< PreviousWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m.From Press Row Kentucky in Season Openers Now in its 121st season of college bas- ketball, Kentucky is 98-21 all-time in season openers entering the 2022-23 season (the Wildcats did not have a schedule in 1952-53 due to NCAA suspension). • UK has won 11 of 13 season openers under John Calipari • Kentucky is perfect in home season openers under Calipari • Included in Kentucky's 98-21 all-time season-opening record was a 34-game win- ning streak from the 1927-28 season to the 1961-62 season • Kentucky is 206-17 (92.4%) in Rupp Arena under Calipari Takeaways from the Tune-Ups Kentucky won both of its exhibition games leading up to regular-season play, de- feating Missouri Western State, 56-38, before dominating Kentucky State, 111-53. • UK improved to 146-12 all-time in ex- hibition games, including 3-0 vs. Kentucky State • Kentucky has won its last 25 exhibi- tion games dating back to Nov. 2, 2014, vs. Pikeville. The last loss was Aug. 17, 2014, vs. the Dominican Republic in the final game of the 2014 Big Blue Bahamas exhibition tour • Jacob Toppin (15.5), CJ Fredrick (14.5), Antonio Reeves (14.0) and Cason Wallace (10.5) all averaged double-digit scoring • The Cats averaged 9.5 made 3-point- ers per game, led by Fredrick who knocked down 7 of 11 (63.6%) in the two games • Six players logged at least four rebounds per game without reigning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe appearing in either contest. Ugonna Onyenso (7.0), Wallace (6.0) and Toppin (6.0) led the way • UK averaged 11.0 blocks per game, with Onyenso accounting for nine in the two games • Kentucky's defense was stifling once again, holding the two opponents to just 29.3% from the field and 22.9% from 3-point range • Kentucky was plus-8.5 in turnover margin • Tshiebwe missed both exhibition games as he recovers from a minor knee proce- dure performed in October. Sahvir Wheeler missed the Kentucky State game after suf- fering a right leg injury during the Missouri Western contest. They are both considered day-to-day SportsCenter All-Access with Coach Calipari, Oscar Tshiebwe and the No. 4 Wildcats All editions of ESPN’s SportsCenter from Nov. 8-11 will feature a four-part All-Access look at the No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats, who tip-off their season on Monday vs. Howard University. • A SportsCenter crew that included college basketball analysts Seth Green- berg and Jimmy Dykes was embedded with Calipari and the Wildcats during the team’s Pro Day weekend in October, sharing ex- tended time with Calipari, returning Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe and the entire Wildcat team • Among topics discussed for the series – which will also be shared across ESPN’s so- cial channels including YouTube: Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament loss to Saint Peter’s, NIL, the Transfer Portal, Calipari’s use of Sports Psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella and the Cats’ outlook for this season Veterans and Depth and Talent - Oh, My! For the second straight season, John Cali- pari has constructed his roster with key vet- erans, an impact transfer and talented new- comers. • UK is returning seven players from its 26-8 squad that earned a No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament • Kentucky returns 58.4% of its rebound- ing, 51.8% of its assists, 44.3% of its scoring and 42.9% of its minutes • The Cats welcomed in senior transfer guard Antonio Reeves from Illinois State. Reeves ranked in the top 20 nationally in points per game as a junior, scoring 20.1 • Calipari inked top-10 prospects Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston who were both Gatorade State Players of the Year and Mc- Donald's All Americans • Adou Thiero and Ugonna Onyenso signed in the late period. Thiero is a fast-ris- ing prospect who led his team to a state run- ner-up, while Onyenso was a top-25 pros- pect in the 2023 class and reclassified after helping Putnam Science Academy win the national title Calipari Set to Receive Jefferson Award Kentucky men’s basketball head coach John Calipari received the Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service in Sports by Mul- tiplying Good on Nov. 2. For more than 50 years, Multiplying Good has honored those who put others first. Those receiving the Jef- ferson Award are empowered to do more, while their stories of extraordinary public service inspire others to action. It is an award that underscores impact. • Founded over 50 years ago by Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Sen. Bob Taft Jr., and Sam Beard, Multiplying Good is the world’s most foremost and highly celebrated organization focused on and honoring public service • Other recipients of the Jefferson Award include Arthur Ashe, Tom Brokaw, Larry Fitz- gerald, Betty Ford, John Glenn, Bob Hope, Steve Jobs, Shaquille O’Neal, General Colin Powell, John D. Rockefeller and Oprah Win- frey • Calipari is the first men’s college basket- ball coach to receive the honor KENTUCKY 14 @KentuckyMBBMOP IT LIKE IT ' S HOTMOP IT LIKE IT ' S HOTInside The Numbers KENTUCKY 18 @KentuckyMBB HOWARD (0-0) AT KENTUCKY (0-0) Series Breakdown Overall - 0-0 in Lexington - UK, 0-0 Calipari vs. HU - 1-0 Blakeney vs. UK - 0-0 Current UK streak - n/a John Calipari Kenneth Blakeney Overall Record: 810-241* Overall Record: 21-46 Record at UK: 365-101 Record at Howard: 21-46 Overall Seasons: 31st Overall Seasons: 4th at Kentucky: 14th at Howard: 4th * on court record UK Stat Opp. 79.4 Points Per Game 72.9 40.1 Rebounds PG 37.2 16.2 Assists PG 11.2 4.2 Blocks PG 3.7 6.8 Steals PG 7.6 11.6 Turnovers PG 17.1 .483 FG Pct. .424 .347 3-Pt. FG Pct. .307 .726 FT. Pct. .656 1.4 Assist-to-TO Ratio 0.7 THE MATCHUPTALE OF THE TAPE (2021-22) • Be UK's 99th season-opening win in school history and 12th in 14 games under John Calipari • Improve UK to 7-0 against teams in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference • Extend UK's win streak at Rupp Arena to 20 games, the longest active home win streak in the SEC • Keep Calipari perfect in season home-opening wins as UK's coach A UK WIN WOULD... 