< PreviousWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m.KENTUCKY BASKETBALL 14 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row Texas A&M-Commerce Recap No. 16 Kentucky faced little adversity in its season-opening win over New Mexi- co State on Monday night. The Cats cruised to a 40-point win after breaking free in the second half. Friday’s game against Texas A&M-Com- merce was different. The Lions came out hot, making seven of their first 10 shots, including five from be- yond the arc. It all added up to a 19-6 lead for Texas A&M Commerce less than seven minutes into the game. The Cats would eventually right the ship, going on an 11-1 run to take the lead for the first time, 25-24, with 7:41 left in the first half and the Cats would lead 38-30 at the break. Kentucky (2-0) would go on to win 81- 61, using another big second half to blow open a game that was close at the half. UK head coach John Calipari thought that, long term, falling behind in this game could be beneficial. “Loved it,” Calipari said. “Now, you have to understand that they had played two games and they were shooting from the three, 20 percent, 21 percent, whatever. I said it doesn’t matter, they’re playing us, they will come out and make threes. And that’s why, in huddles, I was saying we need- ed to string some plays together.” What, specifically, were the Lions doing to the Cats? “The problem we had was we were get- ting beat on the dribble,” Calipari said. “We had guys who are supposed to be able to play the ball and they got by us.” Antonio Reeves led all scorers with 21 points, leading five Cats in double figures. Tre Mitchell had 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals, while Justin Edwards had 16 points and seven rebounds. Freshman guard Rob Dillingham had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists while fellow freshman D.J. Wagner had 11 points. But Calipari was also impressed with a play- er who scored just three. “We had five guys in double figures. And I love it when, the guy who was the best in plus/minus couldn’t make a basket,” Calipa- ri said. “Made one with, what, two minutes to go. Reed (Sheppard). He was like plus-23, 24. He’s in the game, you just play better. That’s why he’s got to be on the floor.” Calipari also liked how the Cats took care of the basketball. “Would you say we played pretty fast? And we only had three turnovers,” Calipa- ri said. “How do you finish with just three turnovers? That’s ridiculous.” The Champions Classic Kentucky is 5-7 in Champions Classic games. Kentucky is 2-2 against Kansas in the event. This will mark the fourth time the event has been held in Chicago's United Center. UK is 1-2 in the event in the building. UK leads the all-time series with the Jay- hawks by a 24-11 margin. The teams met in this event in Chicago in 2017-18 with the Jayhawks prevailing by a 65- 61 score. This is the second time UK has faced the No.1 ranked team in the country at the Champions Classic. In its last meeting vs. No. 1 in this event, UK prevailed by a 69-62 score over Michigan State in Madison Square Garden on Nov. 5, 2019. All-time, UK is 8-15 against the top-ranked team and is 3-2 under John Calipari. Big-Game Cal, Cats Some notes about Cal's teams against the best of the best: • Not only does Kentucky own a 69-49 record (58.5%) vs. Associated Press Top 25 teams under John Calipari, UK is 7-5 when both teams are ranked in the AP top five • All-time, Calipari is 13-9 when both teams are ranked in the AP top five • When both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25, Calipari’s all time record is 89-66, in- cluding a 58-38 mark at Kentucky • When both are ranked in the top 10 he has a 27-22 record, including 16-15 at UK • By defeating top-ranked Michigan State to start the 2019-20 season, UK knocked off the No. 1 team in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. Kentucky downed Tennessee on Feb. 19, 2019 • With the win over MSU to begin 2019- 20, the Wildcats have nine victories over the No. 1 team in 24 tries in program history • Calipari improved to 6-4 vs. the No. 1 team in his career with the win vs. Michigan State, including 3-2 at Kentucky. According to ESPN Calipari is the only coach with a win- ning (.600) percentage against No. 1 ranked teams with a minimum of 10 games faced against the No. 1 team Taking Care of the Rock Through two games this season, the young Cats value the rock. The Wildcats have com- mitted just nine total turnovers for an average of just 4.5 per game. UK's assist-to-turnover ratio is +3.2. Against A&M-Commerce, Kentucky turned the ball over just three times. According to Big Blue History, of 1,633 UK games where turn- overs are available, only two other games had fewer: Jan. 5, 2021 vs. Vanderbilt (2) and Dec. 20, 1983 vs. Cincinnati (2). Per bigbluehistory.net, UK's 6.8 turn- overs per 100 possessions are historically unheard of thus far. The Wildcats typically average between 16-24 per 100 possessions throughout history.Thank You to Our CORNERSTONE PARTNERS OFFICIAL BANK OF UK ATHLETICSNEKENTUCKY BASKETBALL 18 @KentuckyMBB Around the SEC Around the Country 