March Madness 2017: Fox scores 39 as Kentucky advances to Elite Eight
A strong second half by the Kentucky Wildcats avenges the early season loss to UCLA and sets them up for a rematch with North Carolina.
The Kentucky Wildcats find themselves back in another Regional Final after they defeated the UCLA Bruins Friday night, 86-75, in Memphis.
Kentucky relied on the efforts of its point guard De’Aaron Fox, who scored a career-high 39 points on 13-for-20 shooting and 13-for-15 from the free throw line.
Both teams swapped the lead more than a dozen times in the first half. However, Kentucky went into the break leading 36-33.
Fox served as the catalyst for the Kentucky offense in the second half by scoring 24 points during that time.
The freshman guard hasn’t scored 30 in a game all season long. His previous high came in the SEC tournament against Alabama when Fox scored 28.
Malik Monk also put in a strong second half. He had only seven points in the first half but responded with 14 to score 21.
The counterpart for Fox, the much discussed Lonzo Ball, struggled for the Bruins. He had 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting, with nine assists and four turnovers.
Ball was one of four players for UCLA to finish with double-digit points. Both TJ Leaf and Isaac Hamilton each led UCLA with 17 points.
Leaf had 13 points in the first half but struggled in the second, while Hamilton stepped up big with 14 in the second half. Bryce Alford was the other double-digit Bruin as he recorded 13 points.
UCLA as a team had a solid shooting night, recording 52 percent from the field. However, it doesn’t mean much if you turn the ball over 13 times.
The Wildcats came into Memphis ready to play and ready to avenge their early season loss.
With UCLA out of the way, Kentucky now has North Carolina in their sight for Sunday afternoon’s South Region final.
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The two teams previously faced off in December as Kentucky defeated North Carolina 103-100. The game is notable because Monk scored 47 points in the game.
North Carolina defeated Butler earlier in the evening to advance to Sunday’s game.