For twenty minutes in Atlanta, it felt like Kentucky was trying to lose this game on offense and refuse to lose it on defense at the same time.
The first half was about as rough as it gets. The Cats shot 10 of 28 from the field, turned it over 11 times and racked up 12 fouls. That combination usually sends you straight to a double digit hole and a fan base reaching for the remote. Instead, the one thing that never went away was the fight on the other end.
St. John’s shot just 9 of 28 in that opening half.