LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky Coach Eddie Sutton called it his most embarassing defeat.
Louisiana State ripped the Wildcats 76-41 Sunday, handing Kentucky its worst home loss in 61 years. LSU forced Kentucky into 27 turnovers and limited the Wildcats to 25 percent shooting from the floor.
'I've coached for 30 years and this is the most embarassing game I've ever been a part of,' Sutton said. 'I've never seen a team struggle like I did today for 40 minutes.'
It was the biggest margin of defeat at home for Kentucky since the Wildcats lost to Cincinnati 48-10 in 1926. It was the worst loss for Kentucky anywhere since City College of New York defeated the Wildcats by 39 points in the 1950 National Invitation Tournament.
LSU, paced by 28 points from Anthony Wilson, never trailed.
'We were just emotionally ready,' LSU Coach Dale Brown said. 'It all happened on our defense today. It was our day.'
Sutton scheduled a practice for his team two hours after the game. 'We're not going to throw in the towel yet,' he said. 'We're going to practice at 6:30 and we're going to work their fannies off.'
The loss dropped Kentucky to 9-5 overall and 3-4 in Southeastern Conference play. LSU improved to 10-8 and 2-5.
LSU's Nikita Wilson scored all of his 16 points after the 11:18 mark of the second half. Oliver Brown finished with 12 points and led LSU in rebounds with 12. The Wildcats were led by James Blackmon with 14 points.
With LSU leading 25-21 at the half, Anthony Wilson scored the first 7 points of the second half in an 11-0 Tigers run. A 3-pointer by Blackmon ended the Kentucky drought and drew Kentucky to 36-24 with 15:28 left.
Nikita Wilson later scored 10 consecutive points for the Tigers in three minutes to blow the game open. A 3-pointer by Anthony Wilson capped the 13-0 spurt, putting LSU up 59-30 with 6:20 remaining. The biggest lead, 74-38, came when Jose Vargas hit a pair of foul shots with 1:21 remaining.