2023-24 SEC Standings and Statistics Team SEC Overall Home Road Alabama 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 Arkansas 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 Kentucky 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 Mississippi State 0-0 2-0 1-0 0-0 Ole Miss 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 South Carolina 0-0 2-0 1-0 0-0 Tennessee 0-0 2-0 1-0 1-0 Texas A&M 0-0 2-0 1-0 1-0 Georgia 0-0 2-1 2-0 0-0 Auburn 0-0 1-1 1-0 0-0 Florida 0-0 1-1 1-0 0-0 LSU 0-0 1-1 1-1 0-0 Missouri 0-0 1-1 1-1 0-0 Vanderbilt 0-0 1-1 1-1 0-0 Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG Allen Flanigan, MISS .....................................................22.0 Grant Nelson, ALA ........................................................22.0 Aaron Estrada, ALA ........................................................21.5 Khalif Battle, ARK ..........................................................21.0 Dalton Knecht, UT ........................................................20.5 Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG Johni Broome, AUB .......................................................11.0 Jimmy Bell Jr., MISS ST ..................................................10.5 Micah Handlogten, UF ..................................................10.0 Henry Coleman III, TAMU ...............................................9.5 Tyrese Samuel, UF ...........................................................9.5 Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Wade Taylor IV, TAMU .....................................................5.0 Ta'Lon Cooper, SC ...........................................................5.0 Walter Clayton Jr., UF ......................................................5.0 Aden Holloway, AUB.......................................................4.5 Aaron Estrada, ALA ..........................................................4.0 Steals Player-Team ...................................................................SPG Riley Kugel, UF ...............................................................3.5 Allen Flanigan, MISS .......................................................3.0 Mike Williams III, LSU .....................................................3.0 Reed Sheppard, UK .........................................................2.5 Jordan Wright, LSU ..........................................................2.5 Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Jonas Aidoo, UT ..............................................................3.0 Aidan Shaw, MIZZOU .....................................................3.0 Dylan Cardwell, AUB ......................................................3.0 Jamarion Sharp, MISS ......................................................3.0 Trevon Brazile, ARK .........................................................2.5 2023-24 Associated Press Rankings As of November 13, 2023 (week 2) Team Record Points 1 Kansas (51) 2-0 1530 2 Purdue (7) 2-0 1464 3 Arizona (3) 2-0 1356 4 Marquette 2-0 1311 5 UConn (1) 2-0 1301 6 Houston 2-0 1180 7 Tennessee 2-0 1146 8 Creighton 2-0 1130 9 Duke 1-1 1088 10 Florida Atlantic 1-0 1004 11 Gonzaga 1-0 825 12 Miami 2-0 778 13 Texas A&M 2-0 728 14 Arkansas 2-0 719 15 Baylor 3-0 578 16 USC 2-0 573 17 Kentucky 2-0 549 18 Michigan State 1-1 516 19 Texas 2-0 513 20 North Carolina 2-0 501 21 Villanova 2-0 406 22 Alabama 2-0 264 23 Illinois 2-0 170 24 James Madison 3-0 91 25 Colorado 2-0 78We’re your Shield. We’re your Shelter. ShelterInsurance.com • 1-800-SHELTER WE ARE PROUD TO SUPPORT THE KENTUCKY WILDCATS! 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. 6 p.m. Saturday January Tennessee Lexington, Ky. 8:30 p.m. Saturday February Gonzaga Lexington, Ky. 4 p.m. Saturday February Ole Miss Lexington, Ky. 9 p.m. 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. 8 p.m. January Mississippi State Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. January Georgia Lexington, Ky. 6 p.m. Saturday January South Carolina Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m. Tuesday January Kansas Chicago 9:30 p.m. 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. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday November UNC-Wilmington Lexington, Ky. 4 p.m. Saturday December Penn Philadelphia 12 p.m. Saturday December Stonehill Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Friday November Saint Joseph's Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Monday November Marshall Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Friday November Louisville Louisville, Ky. 6 p.m. Thursday December Illinois State Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Friday December Missouri Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Tuesday January Florida Gainesville, Fla. 12:30 p.m. Saturday January Texas A&M 3 p.m. Saturday January North Carolina Atlanta Saturday December Home Neutral Away 2023-24 Basketball Schedule Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. 8:30 p.m. 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! SPORTS NETWORKSPORTS NETWORK The John Calipari Show Behind Kentucky BasketballNext >