UK Athletics Photo
Okay, never doubt Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. When he says something, believe him.
Maybe that is a little bit overboard but remember Pearl did say Friday that his team could lose by 40 points at Kentucky if it did not rebound better.
Kentucky out rebounded the Tigers 41-23 in Rupp Arena Saturday and with 2 1/2 minutes to play a Cason Wallace jumper put UK on top 86-46 — a 40-point margin. Coach John Calipari went to his bench the rest of the way as Auburn went on an 8-0 scoring run to “cut” the final margin to 32 points and 86-52.
But never doubt that this was UK’s most complete game of the year and a dominant victory. Who cares if it was considered a Quad 2 win and not a Quad 1 win because Auburn’s rating had dropped? It was still a STATEMENT WIN for a Kentucky team that is no longer staggering toward the finish.
“No one is going to want to play them in the NCAA,” CBS-TV analyst Rece Davis said after the game — and he’s right.
During the halftime show another CBS analyst, Clark Kellogg, said Kentucky was starting to “find and hit their stride” and a lot more folks are going to be thinking the same thing after UK outscored Auburn 46-25 in the second half even with Auburn’s final 8-0 run.
Think about this: Kentucky had two plays with a plus 40 ranking or more. Antonio Reeves was at plus 40 after he scored 21 points — 17 in the second half — on 8-for-13 shooting (4-for-7 from 3). Freshman point guard Cason Wallace was at plus 42 thanks to 19 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 at the line. He just missed a double-double as he also had nine assists, four steals and three rebounds in 37 minutes.
Both Oscar Tshiebwe and Jacob Toppin had double-doubles. Tshiebwe dominated early and finished with 22 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field and 6-for-6 at the foul line along with 17 rebounds, including six offensive boards. Toppin continued his resurgence with 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting, 12 rebounds, five assists and one steal.
“Auburn has a terrific team. They are. They have great size. They hit a buzzsaw today,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said.
It was a huge buzzsaw that destroyed the Tigers in a way Kentucky has not done to any other team this season and it comes at the perfect time for a team to be peaking.
“Everybody was locked in and connected,” Reeves said. “We needed that game.”
It was not a perfect game but it might have been close. The Cats were 32 of 57 from the field overall, a 56.1 percent mark. They were 8-for-13 from 3, a 61.5 percent mark. They were 14 of 15 at the foul line, a 93.3 percent mark. Remember Auburn was top 15 in the country in defensive efficiency.
Kentucky had 12 turnovers but also made 10 steals to get 23 points off turnovers and handed out 16 assists.
“It is getting fun. This was a game Kentucky needed and did not let the pressure off,” former UK All-American Jack Givens said on the UK Radio Network. “It was Kentucky’s most complete game without a doubt on both ends of the floor. They started out playing defense and kept playing. A lot of the points came off real effective defense. It was just the kind of game they needed.”
8 Responses
This was the strongest single game performance by a UK team in several years. I have not gone back through all my data yet, but I can today’s game was stronger than any game in 2021 or 2022.
This is the type of play I expected from this group from the beginning, and it is such a welcome sight.
One more win and the double bye is secure. If this team does that, it will be a remarkable turn of events from where this team was not so long ago.
professor, today’s win gave them double bye in SEC tournament.
Same here Professor. This is team we thought it would be — or it was today
Love to see Bruce Pearl lose.
Wheeler would not play another minute for Me if I was cal. Attitude problems. Jmo he’s hurting team by not playing. I
We are a better team when Wheeler doesn’t play. He is just too much of a liability in a halfcourt game on both ends of the floor. This team has developed chemistry and confidence that has been missing all year…and it came when Wheeler couldn’t play. I am hoping Frederick will find his shot again, but as a role player instead of trying to carry the team. We have a good team now if Calipari doesn’t try to force Wheeler back into the mix.
If UK loses its last 2 and Missouri wins its 2, then there is no double bye for this team.
Yep, a lot is still at stake Prof. Vandy will not be an easy game. Their big man is back and playing lights out. It would be a wise move to play Oscar at the 4 spot and Lance at the 5 in this game. Livingston can provide relief at both the 3 and 4 spots and Onyenso can be the backup 5. Frederick is more comfortable coming off the bench in relief for Reeves and Thiero has proven to be an effective backup for Wallace. This would also be a good lineup if we should play Bama again. Oscar struggles with height and triple teams that come in the post. Move him out to the 4 and let him shoot that 17 ft. shot and crash the boards before getting boxed out. In Fayetteville, go back to last night’s line-up and Collins gets more minutes. Both games are winnable, but can be lost just as easy.