The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
Wildcats win last nonconference game ahead of SEC play
It wasn’t vocalized by any member of Kentucky’s basketball program. But it truly had only two objectives in Friday night’s game against Illinois State.
First (and foremost): Win — convincingly, if possible.
Second: Get through it unscathed on the injury front.
Check and check.
After fighting through the Redbirds’ hot start, the No. 10 Wildcats used their superior depth and talent to overwhelm the Missouri Valley Conference foe, waltzing to a 96-70 win at Rupp Arena in their final nonconference contest of the calendar year.
“The way we’re playing, we’ve got a good team,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “We pass the ball. We shoot the ball.”
To no one’s surprise, senior guard Antonio Reeves — who spent three seasons at Illinois State before joining the Wildcats as a transfer prior to the 202122 campaign — led the way for Kentucky (10-2) offensively. Entering Friday, Reeves was averaging a team-best 18.3 points per game. He surpassed his season average, finishing with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting (4 for 8 on 3s).
Calipari said it’s no coincidence; it’s simply hard work paying dividends. The coach noted that according to the tracker in the team’s practice gym, Reeves attempted 1,400 shots Thursday; 400 came late at night. After dinner.
“I (asked) the guys, ‘Who do you think was in there? The guy who made all the shots!’ ” Calipari said. “There’s no secret to this.”
For all the praise heaped upon Reeves’ bucket-getting prowess, however, Calipari has been far more pleased with the improvement he’s seen in the Chicago native’s defense.
“He was guarding their best player,” Calipari said. “Last year, he would guard the worst player, and we hoped he had black socks on that guy. Now he’s our best perimeter defender.”
But as has been the theme for the Wildcats’ offense all season, it was far from a one-man show Friday.
Three freshmen joined Reeves in posting double-digit point totals: Rob Dillingham (16 off the bench), D.J. Wagner (14) and Reed Sheppard (11, also off the bench).
“D.J. got to the rim. Robert did what he does,” Calipari said. “He had one pass — it’s only one, though. Antonio had no one on him. (Dillingham) tried to throw through three guys on a lookaway (pass), and it went out of bounds. But he only had one (turnover).
“I can deal with one. I just can’t deal with five.”
For all the positives the Wildcats had against the Redbirds (8-5), Calipari repeatedly returned to one glaring issue in Friday’s lopsided victory: The visitors won the rebounding battle, 45-40.
Calipari was aghast that more than half of Illinois State’s boards came on the offensive end.
“I can’t remember one of my teams in 15 years (at Kentucky) giving up 24 offensive rebounds,” he said.
The problem wasn’t difficult to pinpoint.
“We reverted (to the way we played earlier in the season),” Calipari said. “I talk to you guys all the time about ‘dominant habits.’ It’s obvious they still have the dominant habit when a shot is taken by the other team, they chase the ball, instead of, ‘Go hit the man and block out.’”
UK has more than a week off until its next game, which will be its SEC opener.
It heads to Gainesville, Florida, where it faces Florida at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 6 in a nationally televised ESPN matchup.
“Going to be a hard game down there. It’s always a hard game,” Calipari said of the O’Connell Center, the Gators’ home court. “It’s sold out already . ... They’ve got size. Their big kid’s (6-foot-10 forward Tyrese Samuel) good. Their guard play is good.
“Florida’s good.”
“The way we’re playing, we’ve got a good team. We pass the ball. We shoot the ball.”
John Calipari
Kentucky men’s basketball head coach