Evansville beats Kentucky in upset of the year

March is a ways off, but the madness is underway in the 2019-2020 college basketball season. The Evansville Purple Aces went into Rupp Arena in Lexington and shocked the No. 1 ranked Kentucky Wildcats 67-64.

Kentucky was coming off a big win over Michigan State six days ago to move into the top spot in the rankings. Evansville was 1-0 coming off a season-opening win over Ball State. The Purple Aces were a 24.5-point road underdog at DraftKings Sportsbook. Most of the free world figured Kentucky would roll in this one, but as they say, “THAT’S WHY THEY PLAY THE GAMES!”

The Purple Aces took a lead with 10:32 remaining in the first half and led for virtually all of the rest of the game. The Wildcats fought back to take a 48-46 lead with 11:18 to go, but Evansville recaptured the lead 15 seconds later on a Shamar Givance three-point shot. Kentucky tied it up with 8:03 remaining, but never recaptured the lead the rest of the way.

K.J. Riley and Sam Cunliffe led the way for Evansville, each scoring in double digits. They combined for 35 points in the one of biggest upsets in school history. Enjoy the celebration!