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Another top-10 team falls as Richmond soundly upsets No. 10 Kentucky, 76-64

Richmond's Isaiah Wilson, middle, passes the ball.
Richmond's Isaiah Wilson, middle, passes the ball near Kentucky's B.J. Boston, left, and Devin Askew during the Spiders' upset victory. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

Another day and another top-10 men’s basketball program falls.

Richmond took down No. 10 Kentucky, 76-64, in Rupp Arena on Sunday. It was the first win over a top-10-ranked team in program history.

The Wildcats will need a quick rebound as they play No. 6 Kansas on Tuesday.

San Francisco upset No. 4 Virginia, 61-60, on Friday in the first major upset of the young basketball season. The NCAA basketball season began Nov. 25, a delayed start because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Richmond brings in balanced attack

Richmond (2-0) trailed, 32-38, at halftime but outscored the Wildcats by 16 points in the second half. The teams traded small leads until the Spiders started pulling away with about 12 minutes left.

It was a balanced attack for the experienced Spiders, who had four of their five starters in double digits and accrued 15 assists. Nathan Cayo had 18 points, six rebounds, one assist and one steal. Blake Francis also put in 18 points with three rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Grant Golden had 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a steal. Sophomore Tyler Burton added 11 points and four rebounds.

Kentucky struggles shooting

The Spiders shot 43.3 percent overall while the Wildcats (1-1) struggled, going 22-of-61 overall (36.1 percent) and 0-of-10 from 3-point range. They took more than double the free throws that Richmond did, but made only 20 of 33 (60.6 percent).

The Wildcats even won the battle on the boards, 54-31. Freshman Brandon Boston Jr. led Kentucky scorers with a double-double of 20 points on 8-of-20 shooting and 10 rebounds. Senior Olivier Sarr had a double-double of 17 points, going 5-of-13 from the floor, with 11 rebounds.

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