Kentucky Basketball Improves to 9-"Ohhhhh! Ohhh!"

(4) Kentucky 64
(12) Connecticut 61

Final from 2009 DirectTV SEC/Big East Invitational in New York City

"Ohhhhh! Ohhhhh! Ohhh!"

- Dick Vitale following a tremendous drive by John Wall late in the game

Game Recap by AllKYHoops.com:

The Kentucky Wildcats are off to a 9-0 start on the season after once again showing enough grit to overcome adversity and get a difficult win. The Cats held on to defeat #12 Connecticut (6-2) by a score of 64-61 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Kentucky blazed out of the gates to take a 12-0 lead early. After UConn regrouped, the Huskies stormed back to take a 29-23 lead at the half.

Kentucky fought back to take a lead just before the second media timeout in the second half. They unable to pull away and had to rely heavily and freshman sensation John Wall late in the game. Wall scored 12 of Kentucky's final 15 points to lead them to a hard-fought 3-point victory.

Wall led all scorers with 25 points. He also added 2 assists and 6 steals, but had a disappointing 6 turnovers. Patrick Patterson, who appeared to tweak his ankle in the second half, gave Kentucky 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. DeMarcus Cousins had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Connecticut was led by Jerome Dyson with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Gavin Edwards added 16 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. Kemba Walker had a solid game with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Huskies were only 1-5 from the 3-point line for the game, but shot 23-50 overall for 46.0%. The Wildcats shot only 36.8% from the field, but managed to put up 18 more attempts - a result of forcing 21 UConn turnovers.

Kentucky returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Bloomington, Indiana to face the Hoosiers.