< PreviousWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m.KENTUCKY BASKETBALL 14 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row Last Time Out: Ole Miss Recap Defense has been the topic of con- versation around the Kentucky basket- ball team in recent weeks. On Tuesday night against Ole Miss, UK got a his- toric individual defensive performance from Ugonna Onyenso on its way to a much-needed Southeastern Conference victory. Onyenso, the sophomore big man from Nigeria, blocked 10 shots, tying the previous Rupp Arena record of 10 held by Hall of Famer David Robinson (Navy, 1987), as the Cats topped the Rebels 75-63. Onyenso added eight points and three rebounds in the contest. Kentucky (17-7, 7-4 SEC) got 15 points from Antonio Reeves and 13 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds from Reed Sheppard. Justin Edwards added 12 points and Rob Dil- lingham had 10. Ole Miss (18-6, 5-6) scored the first five points of the game before UK got an Edwards basket to make it 5-2. Another Edwards basket got the Cats within one, then a driving, twisting Edwards layup, and subsequent free throw, gave UK a 7-5 advantage. A Dillingham basket made it 9-5, completing a 9-0 run for the Cats. The Rebels would respond with a run of their own. Ole Miss scored 10 straight to turn four-point deficit into a 15-9 lead. UK would get within one, 15-14, before the Rebels scored five more in a row to lead 19- 14 with 10:32 left in the half. A Reed Sheppard three brought the Cats within one, 19-18. After Ole Miss scored the next four, Sheppard hit a deep three to make it 23-21 with 6:33 to play in the half. And when Reeves hit a three from the left corner on the next possession, Kentucky grabbed a 24-23 lead. The UK run would continue with a pair of free throws from both Reeves and Ed- wards, making it 28-23 Cats with 4:50 to play in the half. Those free throws complet- ed a 10-0 UK run. After Ole Miss got a pair of free throws from Jamarion Sharp, Kentucky went on a 10-2 run to lead 38-27 with 1:32 left in the half. The Cats would lead 43-29 at the break. Ole Miss opened the second half with an 8-2 run to get within 45-37. The Rebels would eventually get within six, 47-41, be- fore Dillingham drilled a three to give UK a 50-41 advantage. That was the start of a 10-2 run that built the UK lead to 57-43 with 11:56 to play. Kentucky would hold a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game on its way to the victory. Onyenso Ties Rupp Arena Mark and Other Ole Miss Game Tidbits • Ugonna Onyenso tied a Rupp Arena record by blocking 10 shots. He shares the mark with David Robinson of Navy, who had 10 rejections on Jan. 25, 1987. Onyenso also had eight points tonight, making all three of his field goal attempts. • For the first time this season, Antonio Reeves led the Wildcats in scoring and re- bounding in the same game. He led UK with 15 points and has landed in double figures in every game but one this season. He also led the team in rebounds with seven. • Reed Sheppard had 13 points, his 17th double-figure tally of the season, and paced the Wildcats in assists with five. Sheppard, the SEC leader in steals, had a career-high-tying five steals and has had at least two thefts in 19 of 24 games. It is the 13th time since 1996-97 that UK had a player with at least 13 points, five as- sists and five steals in the same game. Antonio Reeves Named to Naismith Trophy Midseason Team In an announcement from the Naismith Awards on Thursday, Kentucky men’s bas- ketball’s Antonio Reeves was named to the 2024 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year Midsea- son Team. Reeves is one of 30 players from across the country, and five from the SEC, picked to what serves as a top 30 list for the Naismith Trophy, presented annually to the men’s col- lege basketball player who achieves great success on the court. Anthony Davis (2012) and Oscar Tshiebwe (2022) are the past Wildcats to win the prestigious honor. The recognition adds