Last season, Kentucky clipped the South Carolina Gamecocks in an absolute thriller at Memorial Coliseum.
Thursday night, Matthew Mitchell’s team needed a pair of boxing gloves in a physical rematch against the No. 2, revenge-minded visitors from the Palmetto State in front of a raucous crowd.
Neither team could find the basket early but Kentucky built an early lead thanks to stifling defense that limited South Carolina to a 1-for-8 start to the game and kept the ball out of the hands of the Gamecocks’ mammoth frontline; Kentucky led 16-8 at the end of the first quarter.