Kentucky turned a strong collective performance in Baton Rouge in its 79-76 win against the Bayou Bengals.
On the matter of how individual players performed, here's our regular CI Report Card.
| Player | Grade | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
Ashton Hagans | B | Hagans shot 50-percent from the field (4/8), finished with 11 points, and had four assists and three boards. It wasn't close to his best statistical performance of the year, and he had three turnovers, but he played good defense and had a quality night before his injury. Kentucky was +7 in his 31 minutes and when he left the game LSU's press was a problem for UK. |
Tyrese Maxey | B- | Maxey did have 14 points but on 5/15 shooting with three turnovers. However, he was much better in the second half (11 points, 4/8 FG) than he was in the first (3 points, 1/7 FG). |
Immanuel Quickley | A+ | One can probably now make a case for Immanuel Quickley as Kentucky's best player. He has certainly been UK's most consistent scoring option in SEC play. His 7/12 FG was one of his best shooting lines in conference play and he once again led the 'Cats in scoring with 21 points. He also chipped in with six assists, four rebounds, three steals, and only had one turnover. |
Johnny Juzang | D | Juzang hit the only field goal he attempted in the second half, a three-pointer, but he was 0/3 in the first half and for the game he had no rebounds, no assists, and no steals in nine minutes. Kentucky was -13 when he was on the court. Juzang seemed a step slow or timid against LSU's athletes. |
Keion Brooks | C | Brooks isn't a finisher and was 1/3 from the floor. He seems to get tunnel vision and only wants to quickly shoot when he gets the ball. But he did chip in with three bounds and had a steal, playing some quality defense, when he was in the game. |
Nate Sestina | A+ | This was one of the highlights of Nate Sestina's season. He scored 11 points, which was the first time he reached double digits in a very long time, on 4/8 FG including 3/4 from deep. Sestina led Kentucky with eight rebounds and even played arguably his best defense of the season. He set the tone for Kentucky with his intensity in a big road game. |
EJ Montgomery | D+ | It just was not Montgomery's night, largely because of foul trouble. He only played 13 minutes after picking up his second foul in the first half several minutes into the game and then his third on a questionable call to start the second half. UK was -7 in the 13 minutes Montgomery did play. He had two rebounds, two blocks, and four points (2/3 FG). |
Nick Richards | A- | Richards was a defensive force, amassing six of the 11 blocks that Kentucky had as a team. He was an efficient 5/8 from the field with a couple of big hook shots in traffic, as well as a huge bucket on an assist from Quickley at the end of the game when LSU had cut the lead to five with only a minute and a half to play. |
