< Previous10 @KentuckyMBBIt's Easy to SAVE with the Kroger App Score big with weekly sales and digital coupons Official Grocery Partner of UK AthleticsWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m.KENTUCKY BASKETBALL 14 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row Kansas Recap Heading into Tuesday night’s Champions Classic in Chicago, No. 17 Kentucky was a clear underdog, facing top-ranked Kansas. The Jayhawks had more size and more ex- perience than the young, talented but short- handed Cats. But Kentucky fought Kansas to the very end of Tuesday’s game before the Jayhawks prevailed, winning 89-84. Chicago native Antonio Reeves had 24 points for the Cats, while freshman Rob Dil- lingham had 18. Sophomore Adou Thiero had career highs in both points (16) and re- bounds (13). Freshman Reed Sheppard had 13 points and four steals. Kansas jumped out to an early 11-3 lead but Kentucky responded. The Cats scored eight in a row, including six by Mitchell, to tie the game at 11-11. Kansas responded by scoring five straight before a pair of Sheppard threes gave the Cats a 17-16 advantage. Kansas would score five in a row to lead 21-17 and the Jayhawks would lead 25-21 before Kentucky started a 3-point barrage. Dillingham hit four 3-pointers in a row to turn a four-point deficit into a 33-30 lead. And when Reeves hit another three, the Cats led by six and Kansas was forced to call a timeout. The Jayhawks cut the UK lead to 37-34 before Thiero scored six in a row to make it 43-34 with 2:25 left in the first half. That was the start of an 11-2 run that gave Kentucky a 48-36 lead with 37 seconds left in the half. UK would take a 48-41 lead into the break behind 16 first half points from Dillingham. Kentucky took a 71-70 lead on a Thiero free throw with 7:18 to play. Kansas took the lead back on a KJ Adams layup before Thiero converted a putback to make it 73- 72 Cats. After a KU turnover, Reeves made a fast break layup, then added a free throw for a three point play to give UK a 76-72 advantage with 6:03 remaining. Adams missed two free throws for Kansas and Kentucky extended the lead to 78-72 on a driving layup by Sheppard. Kansas cut it to 78-75 before UK got a free throw from Tre Mitchell and two from Reeves to lead 81- 75. But Kansas responded with an 10-2 run to take an 85-83 lead with 2:04 left. A Mitchell free throw cut the KU lead to 85-84 with 1:33 remaining but Kansas got a Hunter Dickinson basket with 1:13 to play to lead by three. Reeves had a pair of 3-pointers that could have tied the game with about one minute left in the game but neither would drop. After Kentucky got a defensive stop, the Cats were unable to get a good look at the basket and Kansas got the rebound. The Jayhawks converted a pair of free throws with five seconds left to provide the final margin of victory. Taking Care of the Rock Through three games this season, the young Cats value the rock. The Wildcats have committed just 17 total turnovers for an average of just 5.7 per game -- which leads the country. UK's assist-to-turnover ra- tio is +2.5. That mark is good for sixth-best in the nation. Against A&M-Commerce, Kentucky turned the ball over just three times. Accord- ing 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). Per KenPom.com, UK's 7.8 turnover percentage ranks as the second-best in the country. Freshmen Phenoms Kentucky's latest No. 1 ranked recruiting class has been another collection of the best talent the country has to offer -- and they've delivered thus far in big ways. • Rob Dillingham has scored in dou- ble-figures in all three games and currently ranks second on the squad with 15.7 points per game. He sparked a run against No. 1 ranked Kansas with four straight 3-point- ers in a span of 90 seconds to lift UK to a first half lead against the Jayhawks. Dilling- ham ranks third in the league with a 3.33 assist-to-turnover ratio and is in the top 10 with an 88.9% free-throw clip • Justin Edwards nearly had his first ca- reer double-double with 16 points and sev- en rebounds in a come-from-behind win over A&M-Commerce at home. He's shoot- ing 40.7% from the field and 83.3% from the charity stripe • Reed Sheppard has provided a steady presence on both ends of the floor. He led the team in blocks in each of the first two games, and then came up with four steals against Kansas. He's topped double-digit scoring in two of three games, drained a 3-pointer in every game and is perfect from the free-throw line. Sheppard's 3.0 steals per game is second in the league and top 30 in the country • D.J. Wagner has a 4.0 assist-to-turnover ratio and did not commit one against No. 1 Kansas in 25 minutes of action. Wagner has a pair of double-figure scoring efforts, including shooting 46.2% from the floor in the opener • Jordan Burks is this team's energy guy off the bench. He is averaging 4.0 rebounds per game in just over 12 minutes of action. Burks had the best plus-minus against Kan- sas at plus-19Thank 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 3-0 3-0 0-0 Arkansas 0-0 3-0 3-0 0-0 Mississippi State 0-0 3-0 2-0 0-0 Ole Miss 0-0 3-0 3-0 0-0 South Carolina 0-0 3-0 2-0 0-0 Tennessee 0-0 3-0 2-0 1-0 Texas A&M 0-0 3-0 1-0 2-0 Florida 0-0 2-1 2-0 0-0 Georgia 0-0 2-1 2-0 0-0 Kentucky 0-0 2-1 2-0 0-0 Missouri 0-0 2-1 2-1 0-0 Vanderbilt 0-0 2-1 2-1 0-0 Auburn 0-0 1-1 1-0 0-0 LSU 0-0 1-1 1-1 0-0 Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG Ezra Manjon, VU ...........................................................19.7 Dalton Knecht, UT ........................................................19.7 Antonio Reeves, UK ......................................................18.7 Khalif Battle, ARK ..........................................................18.3 Sean East II, MIZZOU ....................................................18.3 Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG Jimmy Bell Jr., MISS ST ..................................................11.7 Henry Coleman III, TAMU .............................................11.3 Johni Broome, AUB .......................................................11.0 Adou Thiero, UK ...........................................................10.0 Micah Handlogten, UF ....................................................9.0 Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Ta'Lon Cooper, SC ...........................................................5.7 Wade Taylor IV, TAMU .....................................................5.0 El Ellis, ARK .....................................................................5.0 Walter Clayton Jr., UF ......................................................5.0 Jaylen Murray, MISS .........................................................4.7 Steals Player-Team ...................................................................SPG Wade Taylor IV, TAMU .....................................................3.3 Reed Sheppard, UK .........................................................3.0 Mike Williams III, LSU .....................................................3.0 Cameron Matthews, MISS ST ...........................................2.7 Riley Kugel, UF ...............................................................2.7 Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Trevon Brazile, ARK .........................................................3.0 Dylan Cardwell, AUB ......................................................3.0 Jonas Aidoo, UT ..............................................................2.7 Jamarion Sharp, MISS ......................................................2.7 Grant Nelson, ALA ..........................................................2.3 (through November 14 games) 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. 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