to a growing list of national watch lists for Reeves who was also selected to the John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 and the Jerry West Award Top 10. The Chicago native leads the Wildcats in scoring with 19.4 points per game and is shooting career best marks from the field (.498), 3-point range (.437) and the charity stripe (.881). Reeves has been a scoring machine for UK this season, reaching double figures in 23 of the team’s 24 games, including 12, 20-point outings and a season high 30-point eruption at Louisville. He is just the second UK player under coach John Calipari to have 20 career 20-or-more scoring efforts, joining 2022 National Player of the Year, Tshiebwe, in that category. The 6-foot-6 guard crossed the 2,000-ca- reer point milestone in Kentucky’s win over Georgia and needs just 46 more points to reach the 1,000 mark as a Wildcat.Thank You to Our CORNERSTONE PARTNERSNEKENTUCKY BASKETBALL 18 @KentuckyMBB Around the SEC Around the Country 2023-24 SEC Standings and Statistics Team SEC Overall Home Road Alabama 9-2 17-7 11-1 4-3 South Carolina 9-3 21-4 13-1 5-3 Auburn 9-3 20-5 13-0 3-4 Tennessee 8-3 18-6 11-1 5-3 Florida 7-4 17-7 11-1 2-4 Kentucky 7-4 17-7 11-4 4-2 Texas A&M 6-5 15-9 9-3 4-4 Ole Miss 5-6 18-6 13-1 3-5 Mississippi State 5-6 16-8 9-2 1-6 Georgia 4-7 14-10 11-3 3-4 LSU 4-7 12-12 9-4 1-6 Arkansas 3-8 12-12 9-5 1-4 Vanderbilt 2-9 7-17 7-8 0-6 Missouri 0-11 8-16 6-8 2-6 Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG Mark Sears, ALA ............................................................20.5 Dalton Knecht, UT ........................................................20.4 Wade Taylor IV, TAMU ...................................................19.8 Antonio Reeves, UK ......................................................19.4 Tramon Mark, ARK ........................................................17.3 Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG Andersson Garcia, TAMU ................................................9.1 Johni Broome, AUB .........................................................8.4 Tyrese Samuel, UF ...........................................................8.0 Micah Handlogten, UF ....................................................7.6 Tre Mitchell, UK ..............................................................7.5 Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Zakai Zeigler, UT .............................................................5.6 Zyon Pullin, UF ...............................................................4.9 Ta'Lon Cooper, SC ...........................................................4.2 Reed Sheppard, UK .........................................................4.2 Sean East II, MIZZOU ......................................................4.1 Steals Player-Team ...................................................................SPG Reed Sheppard, UK .........................................................2.5 Cameron Matthews, MISS ST ...........................................2.2 Wade Taylor IV, TAMU .....................................................2.1 Zakai Zeigler, UT .............................................................2.0 Jordan Wright, LSU ..........................................................1.8 Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Jamarion Sharp, MISS ......................................................2.6 Johni Broome, AUB .........................................................2.4 Jonas Aidoo, UT ..............................................................1.8 Dylan Cardwell, AUB ......................................................1.6 Alex Condon, UF .............................................................1.4 2023-24 Associated Press Rankings As of February 5, 2024 (week 14) Team Record Points 1 UConn (45) 20-2 1509 2 Purdue (16) 21-2 1479 3 North Carolina 18-4 1352 4 Kansas 18-4 1322 5 Houston 19-3 1273 6 Tennessee 16-5 1211 7 Marquette 17-5 1173 8 Arizona 17-5 1077 9 Duke 16-5 924 10 Illinois 17-5 893 11 Wisconsin 16-6 838 12 Auburn 18-4 818 13 Baylor 16-5 730 14 Iowa State 16-5 700 15 South Carolina 19-3 564 16 Alabama 16-6 520 17 Kentucky 15-6 513 18 Dayton 18-3 493 19 Creighton 16-6 484 20 Florida Atlantic 18-4 431 21 BYU 16-5 425 22 Utah State 19-3 286 23 Texas Tech 16-5 156 24 San Diego State 17-5 141 25 New Mexico 18-4 123We’re your Shield. 