Lot of reasons Kentucky might not have won but biggest reason Cats did win was Jacob Toppin

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There were a lot of reasons Kentucky should not have won Friday night’s NCAA Tournament game against Providence.

— Providence had 28 points in the paint to 22 for UK.
— Providence had 12 fast break points to five for UK.
— Kentucky was 7-for-28 from the field in the second half and 1-for-6 from 3-point range.

Yet Kentucky did win 61-53 — something it could not do in the first round in 2022 — thanks to 22 points from Antonio Reeves, 25 rebounds from Oscar Tshiebwe and a defense that limited Providence to 8-for-27 shooting in the second half.

However, perhaps the biggest reason Kentucky won was senior Jacob Toppin. He had 18 points on 6-for-14 shooting from the field and 6-for-6 at the foul line. He pulled off six rebounds — a big number considering how Tshiebwe seemed to be getting just about every rebound. He also had two assists and one block in 37 minutes while committing just one turnover.

More importantly, he basically played lockdown defense on Bryce Hopkins, his former teammate at UK who was Providence’s leading scorer and rebounder. He not only limited Hopkins to 2-for-9 shooting and only seven points, but he also drew two offensive fouls on Hopkins that helped get him into foul trouble.

“Yeah, Bryce, I love him with all my heart. We got so close last year (before he transferred to Providence). He is a really good player. It was definitely hard to guard him because he is so physical,” Toppin said.

The Kentucky senior was also his usual humble self trying to downplay what he did.

“It didn’t just take me (against Hopkins). It took the whole team, being in gaps, being my help, and we just slowed him down,” Toppin said. “He is a really good player, and it took five players to stop him, not just me.”

Yes it did take a team effort but don’t ever doubt that it was Toppin who did most of the defensive work. Toppin also again provided consistent energy on the court and clearly has become UK’s team leader on and off the court.

Toppin transferred to UK from Rhode Island hoping for big things. Instead, UK went 9-16 two years ago and then lost to Saint Peter’s in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament. Now he’s finally at least has a postseason win and is hoping for a lot more even though the Cats are only a No. 6 seed after starting the season ranked as a top five team.

“Yeah, it was a big relief, obviously. I knew what this team was capable of, so we got the job done. So props to my teammates. We all stuck together,” Toppin said.

“Even when they made their runs, we didn’t put our heads down. We kept fighting. Defensively, Oscar had 25 rebounds. That’s insane. But we did the little things that won us the game.”

And no one did that better than Toppin.

2 Responses

  1. Jacob Toppin is a real success story for this season and his time in the UK program. This season alone, he has blossomed from the depths of what reports indicated were deep personal despair.

    I believe his growth as a person has been remarkable, and a pleasure to observe from afar. Of course, each person has primary responsibility for our own well being, but others, such as family and mentors can have a profound influence.

    I also believe Coach Calipari deserves kudos here because by all reports Coach Calipari played an instrumental role in helping Jacob find himself in his days of despair. As his personal growth occurred, his growth as a basketball player followed right along.

    From my perspective, Jacob Toppin’s growth has helped this team as much or more than any other single factor.

  2. Prof – so right on all counts – even had enough credibility/b###s to suggest a zone to his coach – AND Cal listened !!

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