Guard Antonio Reeves felt UK got a "legendary" win at Tennessee. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky guard Antonio Reeves believes Kentucky’s upset of Tennessee on Saturday could be the beginning of even more victories.
“This could be the start of something great,” Reeves said after Kentucky’s 63-56 win over No. 9 Tennessee last Saturday in Knoxville. “This is legendary to me. I just feel like we needed this game to move on, and it helped the whole team. I feel like this is the start of something for sure.”
The Wildcats (11-6, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) will attempt to build on their first signature win of the season on Tuesday night when they host Georgia at Rupp Arena. The Bulldogs have won two straight and three of their past contests.
Georgia has experienced a resurgence under former Florida coach Mike White, who is in his first season with the Bulldogs. Georgia is coming off a 62-58 win over Ole Miss last Saturday in Oxford.
“They’re a really good team,” Kentucky guard CJ Fredrick said Monday. “They have really good guards. They run a good offense. We’re going to have to do a good job of locking in and knowing the game plan.”
In order to enjoy the same success it had at Tennessee, Kentucky freshman Adou Thiero said the Wildcats have to employ the same mindset. Theiro said Kentucky was at its “lowest” prior to the upset of the Volunteers but have since regained their confidence.
“I think we’ve just got to go out and do the same thing – fight and just do what we know that we can,” said the freshman guard. “Be together as a team. …. it’s only up from here (and) I think we’re just going to go out and play like we played against Tennessee and fight.”
In addition to beating a ranked opponent for the first time this season, the Wildcats proved they could win on the road and notched their first true road win in three attempts. Kentucky outrebounded the hosts and made 22 of 25 free throws after making seven on 13 attempts in a loss to South Carolina last week.
“We were very locked in,” Reeves said of Saturday’s games. “At the beginning of the game, everybody was amped and everybody was happy to be (in Knoxville). We had a change of attitude. We knew we could make free throws, and I know I can make free throws. The whole team came together. We were able to step up at that line and knock them down.”
Fredrick said the team’s approach began prior to the contest.
“We had a really good two days of practice,” Fredrick said. “Coach (John Calipari) is big on winning each day and that starts with practice and stacking days. So, we had a lot of confidence in those two days of practice.”
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Gametracker: Georgia at Kentucky, 9 p.m., Tuesday. TV/Radio: ESPN, UK Radio Network.
One Response
I hope so! We need great been bad too long now.