< PreviousWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m.KENTUCKY BASKETBALL 14 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row Last Time Out: Penn Recap On Dec. 2, Aaron Bradshaw saw his first game action for Kentucky this season. As the Cats lost to UNC-Wilmington, the freshman big man had three points and two rebounds in just under 13 minutes of action. Last Saturday against Penn, Bradshaw looked much more comfortable. And his numbers were much closer to what he and UK head coach John Calipari were expect- ing from the former five-star recruit. Bradshaw had his first career dou- ble-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, as Kentucky held off a tough Penn team 81-66 at the Wells Fargo Cen- ter in Philadelphia. Bradshaw added three blocked shots, a steal and also hit his first career three-pointer in the win. Fellow freshman Rob Dillingham also had 17 points for the Cats, while Antonio Reeves had 16. D.J. Wagner had nine points and seven assists, returning after missing last Saturday’s game with an ankle injury. The game was tight early before Ken- tucky scored five in a row to lead 19-12. Penn would answer with a 9-2 stretch to get within two, 23-21. That’s when the Cats got hot. Dillingham hit a three, Bradshaw scored on a layup, Reeves hit a jumper and Sheppard drilled a three to make it 33-12. After a Penn basket, Wagner, Mitchell and Bradshaw scored baskets to complete a 16-2 run, giving UK a 39-23 advantage. Penn would scored the final six points of the half but the Cats led 39-29 at the break. The Quakers started the second half with a 7-2 run to get within five, 41-36. Penn would cut it to two before Sheppard stole a pass and raced the length of the floor for a layup, giving UK a 47-43 lead. The Quakers would get within one before the Cats went on a 9-3 run, keyed by six points from Dill- ingham and a three from Bradshaw. Kentucky would extend the lead to 10, 61-51, on a Wagner three but Penn an- swered with consecutive threes to get back within four, 61-57, with 10:18 left. But Reeves would score seven points in a 9-0 UK run that gave the Cats a 70-57 lead with 7:35 to play. Final Tidbits from the Penn game: • Sparked by 17 points each from Brad- shaw and Dillingham, UK won bench scor- ing 40-5. • UK won turnovers 15-10 and turned it into a 22-5 advantage in points off TOs. • UK won the offensive rebounding 13-5, becoming a 16-6 margin in second-chance points. • The Wildcats won overall rebounding 41-31, tying the largest rebound margin of the season, and UK is 4-0 this season when leading the boardwork. • Kentucky had 16 assists and 10 turn- overs. • UK entered the game first nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (+2.29) and sixth in assists per game (20). • Kentucky led by as many as 17 points. UK is 335-15 (95.7%) in the Calipari era when leading by at least 10 points at any time in the contest. • Playing in his second game, Aaron Bradshaw notched his first double-dou- ble with 17 points and 11 rebounds. He made his first 3-pointer and also had three blocked shots. • Rob Dillingham had 17 points and has scored double figures in all but one game this season. • Antonio Reeves had 16 points and has scored double figures in every game this season. He has made a 3-pointer in 20 con- secutive games, longest streak since Kellan Grady had a 21-game stretch in the 2021-22 season. • D.J. Wagner returned to action after missing the UNCW game because of inju- ry. Playing 30 minutes, he assembled nine points and a game-high seven assists. • Season-long streaks kept alive – Tre Mitchell had nine rebounds, at least four in every game, and Reed Sheppard had three steals, at least two in every game. Taking Care of the Rock Through nine games this season, the young Cats value the rock. The Wildcats are averaging just 8.9 turnovers per game which ranks fifth in the country. UK's as- sist-to-turnover ratio is +2.20. That mark leads the nation. Against A&M-Commerce, Kentucky turned the ball over just three times. Ac- cording to Big Blue History, of 1,633 UK games where turnovers are available, only two other games had fewer: Jan. 5, 2021 vs. Vanderbilt (2) and Dec. 20, 1983 vs. Cincinnati (2). Four Kentucky players have a 2.73 as- sist-to-turnover ratio or better and they all rank among the top 73 in the country. Tre Mitchell leads the way at 3.18.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 Ole Miss 0-0 9-0 7-0 2-0 South Carolina 0-0 8-1 4-0 1-1 Mississippi State 0-0 8-2 4-1 0-1 Auburn 0-0 7-2 3-0 0-1 Kentucky 0-0 7-2 6-1 0-0 Missouri 0-0 7-3 5-2 2-1 Tennessee 0-0 7-3 5-0 1-1 Texas A&M 0-0 7-3 3-1 2-1 Alabama 0-0 6-3 5-1 0-0 Florida 0-0 6-3 4-0 0-1 Georgia 0-0 6-3 5-0 1-0 Arkansas 0-0 6-4 5-1 0-0 LSU 0-0 6-4 4-2 0-1 Vanderbilt 0-0 4-5 4-3 0-0 Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG Mark Sears, ALA ............................................................21.4 Meechie Johnson, SC .....................................................18.4 Dalton Knecht, UT ........................................................18.0 Antonio Reeves, UK ......................................................18.0 Allen Flanigan, MISS .....................................................18.0 Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG Jimmy Bell Jr., MISS ST ....................................................9.0 Henry Coleman III, TAMU ...............................................8.8 Johni Broome, AUB .........................................................8.6 Tyrese Samuel, UF ...........................................................8.3 Andersson Garcia, TAMU ................................................7.7 Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Ta'Lon Cooper, SC ...........................................................5.0 Wade Taylor IV, TAMU .....................................................4.9 Rob Dillingham, UK ........................................................4.9 Jaylen Murray, MISS .........................................................4.3 Zakai Zeigler, UT .............................................................4.2 Steals Player-Team ...................................................................SPG Reed Sheppard, UK .........................................................3.0 Wade Taylor IV, TAMU .....................................................2.2 Cameron Matthews, MISS ST ...........................................2.1 Dashawn Davis, MISS ST .................................................2.0 Anthony Robinson II, MIZZOU .......................................1.9 Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Jamarion Sharp, MISS ......................................................2.3 Aidan Shaw, MIZZOU .....................................................2.2 Jonas Aidoo, UT ..............................................................1.8 Trevon Brazile, ARK .........................................................1.7 Chandler Lawson, ARK ....................................................1.7 (through December 13 games) 2023-24 Associated Press Rankings As of December 11, 2023 (week 6) Team Record Points 1 Arizona (62) 8-0 1574 2 Kansas 9-1 1461 3 Purdue 9-1 1424 4 Houston (1) 10-0 1416 5 UConn 9-1 1344 6 Baylor 9-0 1239 7 Marquette 8-2 1221 8 Creighton 8-1 1073 9 North Carolina 7-2 992 10 Gonzaga 7-2 860 11 Oklahoma 9-0 848 12 Tennessee 6-3 835 13 Clemson 9-0 746 14 Kentucky 7-2 677 15 Florida Atlantic 7-2 622 16 Illinois 7-2 589 17 Colorado State 9-1 522 18 BYU 8-1 503 19 Texas 7-2 451 20 James Madison 9-0 441 21 Duke 6-3 315 22 Virginia 8-1 300 23 Wisconsin 7-3 213 24 Miami 7-2 156 25 Northwestern 7-1 147We’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 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. 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 2 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 >