Vicky Graff Photo
Rather than pick out the flaws in Kentucky’s 90-77 win over Missouri Tuesday night, let’s maybe look at some things that could bode very well for this team in postseason play.
— Balanced scoring.
Kentucky had five players score between 10 and 23 points and the five combined to go 25-for-44 from the field. Freshman guard Rob Dillingham had a career-high 23 points while Tre Mitchell worked his magic again with 20 points.
— D.J. Wagner.
Remember not long ago when many were wondering how overrated he was and that he maybe should not even be starting? Wagner had 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field, including 1-for-2 from 3-point range. He seems so much more under control and playing with great poise.
“Wagner is starting to go downhill any time he wants. His ability to drive left and finish is really impressive,” ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes said. “Kentucky has had too many drives in the past and not enough makers.”
— Kentucky was only 7-for-23 from 3-point range — something that could happen to any team. However, UK countered by going 27-for-32 — 84.4 percent — at the foul line. Guard Antonio Reeves was 8-for-8, Tre Mitchell 6-for-6, Dillingham 8-for-10 and Wagner 5-for-7.
Kentucky shot 84 percent at the foul line and its best foul shooter, Reed Sheppard, did not even get to the line.
To make a deep NCAA Tournament run, there will be a game decided by free throw shooting. This team continues to show it can make teams pay for fouling.
Could the defense be better? Absolutely.
Could Sheppard and Justin Edwards have done more? Absolutely. But as Calipari often notes, Sheppard is “not a machine” and he had a rare off game by the standard he has set this season.
However, Kentucky scored 90 points and held the Tigers to 2-for-15 shooting from 3 in the second half and even though the game was not a rout, it was also a game where you never really felt UK was in any danger of losing.
5 Responses
Lots to like about this game and this team. IMHO those who were whinning about DJ or any of the freshmen(except there favorite Reed) have their own agendas related to Cal. Those chicken littles(the sky is falling, the sky is falling) just want UK and Cal to fail because it fits the agenda! It fit their long posts and they want to say "I told you so". They are just waiting to tell us how much smarter they are than Cal and his assistants. Truth is, that’s easy to do. Staying negative to be right is funny because only one team can win it all. So it’s easy to say stuff like "they will be fine if Cal doesn’t ruin them" or "if they win it all it is inspite of not because of Cal".
Thinking of all the negative stuff(posted here) is funny in retrospect! Bradshaw will never play a game LOL, Adou is a charity case LOL, DJ is overrated and should be benched LOL, there are not enough basketballs and these NBA wanna be’s won’t all mesh together LOL. I could go on and on with this stuff. Most if not all of it has been just plain wrong. So all they have left is to hope for failure of the program they say they love, just so that they can be right! What a joke. IMHO.
Odds are in the end they will claim they were right all along(if we don’t get number 9) because the simple truth is only one of 300+ schools can win it all! If you don’t like Cal fine. If you don’t like the one and done fine(Cal did’nt create it). But if you are truly a UK fan you have to like this team and what they are doing! And in my humble opinion we are just starting to scratch the surface of what this team can be!
Oh and by the way the top 2 team in the county got beat last night and the number one team was run out of the gym! This team is building towards something special! Number 9 or not they are fun to watch and Cal is earning his money! !
Hey UK family, it sure would be enjoyable if coach and his commentating pals would pipe it about the NBA. Tell me how many points Livingston scored last night? Crickets b/c you don’t follow the NBA. And he’s earning his money alright and he makes waaay more than you’ll ever know. I hope he wins it all b/c it’ll be good for his health. I like what StillWaitingon#9 breathes. I can hear your kids now. "So & so rated 7th in the draft" – that doesn’t bode well for a championship b/c your kids have never seen UK win a championship. That’s sad man. Let’s all hope & pray it happens. And just b/c a few people here boost Reed so be it. Most of us educated fans know well & good that Wagner & Dilly can play. Wagner also got a taste of what the G League & the NBA will have to offer driving thru the lane. Last, your top 4-5 picks will be coming out of the G, just like last season. He can put a 1000 guys into the league but without winning it all again is sad with all the talent he brings in. There ya go, somebody named "Greg" meets your reply. And don’t drink anything out of a plastic bottle b/c it has plastic nano particles in it. We all need to ban plastic drink containers. It’s not good for you. Tell them next time your in line ordering a bottle water at Rupp Arena. Glad your having fun and like my mom would say "it’s only a game" ca ching!!!
Lot’s of good tounge in cheek stuff Greg. I love Reed (as I have expressed numerous times) but he is human and he makes mistakes too. But those are rarely mentioned. Did you see me drinking bottled water at Rupp when we lost to UNCW? Was I on the Dunk cam(for those who don’t know what that is, you need to go to a game)?LOL!!
And lastly I also hope for #9 for all those kids who have never seen UK win one. Because both of mine have and they were actually at the games! And your mom like most moms is always right! !
Couldn’t be said any better!!!!!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥
I prefer football anymore compared to the overpriced tickets at Rupp. Tell me I don’t know how the "scalp" system works. You’ll never find me in Rupp unless it’s a free ticket. Plus most of your "NBA" crowd never knows when to get off their butts and cheer. Slow go. And I was at both Final 4 games. Sat right in front of the dUKe fans that were in coaches ear ALL game long. And for the record most UK fans at ball games don’t know the game very well and never follow the NBA. Enjoy your micro plastics.