The Associated Press

Columbia, S.C. • Anthony Davis couldn’t believe all the Kentucky blue he saw around South Carolina’s home court, so he and the No. 1 Wildcats put on a performance that would’ve drawn several standing ovations at Rupp Arena.

Davis had 22 points, eight rebounds and eight blocks to lead top-ranked Kentucky to its 15th straight victory, 86-52, over the Gamecocks on Saturday night.

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Doron Lamb had 18 points, Terrence Jones 16 and the Wildcats (23-1) shot 51.6 percent as they moved to 9-0 in the Southeastern Conference for the first time in seven years in what coach John Calipari said was his team’s best performance this season.

"It didn’t matter who we played, somebody was losing by 30," Calipari said.

Davis, the 6-foot-10 freshman, was a big reason why. He finished several alley-oops in the first half as Kentucky opened 52-25 lead and was there to swat away several shots by the Gamecocks, who made only nine field goals in the opening period.

Davis said the Wildcats got a fast boost by Kentucky’s fans, who made up at least half the 16,527 who turned out at the Colonial Life Arena.

"I’m not used to this," Davis said. "I thought, ‘It feels like a home game in here.’"

If Kentucky keeps playing like this, expect the team’s fans to turn out on the road even more than they already do.

Davis made his first nine shots, finishing 9 of 10, and added two steals.

Davis, who sat for long stretches of the second half, got back in the game with about 6 minutes to go and looked as though he might have a chance at the program’s second-ever triple double. But when he took a hard spill on a collision with Anthony Gill, Calipari took his prized freshman out for good to the applause of several thousand Wildcats fans.

Calipari was talked into putting his star back in to try and match Chris Mills’ feat — he had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Austin Peay in 1988 — and did not hesitate yanking Davis when he crash landed.

"Do you care about that?" Calipari asked Davis about a triple-double. The freshman shook his head no.

"Yes he does," Calipari cracked to the media.

It might be harder for Davis to get one down the stretch, though. Five of Kentucky’s remaining seven league games are against Florida, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State — the SEC’s other ranked teams.

Damien Leonard scored a career-high 19 points for South Carolina (9-13, 1-7).

Davis and the 6-9 Jones did most of the damage as Kentucky got things in hand early on. The two combined for eight dunks in the first half, including four straight during one stretch of the period as Kentucky moved in front 23-10 with 13:12 remaining before the break.

"I just think everybody began the game with a lot of energy," Jones said.