49 SEC regular-season titles in program history 31 SEC Tournament championships 19 Straight home victories in Rupp Arena 6 Double-figure scorers in exhibition vs Kentucky State BY THE NUMBERSKENTUCKY 20 @KentuckyMBB Around the SEC Around the Country 2021-22 SEC Final Standings and Statistics Team SEC Overall Home Road Auburn 15-3 27-4 16-0 8-3 Kentucky 14-4 25-6 18-0 6-5 Tennessee 14-4 23-7 16-0 6-5 Arkansas 13-5 24-7 17-1 5-4 LSU 9-9 21-10 15-2 3-8 Texas A&M 9-9 20-11 13-4 5-5 Alabama 9-9 19-12 13-3 3-7 Florida 9-9 19-12 12-5 4-6 South Carolina 9-9 18-12 12-4 4-7 Mississippi State 8-10 17-14 14-3 1-9 Vanderbilt 7-11 15-15 9-8 5-7 Missouri 5-13 11-20 8-8 2-10 Ole Miss 4-14 13-18 10-8 2-7 Georgia 1-17 6-25 6-13 0-10 Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG Scotty Pippen Jr., Vandy .................................................20.4 JD Notae, ARK ...............................................................18.3 Iverson Molinar, MISS ST ...............................................17.5 Oscar Tshiebwe, UK ......................................................17.4 Jabari Smith Jr., AUB ......................................................16.9 Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG Oscar Tshiebwe, UK ......................................................15.1 Jaylin Williams, ARK ........................................................9.8 Colin Castleton, UF .........................................................9.0 Walker Kessler, AUB ........................................................8.1 Darius Days, LSU ............................................................7.8 Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Sahvir Wheeler, UK .........................................................6.9 Aaron Cook, UGA ...........................................................5.4 Wendell Green Jr., AUB ...................................................5.1 Xavier Pinson, LSU ..........................................................4.8 Kennedy Chandler, UT ....................................................4.7 Steals Player-Team ...................................................................SPG JD Notae, ARK .................................................................2.3 Kennedy Chandler, UT ....................................................2.2 Eric Gaines, LSU ..............................................................2.1 Scotty Pippen Jr., VU ........................................................1.9 Tari Eason, LSU................................................................1.9 Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Walker Kessler, AUB ........................................................4.6 Colin Castleton, UF .........................................................2.2 Trevon Brazile, ARK .........................................................1.9 Oscar Tshiebwe, UK ........................................................1.6 Charles Bediako, ALA ......................................................1.5 2022-23 Associated Press Rankings As of November 1, 2022 (preseason) Team Record Points 1 North Carolina (47) 0-0 1532 2 Gonzaga (12) 0-0 1479 3 Houston (1) 0-0 1404 4 Kentucky (2) 0-0 1364 5 Kansas 0-0 1200 Baylor 0-0 1200 7 Duke 0-0 1168 8 UCLA 0-0 1093 9 Creighton 0-0 1060 10 Arkansas 0-0 1026 11 Tennessee 0-0 880 12 Texas 0-0 844 13 Indiana 0-0 745 14 TCU 0-0 735 15 Auburn 0-0 623 16 Villanova 0-0 578 17 Arizona 0-0 543 18 Virginia 0-0 462 19 San Diego State 0-0 394 20 Alabama 0-0 281 21 Oregon 0-0 260 22 Michigan 0-0 229 23 Illinois 0-0 215 24 Dayton 0-0 170 25 Texas Tech 0-0 122We’re your Shield. We’re your Shelter. ShelterInsurance.com • 1-800-SHELTER WE ARE PROUD TO SUPPORT THE KENTUCKY WILDCATS! KENTUCKY WILDCATS! ® BARDSTOWN Tyler Bruington BEAVER DAM Robbie Parham BENTON Michelle Clark BEREA Kimberly Maupin BOWLING GREEN Nancy Hickey BUTLER Jason Laytart CAMPBELLSVILLE Taylor Burress CARLISLE Bill Clark CYNTHIANA David Yeiser DANVILLE Troy Wheeler ELIZABETHTOWN Jamie Martin Alice Slaubaugh EMINENCE Fred Downey EVANSVILLE, IN Rick Koberstein FAIRDALE Jamie Norsworthy FLEMINGSBURG Cole Clark FLORENCE Rocky Bryan FRANKLIN Brian Knapp 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 Linda Fugate Dawan Hart Willie Morrison Madison Stiles Gene Young LIBERTY Kevin Atwood LIVERMORE Katie Gunterman LONDON Jeffery Anderson LOUISVILLE David Long Corinne Ramsier Larissa Spears MAYFIELD Steve Jones MOREHEAD Caleb Staggs MOUNT STERLING Elizabeth Shelley MURRAY Doug Henry NICHOLASVILLE Marc Miller Russ Owens OWENSBORO Karen Keller Bob Smith PADUCAH Toby Boone RICHMOND Ashley Kovaleski Evan Worrell SHELBYVILLE Jessica Cole SLAUGHTERS Sam Westfall SOMERSET Jason Weatherford SPRINGFIELD Sue Blair STANFORD Sean Slusher UNION Joey Bailey VERSAILLES Janice Frasier WINCHESTER Kay Brandenburg Olin WoolumNext >