at the 14:10 mark, his first action since the Texas game on January 21 and having surgery on his broken foot.

Time to knock that rust off, Kam.

7 points so far for Andrija Jelavic!

Andrija Jelavic came to Nashville ready to party. The sophomore has seven of Kentucky’s 11 points so far on a perfect 3-3 from the floor, including a three-pointer. Collin Chandler scored his first bucket to put the Cats on top. There is some bad news: Malachi Moreno just picked up his second foul. It may be Brandon Garrison time.

14:49 1H: Kentucky 11, LSU 10

Otega Oweh gets Kentucky on the board

LSU got out to a 4-0 start, but the Cats are finally on the board thanks to a driving layup by Otega Oweh. Collin Chandler has yet to shake his shooting slump, going 0-2 from three-point range so far. Malachi Moreno just picked up a foul going after a rebound after a missed layup.

17:58 1H: LSU 4, Kentucky 2

Today’s refs

No Doug Shows, Pat Adams, or Courtney Green on today’s game. KB Burdett, Todd Austin, and Rob Rorke are the officials for Kentucky vs. LSU.

Starting Lineups

WALK AND TALK FROM BRIDGESTONE ARENA

Kam Williams warming up

The Cats are on the court, including Kam Williams, one of the last Cats to join the group. It’s hard to tell much from warm-ups, but he seems to be moving and shooting well.

Kam Williams is AVAILABLE

Will Kam Williams play today? We won’t know until the game, but he is not on the final SEC Availability report, meaning he is available, along with Brandon Garrison. Both were listed as probable last night.

LSU will be without Robert Miller, Jalen Reed, and Dedan Thomas. Thomas and Reed are no surprise, but Miller most recently played in LSU’s triple-overtime loss to Texas A&M on Saturday, putting up 12 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks in 30 minutes. He averaged 6.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game on 64.9 percent shooting during SEC play.

How to Watch, Listen

We’ve got the early Wednesday at the SEC Tournament TV crew for today’s game, Roy Philpott and Jon Crispin, who will call the action on the SEC Network. Because the media gets to sit near the floor at this event, you may see some familiar faces in the background.