No. 2 Kentucky Beats Fletcher Magee, No. 7 Wofford, Advances to Sweet 16

The second-seeded Kentucky Wildcats outlasted the No. 7 Wofford Terriers 62-56 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday in the NCAA men's basketball tournament to advance to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in six seasons.

Kentucky will face either No. 3 Houston or No. 11 Ohio State next week in Midwest action:

Leading scorer and rebounder PJ Washington was out for the Wildcats with a sprained foot, but senior forward Reid Travis delivered with 14 points and 11 rebounds, as Kentucky handed Wofford its first loss since Dec. 19.

Kentucky Wildcats vs. Wofford Terriers: Game Highlights

While Kentucky prevailed, Connor O'Gara of Saturday Down South wondered how far the Wildcats can go if Washington remains sidelined:

Junior guard Nathan Hoover starred for the Terriers with 19 points, but Kentucky shut down star Wofford guard Fletcher Magee, who finished with just eight points on 4-of-17 shooting from the field and 0-of-12 shooting from downtown.

Per Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, Magee's performance from beyond the arc was the worst in the NCAA tournament in at least the past nine years:

While Magee is the all-time leader in NCAA Division I made three-pointers, Ken Pomeroy of KenPom.com noted he's struggled against tough competition in that regard:

Wofford looked confident out of the gates and led for most of the first half thanks largely to a spectacular shooting performance from Hoover.

Although Magee came out flat, the Terriers got contributions from other players, including point guard Storm Murphy, who made an early three:

Storm Murphy with the Heat Check

Kentucky shot poorly from outside and missed all six of its three-point attempts in the opening half. Most of the Wildcats' offensive success came in the paint, including this alley-oop to Nick Richards:

Nick Richards throws down the alley-oop!

Scott Stump of Today noticed how poorly the Wildcats played without Washington:

Wofford led by six with four minutes remaining in the half, but Kentucky went on a nice run in the closing minutes to take a two-point lead before Magee tied it with his first make of the game just 22 seconds before the halftime buzzer:

Travis made a pair of free throws to give Kentucky a two-point lead entering the locker room, which seemed like a major win considering how poorly the team played offensively.

As ESPN Stats & Info noted, Magee's struggles contributed heavily to Kentucky's 28-26 halftime lead:

During a halftime interview for CBS, Kentucky head coach John Calipari called for his players to pass the ball more effectively rather than playing so much isolation basketball.

The Wildcats heeded Calipari's advice and got out in space and ran the floor more often in the second half.

With the score tied 37-37, the Wildcats went on an 8-0 run that included a three from guard Keldon Johnson followed by a putback on a fast break that forced Wofford to call a timeout:

Terriers also went ice cold from deep to open the second half, according to Mark Long of the Associated Press:

Everything went Kentucky's way for much of the second half, including when guard Ashton Hagans put Murphy on the floor with some fancy ball-handling:

Kentucky Breaking Ankles

Murphy bounced back by knocking down a triple with 2:40 left to pull Wofford to within four despite Magee's poor play.

Seth Davis of CBS Sports was shocked that Wofford could remain competitive, considering Magee's inability to make shots:

A tip-in by Wofford's Keve Aluma on a Murphy miss with 38 seconds left cut the Kentucky lead to 58-56:

Travis answered with a pair of clutch free throws, though, and another missed three by Magee on the next possession sealed Wofford's fate.

Kentucky faced a test, but it will move on to face either Houston or Ohio State for a spot in the Elite Eight, while the Terriers were denied the first Sweet 16 berth in school history.