LEXINGTON, Ky. -- This version of PJ Washington has been worth the wait.

The sophomore forward scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds Saturday in leading No. 8 Kentucky to a 71-63 win over No. 9 Kansas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge at Rupp Arena.

"Like today, PJ had a spirit about him," UK head coach Calipari said. "He had a spirit about him. He had a confidence about him. He let the game come. There was no tentativeness to how we play.

"I've been waiting a year and a half for that."

Calipari has long hailed the 6-foot-8, 228-pound Washington as one of the best players in the country when he brings this version of himself to the court.

"I think when he plays at a different pace, a different level of intensity, a different level of bouncing and alertness, I'm telling you, he's as good as anybody in the country," the UK boss said. "He is. When he doesn't, he's OK. He's just OK. So that becomes, what do you want?"

“I just feel like the past three games, I came out aggressive from the get-go," Washington said. "So, that’s one of the biggest things I’ve been working on, just trying to keep moving on and keep playing 40 minutes like that. I think that’s the biggest thing for me.”

Washington has been on a tear for streaking Kentucky (16-3, 5-1 SEC) winner of six straight. He has scored 41 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and blocked six shots in the Cats' last two games.

On Saturday, the Dallas native was part of a frontcourt that recorded three double-doubles, the first time that has happened at UK in nine years. Grad transfer forward Reid Travis scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and freshman wing Keldon Johnson added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Kansas (16-4, 5-2 Big 12) led 33-30 at the half, but could not keep pace in the second half thanks to better defense and a big rebounding margin for UK. The Cats won the battle on the glass 49-36 and held the Jayhawks to 36.5 percent (23 of 63) shooting from the field.

Junior forward Dedric Lawson helped keep Kansas close with 20 points and 15 rebounds but didn't get much help from the rest of the Jayhawks, especially in their thin frontcourt suffering from a season-ending injury to junior center Udoka Azubuike.

"Obviously, their bigs played very well," Kansas head coach Bill Self said. "Even Nick (Richards) didn't play a lot, but he blocks five shots and totally impacted the game. Reid and PJ were the dominant players, and certainly it was two against one in there a lot."

It marked another nice tournament resume victory for the Cats, who improved to 4-0 against AP Top 25 teams since their season-opening loss to Duke.

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

THE GOOD:

Another well-rounded team effort for Kentucky, which not only got the three double-doubles from PJ Washington, Reid Travis and Keldon Johnson to highlight the win, but also key contributions from fellow starters Ashton Hagans (12 points, 7 assists) and Tyler Herro (6 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists). Nick Richards played only nine minutes off the bench but recorded five of the Cats' eight blocked shots.

THE BAD:

Kansas guards Marcus Garrett and Lagerald Vick went a combined 5-for-18 from the field for only 11 points and committed four of the Jayhawks' eight turnovers.

THE UGLY:

The Cats were 4-for-18 (22 percent) from 3-point range. They went 0-for-8 in the first half before getting four to fall in the decisive second period. Calipari, who maintains this is his best 3-point shooting team since he came to UK, said those four probably made the difference between win and lose.

GAME BALL:

PJ Washington, Kentucky -- The sophomore forward keeps rising to the occasion in high-profile games of late. Since the season-opening loss to Duke, he has averaged 16.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots against ranked teams.

BY THE NUMBERS:

3 - Kentucky players with a double-double for the first time since John Wall, Demarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson did it on Feb. 16, 2010, against Mississippi State.

3-3 - Cats' record in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

4th - Time in program history that UK played three consecutive regular-season games against teams ranked in the AP Poll and won each of them (1953, 2003 and 2004).

8 - Blocked shots for Kentucky.

17-2 - Kentucky record at Rupp Arena against AP Top 10 non-conference opponents.

23-9 - Cats' all-time record against Kansas.

24,387 - Season-high attendance at Rupp Arena.

QUOTABLE:

"I mean, we just beat three ranked teams in a row. I feel like our team is on the rise and I’m excited, and I’m just ready to go and play (Vanderbilt) now.” -- UK forward PJ Washington

UP NEXT:

Kentucky travels to Nashville on Tuesday for their second matchup against Vanderbilt in 17 days. The Cats beat the Commodores 56-47 on Jan. 12 at Rupp Arena. Tip-off at Memorial Gym is slated for 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.