< Previous10 @KentuckyMBBYou can enjoy FREE * grocery delivery, 2X Fuel Points and more for as low as $59/year. *$35 order minimum. Restrictions apply. Subject to availability. Delivery time not guaranteed. Official Grocery Partner of UK AthleticsWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m.14 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row Kentucky, Florida A&M Unite for Unity Series Although Wednesday's game between Kentucky and Florida A&M at Rupp Arena will headline the Unity Series, this week's meeting was about far more than just bas- ketball. The 7 p.m. game will be the second in five consecutive seasons of matchups be- tween UK and institutions from the South- western Athletic Conference, which is made up of historically black colleges and univer- sities. The games will seek to raise aware- ness of the missions of the HBCUs and to raise funds to provide opportunities for stu- dents at their institutions. The week began with a joint trip the National Underground Railroad Freedom Museum in Cincinnati on Monday. Play- ers, coaches and staff from both UK and Florida A&M met at the Freedom Museum and received a guided tour. The museum was established in 2004 to reveal stories of freedom’s heroes – from the era of the Un- derground Railroad to contemporary times – and to challenge and inspire people to take courageous steps for freedom. On Monday evening, the UK Healthcare John Calipari Show featured Florida A&M head coach Robert McCullum alongside Calipari. This season UK and the SWAC will honor Unity Series Legends, honoring a represen- tative of each school who has a history as a trailblazer in diversity, equity and inclusion. The 2022 Unity Series Legends are Reg- gie Warford from the University of Kentucky and Clemon Johnson from Florida A&M. Warford was the first Black men’s bas- ketball player to graduate from the Univer- sity of Kentucky. He played for the Wildcats from 1973-76 and was a member of the NIT Championship squad in 1976 and the 1975 NCAA Tournament’s runner-up team. War- ford was inducted into the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2019. He played for Drakesboro High School in Muhlenburg County where he was a second-team All-State selection after averaging 27 points per game his senior sea- son. Warford passed away in May of 2022. Johnson played at Florida A&M from 1974-78 where he earned a bachelor’s de- gree in economics and a master’s degree in sports management. He was selected with the 44th pick of the NBA Draft to the Port- land Trail Blazers and played for 10 seasons. Johnson won an NBA title with the Phila- delphia 76ers in 1983. Following his play- ing career, Johnson became an economics teacher and high school basketball coach in Tallahassee, Florida, before becoming a collegiate head coach. Johnson coached at both Alaska Fairbanks and Florida A&M. He was his alma matter’s head coach from 2007-11. Johnson helped establish a Boys and Girls Club in his hometown of Monticello, Florida, and is currently creating interest in refurbishing the old high school gymnasium in Monticello with intentions of establishing an after-school program concentrating on reading and writing, sports training and cre- ating a community center in the area. Need to Know ... Need to know facts about the Cats: • Sahvir Wheeler leads the SEC leads the conference and ranks eighth nationally with 6.4 assists per game • Since the start of the 2019-20 season, his freshman season at Georgia, Wheeler's 597 total assists rank second nationally, only behind the 678 by Yuri Collins of Saint Louis • Cason Wallace ranks fifth in the SEC and 22nd nationally with 2.40 steals per game. The 2.40 steals per contest are the most in the country among freshmen • Oscar Tshiebwe's 22-point, 18-re- bound game against Michigan State was the third such contest of his UK career. He now has three of the six 20 or more and at least 18 rebounds in a game by an SEC player in the last 10 seasons. No other play- er has more than one and the feat had not been accomplished since South Carolina's Sindarius Thornwell did so against Alabama on Feb. 7, 2017 • Tshiebwe also has tallied a pair of 20-point, 15 rebound games so far this sea- son and has five over the last two seasons. He has nine of the 51 20-point, 15-re- bound contests by SEC players in the last 10 seasons • Tshiebwe is one of two players in the NCAA this season averaging more than 15 points and 13 rebounds per game (Zach Edey - Purdue)MOP IT LIKE IT ' S HOTMOP IT LIKE IT ' S HOTInside The Numbers 18 @KentuckyMBB FLORIDA A&M (2-7) VS. KENTUCKY (7-3) Series Breakdown Overall - UK, 1-0 at Lexington - 0-0 Calipari vs. FAMU - 0-0 McCullum vs. UK - 0-0 Current UK streak - W1 John Calipari Robert McCullum Overall Record: 817-244* Overall Record: 140-216 Record at UK: 372-104 Record at FAMU: 56-95 Overall Seasons: 31st Overall Seasons: 13th at Kentucky: 14th at FAMU: 6th * on court record UK Statistic FAMU 77.8 Points Per Game 54.9 41.4 Rebounds PG 34.2 18.0 Assists PG 8.4 5.5 Blocks PG 3.4 8.1 Steals PG 7.8 12.6 Turnovers PG 17.9 .454 FG Pct. .354 .381 3-Pt. FG Pct. .208 .663 FT. Pct. .635 1.4 Assist-to-TO Ratio 0.5 THE MATCHUPTALE OF THE TAPE • Improve Kentucky to 2-0 all-time against Florida A&M • Extend UK's SEC-best home win streak to 26 games • Improve the Wildcats' all-time record at Rupp Arena to 640-77 • Improve Kentucky's record to 213-17 at Rupp under John Calipari A UK WIN WOULD... 49 SEC regular-season titles in program history 31 SEC Tournament championships 25 Straight home victories in Rupp Arena 6.4 Sahvir Wheeler's SEC-best assists per game average BY THE NUMBERSNext >