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KENTUCKY WILDCATS! ® ANDERSON, IN Jordan Harper BARDSTOWN Tyler Bruington BEAVER DAM Robbie Parham BOWLING GREEN Nancy Hickey Drew Hayes BUTLER Jason Laytart CAMPBELLSVILLE Taylor Burress CARLISLE Bill Clark CYNTHIANA Lee Adkins DANVILLE Troy Wheeler ELIZABETHTOWN Jamie Martin Alice Slaubaugh EMINENCE Fred Downey EVANSVILLE, IN Rick Koberstein FAIRDALE Jamie Norsworthy FLEMINGSBURG Cole Clark FLORENCE Rocky Bryan Brandi Monday FRANKLIN Lauren Roberts FRANKFORT BJ Hurst Audrey Marshall GEORGETOWN Steve Black Spencer Kilpatrick HARDINSBURG Sandra Bruington HARRODSBURG Jamie Dunn HENDERSON Megan Brown HODGENVILLE Teddy Sandford HOPKINSVILLE Alexander Capps Scott Leuckel LAGRANGE Paula Kaeser LANCASTER Cindy Lanham LAWRENCEBURG Ashley Bailey LEITCHFIELD Donna Vanmeter LEXINGTON Tony Arnold Ed Carr Linda Fugate Dawan Hart Heather Lewis Josh Miniard Willie Morrison Gene Young LIBERTY Kevin Atwood LIVERMORE Katie Gunterman LONDON Jeffery Anderson LOUISVILLE Amy Brown Corinne Ramsier Larissa Spears MADISONVILLE Brandi Hughes MAYFIELD Steve Jones MOREHEAD Caleb Staggs MOUNT STERLING Elizabeth Shelley MURRAY Doug Henry NICHOLASVILLE Marc Miller Russ Owens OWENSBORO Karen Keller PADUCAH Toby Boone RICHMOND Ashley Kovaleski Evan Worrell SHELBYVILLE Scott Martin SLAUGHTERS Sam Westfall SOMERSET Jason Weatherford SPRINGFIELD Sue Blair STANFORD Sean Slusher UNION Joey Bailey VERSAILLES Janice Frasier WINCHESTER Kay Brandenburg Olin WoolumKENTUCKY BASKETBALL 20 @KentuckyMBB Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. W, 63-57 Saturday January Tennessee Lexington, Ky. L, 92-103 Saturday February Gonzaga Lexington, Ky. L, 85-89 Saturday February Ole Miss Lexington, Ky. W, 75-63 Tuesday February Auburn Auburn, Ala. 6 p.m. Saturday February Vanderbilt Lexington, Ky. 9 p.m. Wednesday March Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn. 4 p.m. Saturday March SEC Tournament Nashville, Tenn. TBA Wed.-Sun. March 13-17 NCAA Tournament Final Four® Phoenix | TBA March- April TBA LSU Baton Rouge, La. 9 p.m. February Alabama Lexington, Ky. 4 p.m. Saturday February Mississippi State Starkville, Miss. 7 p.m. Tuesday February Arkansas Lexington, Ky. 1:30 p.m. Saturday March Florida Lexington, Ky. L, 91-94 (OT) January Mississippi State Lexington, Ky. W, 90-77 January Georgia Lexington, Ky. W, 105-96 Saturday January South Carolina Columbia, S.C. L, 62-79 Tuesday January Kansas Chicago L, 84-89 Tuesday November New Mexico State Lexington, Ky. W, 86-46 Monday November Texas A&M- Lexington, Ky. W, 81-61 Friday November Miami Lexington, Ky. W, 95-73 Tuesday November UNC-Wilmington Lexington, Ky. L, 73-80 Saturday December Penn Philadelphia W, 81-66 Saturday December Stonehill Lexington, Ky. W, 101-67 Friday November Saint Joseph's Lexington, Ky. W, 96-88 (OT) Monday November Marshall Lexington, Ky. W, 118-82 Friday November Louisville Louisville, Ky. W, 95-76 Thursday December Illinois State Lexington, Ky. W, 96-70 Friday December Missouri Lexington, Ky. W, 90-77 Tuesday January Florida Gainesville, Fla. W, 87-85 Saturday January Texas A&M L, 92-97 OT Saturday January North Carolina Atlanta Saturday December Home Neutral Away 2023-24 Basketball Schedule Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. W, 109-77 Tuesday February Wildcat Challenge presented by Kentucky Tourism Wildcat Challenge presented by Kentucky Tourism Wildcat Challenge presented by Kentucky Tourism ACC/SEC Challenge CBS Sports Classic State Farm Champions ClassicSUBSCRIBE TO PODCASTS TODAY! 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