< PreviousWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m.KENTUCKY BASKETBALL 14 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row Last Time Out: UNCW Recap Freshman Reed Sheppard scored 25 points but No. 12 Kentucky lost to UNC-Wilmington 80-73 last Saturday at Rupp Arena. Sheppard made 9 of 17 from the field, including 3 of 6 from behind the arc, and 4 of 4 at the free throw line for his 25 points. The London, Kentucky native added nine re- bounds , six assists and two steals. Antonio Reeves had 14 points before fouling out. Justin Edwards and Tre Mitchell each had 11 points and six rebounds for the Cats, who made just five of 17 (29.4 per- cent) from behind the arc for the game. UNC-Wilmington made 11 of 31 (35.5 percent) from behind the arc and 28 of 65 (43.1 percent) of its shots overall. Kentucky head coach John Calipari saw a different UK team on Saturday than he had seen previously this season. “There are games where you’re not going to make shots,” Calipari said. “You’ve got to rebound and defend. I understand our start- ing point guard was out. But we didn’t play the same way. We held the ball, everybody’s trying to make a play.” Specifically, the UK head coach did not like his team’s defensive execution. “We couldn’t stay in front of the ball,” Calipari said. “We’ve got time in between games and we’ve got to work on the im- portance of staying in front of your man and making him score through your chest. You keep opening up the hips and they’re shooting layups. We’ve got stuff to learn. You win and you learn. You better guard the ball better.” However, Calipari did not take anything away from UNC-Wilmington. “They deserved to win the game. They did,” Calipari said. “I would have liked to have stolen it from them but they de- served to win it. They played well, they shot well.” Final Notes from the UNCW game: • Kentucky tied its season high for turn- overs with 14. • UK entered the game leading the na- tion in turnover percentage (10.9%), ranked second in the nation in turnovers per game (8.1 per game) and first nationally in as- sist-to-turnover ratio (+2.56). • Kentucky is 653-82 (88.8%) in the 48th season in Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. • Reed Sheppard led UK with 25 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals. • It is his third 20-point game of the sea- son, including back-to-back games after tal- lying 21 vs. Miami. • He has had at least two steals in every game this season. • Antonio Reeves had 14 points and has scored double figures in every game this season. • Has made a 3-pointer in 19 consecu- tive games. • Tre MItchell had 11 points and six re- bounds. He has had at least four boards in every game this season. • Justin Edwards had 11 points, his sixth double-digit game of the season. • Freshman Aaron Bradshaw played in his first game at UK. He had three points and two rebounds in 12:31 of game action and had a plus/minus of +11. • D.J. Wagner, who had started the first seven games at point guard, missed the game because of injury. Reed Sheppard Named SEC Freshman of the Week Freshman guard Reed Sheppard was tabbed the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week on Monday. Shep- pard averaged 23.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game, while shooting 56.7% from the field in two games for the Wildcats last week. The honor is the first of Sheppard’s ca- reer and the second for a UK freshman in as many weeks after D.J. Wagner was tabbed the league’s top-performing first- year player a week ago. UK has won more weekly SEC honors (127) than any other school during the John Calipari era, including 96 SEC Freshman of the Week awards and 31 SEC Player of the Week honors. The London, Kentucky, native opened the week by helping the Cats dominate No. 8 Miami in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Sheppard scored 21 points and added five boards and four assists. He drained five 3-pointers in the 22-point win, while also disrupting the Hurricanes into three steals. Sheppard then made his first career start against UNC Wilmington on Saturday. He tied a career-high with 25 points and also corralled a career-best nine rebounds. The 6-foot-3 guard ranks among the nation’s best in several categories. He’s registering a 61.1% 3-point field-goal per- centage (1st), recording 3.00 steals per game (7th), making 2.75 made 3s per game (60th), recording 2.58 assist-to-turnover ratio (81st), dishing 3.9 assists per game (160th), swatting 0.88 blocks per game (336th) and snaring 4.38 defensive re- bounds per game (345th). Sheppard is also one of the nation’s best in effective field- goal percentage and plus/minus statistics.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 8-0 7-0 1-0 South Carolina 0-0 7-1 4-0 0-1 Missouri 0-0 7-2 5-2 2-0 Texas A&M 0-0 7-2 3-0 2-1 Alabama 0-0 6-2 5-1 0-0 Kentucky 0-0 6-2 6-1 0-0 Mississippi State 0-0 6-2 3-1 0-1 Auburn 0-0 5-2 3-0 0-1 Arkansas 0-0 6-3 5-1 0-0 Georgia 0-0 6-3 5-0 1-0 Florida 0-0 5-3 4-0 0-1 LSU 0-0 5-3 3-1 0-1 Tennessee 0-0 5-3 3-0 1-1 Vanderbilt 0-0 4-5 4-3 0-0 Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG Mark Sears, ALA ............................................................19.8 Dalton Knecht, UT ........................................................19.0 Meechie Johnson, SC .....................................................18.9 Johni Broome, AU .........................................................18.3 Antonio Reeves, UK ......................................................18.3 Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG Jimmy Bell Jr., MISS ST ..................................................10.4 Johni Broome, AU ...........................................................9.1 Henry Coleman III, TAMU ...............................................9.1 Trevon Brazile, ARK .........................................................7.8 Tyrese Samuel, UF ...........................................................7.6 Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Rob Dillingham, UK ........................................................5.4 Ta'Lon Cooper, SC ...........................................................5.3 Jaylen Murray, MISS .........................................................4.8 Wade Taylor IV, TAMU .....................................................4.6 Mark Sears, ALA ..............................................................4.3 Steals Player-Team ...................................................................SPG Reed Sheppard, UK .........................................................3.0 Cameron Matthews, MISS ST ...........................................2.4 Jordan Wright, LSU ..........................................................2.1 Wade Taylor IV, TAMU .....................................................2.0 Mike Williams III, LSU .....................................................2.0 Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Jamarion Sharp, MISS ......................................................2.5 Aidan Shaw, MIZZOU .....................................................2.2 Trevon Brazile, ARK .........................................................1.9 Chandler Lawson, ARK ....................................................1.8 Jonas Aidoo, UT ..............................................................1.8 (through December 6 games) 2023-24 Associated Press Rankings As of December 4, 2023 (week 5) Team Record Points 1 Arizona (59) 7-0 1571 2 Kansas (1) 7-1 1460 3 Houston (3) 8-0 1432 4 Purdue 7-1 1407 5 UConn 7-1 1340 6 Baylor 8-0 1234 7 Gonzaga 6-1 1146 8 Marquette 6-2 1134 9 North Carolina 7-1 1004 10 Creighton 7-1 921 11 Florida Atlantic 7-1 901 12 Texas 6-1 763 13 Colorado State 8-0 755 14 BYU 7-0 732 15 Miami 6-1 638 16 Kentucky 6-2 544 17 Tennessee 4-3 509 18 James Madison 8-0 381 19 Oklahoma 7-0 355 20 Illinois 6-1 322 21 Texas A&M 6-2 306 22 Duke 5-3 296 23 Wisconsin 6-2 245 24 Clemson 7-0 227 25 San Diego State 7-1 168We’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. 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 12 p.m. 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 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 >