MORGANTOWN, W.Va. _ Just when it seemed like Kentucky would get rolled, the game at West Virginia on Saturday night did a 180-degree shift.
The Cats rallied from a 17-point deficit to win, 83-76.
For No. 7 West Virginia, it was an almost heavenly first half followed by a hellish second.
For Kentucky, it was the statement victory that guard Quade Green boldly talked about the team needing.
Kevin Knox scored 19 of his career-high 34 points in a second-half rally that won it for Kentucky. He equaled the sixth-most points scored by a UK player in John Calipari's nine seasons as coach.
Kentucky, which improved to 16-5, used a 21-2 run in the second half to get back in the game.
A drive by Hamidou Diallo put UK ahead 72-70 with 3:25 left. The competitive fight that Calipari talks about extended the lead to 74-70. Knox was fouled on a third-chance opportunity. His two free throws gave UK the four-point lead to protect in the final two-plus minutes.
West Virginia, which fell to 16-5, tied it at 74-74. Then Knox hit a 3-pointer from near the left corner and Nick Richards dunked a put-back that pretty much locked it up for Kentucky.
Besides the stunning comeback, the game was significant for two other reasons. It gave the Southeastern Conference a 6-4 win over the Big 12 in the Challenge, which marked the first time the SEC had won it since the series began in the 2013-14 season.
And WVU's record at home under coach Bob Huggins fell to 129-34 (64-5 against non-conference opponents). Jevon Carter led WVU with 26 points, which was three shy of a career high.
Kentucky trailed 48-33 at halftime. WVU eclipsed the previous high point total for a UK opponent in the first half (Virginia Tech scored 47), and Kentucky faced its largest halftime deficit (previous biggest was nine points against Utah Valley).
West Virgnia led for more than 18 minutes in the first half. Only 4 for 9 3-point shooting made a second-half Kentucky rally plausible. The Cats stayed afloat by making three threes in the final 2:16. Those shots (two by Green and one by Knox) represented UK's only baskets in the final 8:05 of the half.
During that span, West Virginia broke it open with an 11-0 run. Carter scored nine of those points. Thirteen of his 18 first-half points came in a three-plus minute flurry that knocked Kentucky on its heels.
The game's first possession erased any doubts about West Virginia's zealous defense impacting Kentucky's freshmen. A WVU trap near half-court caused Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to turn it over, fueling a fast-break dunk.
It was the first of UK's 11 first-half turnovers, which coincidentally enabled West Virginia to enjoy an 11-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
UK's point guards _ Gilgeous-Alexander and Quade Green _ each had three turnovers inside the first 10 minutes.
Defense kept Kentucky competitive. West Virginia made only seven of its first 22 shots.
The second half did not begin with promise. Diallo could not inbound the ball, resulting in a five-second call and UK's 12th turnover.
But the Cats did not surrender. Two substitutions 63 seconds into the half (Sacha Killeya-Jones and Wenyen Gabriel for Richards and PJ Washington) changed the tone.
An intentional foul called on Lamont West helped Kentucky close within 54-42 with 16:02 left.
Barely a minute later, UK closed within 54-47 with 14:57 left on a 3-pointer by Diallo set up by a drive and pitch by Gilgeous-Alexander. That gave UK a 10-0 run and marked the first time the Cats did not trail by double digits since the 5:29 mark of the first half.
West Virginia called time.
It didn't help. Knox hit a three. Richards made a layup. Knox drove to a layup. The deficit shrank to 56-54. West Virginia called another timeout, its second within three minutes.
A fast-break dunk by Knox put UK ahead 58-56 with 10:38 left. That capped a 21-2 run and gave the Cats their largest lead to that point of the game.
The margin grew to 62-58 in the next minute. Then the game took a dramatic turn. James "Beetle" Bolden hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, the first with the shot clock down to the final five seconds.
Then Diallo made an ill-advised decision. He saved a ball at UK's offensive baseline toward mid-court. That made for easy pickings for WVU which cashed in with a fast-break layup to put Kentucky down 66-62.
It was UK's turn to call timeout with 7:56 left.
Carter, who scored only two points in the first 14 minutes of the second half, came alive down the stretch. His turnaround jumper tied it at 70-70 with 3:55 left. That set up Kentucky's dramatic finish.
