Vicky Graff Photo
The Kentucky Wildcats opened exhibition play in Canada on Wednesday with a matchup against Team Germany. John Calipari’s team came out on top, 81-73, despite missing their two tallest (and two of their better) players – Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso. Bradshaw injured his foot multiple weeks ago, which led to surgery, while Onyenso turned an ankle this past Tuesday during a scrimmage and could miss the remainder of the trip.
These two injuries left Kentucky’s lineup rather short, forcing Calipari to play a small-ball lineup. It clearly worked on Wednesday, as Antonio Reeves went for 24 points and DJ Wagner scored 16 himself. Veteran transfer Tre Mitchell was Kentucky’s “big” guy and he had 20 points himself.
What really turned the tides for Kentucky was their defense, forcing Germany into 22 turnovers to lead to easy baskets on offense.
Kentucky returns to the court today to face the home team – Canada – at 8PM ET tonight.
Kentucky-Germany
Vicky Graff Photos
