Is Kentucky's reign atop SEC over? No. 9 'Cats fall at LSU

Is there a changing of the guard in the SEC?




John Calipari's ninth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats had their 22-game SEC winning streak snapped with an 85-67 defeat to unranked LSU in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday night.




It was also the Wildcats' (11-3, 1-1) third loss in their last seven games — all three defeats to unranked teams.




LSU (9-5, 2-0) features 6-10 freshman phenom Ben Simmons (14 points, 10 rebounds vs. UK), who some predict will be the No. 1 pick in the next NBA Draft. Simmons is joined by junior guard Tim Quarterman (21 points, 10 rebounds), sophomore forward Craig Victor II (15 points, 12 rebounds) and senior guard Keith Hornsby (nine points, four boards) as the Tigers' top scorers.




Hornsby, whose father is award-winning musician Bruce Hornsby, scored 23 points in the Tigers' SEC opener, a 90-82 victory at Vanderbilt (8-6, 0-2). Simmons tallied 36 points and 14 rebounds in that win.




"We have come together as a team," Simmons told reporters after the Kentucky win, per The Associated Press. "Everyone got sick of what was happening [a 7-5 nonconference start] and we laid it all out. We put our goals down and everyone has really stepped up and contributed."




Glenn Guilbeau, who covers LSU for Gannett Louisiana papers/USA Today, tweeted:

Deron Williams turns back clock by beating it with game-winning 3

Yup, a game-winning, down-by-a-bucket, 3-pointer from the corner as time expired in double overtime. And to add injury to insult, go back and check out Williams take out Sacramento head coach George Karl while stumbling backward following the off-balance shot.





"That was definitely my first Mavericks mob scene," said the veteran guard, who led Dallas with 25 points and was 3 of 6 from long range in the 117-116 win. "I was at the very bottom of the pile, then all of a sudden it went dark and I couldn't breathe."





This is Williams’ first season in Dallas after a rather unforgettable four-plus-season run in New Jersey and Brooklyn. Tuesday’s game was Williams’ first start since straining his left hamstring Dec. 22 against Toronto. He missed four games and came off the bench for two.





-- The Associated Press contributed to this report