Brooks has career performance as Cats dominate Kansas

Soft-spoken Keion Brooks Jr. waited for perhaps the biggest moment of his college basketball career to date to roar the loudest.

Kentucky's junior forward scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds on Saturday as the No. 12 Wildcats dominated No. 5 Kansas 80-62 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence as part of the Big12-SEC Challenge.

Brooks was 9-of-15 from the field and went 9-for-10 at the free-throw line en route to the memorable performance. It marked the third-highest point total for a UK player in a true road game against a Top 5 opponent, trailing only a pair of legends in Louie Dampier (42) and Pat Riley (28).

"I don't know... I just felt good tonight," Brooks said. "I really know when I'm going to be my best, and I started the game out with a tip-dunk. That let me know I was going to really be into it, and I just kept playing hard the whole game."

Said Kansas coach Bill Self: "I'll be honest with you. I didn't not anticipate Keion going for 27. He was great."

Kentucky coach John Calipari saw Brooks' breakout game coming, "because of how he's been playing, how he played the last game, and what he's done in practice."

At one point midway through the second half, the UK boss walked past his bench in search of a replacement for Brooks, who was in the midst of scoring 15 consecutive points for the Cats.

"I walked down and Jacob (Toppin) said, 'Coach, just leave him in. Don't take him out.' ... That's when I know they're becoming empowered."

"I'm so proud of him," said Brooks' UK teammate Oscar Tshiebwe, who came up big himself with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and four steals. "And I want him to keep coming like that every night. That's how we're going to be a tough team if everyone steps up like that."

After two unsuccessful attempts earlier this season, Kentucky (17-4) proved it could win on the road against a top opponent. Perhaps not coincidentally, it was the first time the Cats had their entire roster healthy for a game. They responded by shooting 51%, grabbing 12 more rebounds than the Jayhawks, and recording twice as many assists (19) as turnovers (9).

The Cats won in blowout fashion despite getting only two points combined from guards TyTy Washington and Davion Mintz. They shot a combined 1-for-12 from the field but contributed with eight assists and only one turnover, plus their typical strong defense.

Kansas (17-3) shot just 41% from the field. National player of the year candidate Ochai Agbaji, ninth in the country at 21.3 points per game entering Saturday, managed only 13 on 4-for-14 shooting. The Cats held the Jayhawks to almost 20 points under their Big 12-leading average.

"I don't know if they had a weakness in their game," Self said of the Cats. "A much better team put it on us tonight... That's a team that could win it all."

*****

In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...

KEY MOMENT:

It's hard to pinpoint just one in this game, but we could argue that the opening two segments of the game were the most important. Everyone knew that Kentucky was going into arguably the toughest venue in the country. The veteran Cats, however, quickly took the Jayhawk fans out of the game -- as much as that can actually be done -- by holding a 12-8 lead at the first media timeout and a 21-13 lead at the second break. UK trailed for only the first 2:04 of the game and took a 51-31 into halftime.

GAME BALL:

Keion Brooks Jr., Kentucky -- Easiest call of the season to date. Brooks was amazing throughout -- opening the game with a tip dunk to get rolling -- but really turned it on early in the second half when the Jayhawks still had thoughts of making a comeback. From the 17:24 mark to the 8:48 mark of the second half, Brooks scored 15 straight points for Kentucky to eliminate any serious thought of a Kansas rally.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1st - Win for Kentucky at Kansas since Dec. 10, 1983. The Cats won 72-50 that day with 25 points from Melvin Turpin and 23 from Jim Master.

+4 - The Cats extend their lead in all-time NCAA basketball victories over the Jayhawks.

5-3 - UK's record in the Big12/SEC Challenge, including four straight wins.

18 - Biggest margin of victory for the Cats in program history on the road against a Top 5 opponent.

24-10 - Kentucky's advantage in the all-time series against Kansas, including an 8-5 mark in Lawrence.

41-29 - UK rebounding advantage, including 12 offensive boards leading to 17 second-chance points.

2014 - The Cats' last win over an AP Top 5 opponent on the road, a 58-50 triumph over No. 4 Louisville.

QUOTABLE:

"We went in and made a statement." -- UK forward Keion Brooks Jr.

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action Wednesday at Rupp Arena in a 7 p.m. ET tipoff against Vanderbilt on the SEC Network.