Kentucky Snaps NCAA Tournament Skid, Slashes Past Providence 61-53 in Round of 64
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Exactly 365 days after suffering the most embarrassing postseason loss in the history of the program, Kentucky basketball is back in the NCAA Tournament win column.
Behind the hall-of-fame rebounding prowess of forward Oscar Tshiebwe and the stoic scoring ability of shooting guard Antonio Reeves, the Wildcats were able to stave off former teammate Bryce Hopkins and the gritty Providence Friars, 61-53.
Reeves hit eight shots, five of which came from 3-point range, equaling a game-high 22 points. Tshiebwe scored just eight, but snagged a whopping 25 boards — the postseason single-game program record — asserting the dominance that Big Blue Nation has come to know and love.
Both teams shot 36 percent from the floor, but a stout and focused defensive effort halted any chance of an upset win for Providence.
"I thought our team fought like crazy," UK coach John Calipari said as he sat relieved of the burden that the Peacocks placed on his program one year ago.
It had the making of another classic eye-gouger that has filled UK's tumultuous season, as it opened 2-9 from the floor. The ball didn't find the basket in the early goings, but it sure found Tshiebwe, as the consensus All-American pulled in seven rebounds by the first media timeout of the evening.
"I told all my teammates, I told them, I said this year we come in and fight. Last year doesn't matter anymore," Tshiebwe said. "This tournament is about fighting. It's about who fights the most. That's the one who is going to keep moving. So we came in with the mentality, and we forget the past, and we're just fighting right now."
Forward Bryce Hopkins — who had fielded seemingly hundreds of questions about facing his former team in the lead-up to the game — attempted to set his tone, fleeing to the rack for a transition layup, plus a foul on CJ Fredrick.
He then bullied UK forward Jacob Toppin under the rim for an easy layup, but that would be all the scoring the former Wildcat would do in the first 20 minutes, and almost the game, as he finished with seven points, while Toppin finished with 18 to go along with six boards.
"Props to my teammates," Toppin said. "We all stuck together. Even when they made their runs, we didn't put our heads down. We kept fighting."
As Tshiebwe yanked down board after board, Reeves splashed 3-pointer after 3-pointer. His third and fourth trey of the game sandwiched an incredible block by Toppin on Hopkins, which saw Toppin rise up and smack his friend's dunk attempt hard off the glass, allowing for a runout that equaled the backend of Reeves' quick six and capped off a 10-0 UK run.
In a flash, Kentucky led 36-25. Toppin attacked the basket for 12 points, while Reeves led the way with 14. Providence guard Devon Carter acquired nine while bench guard Jerod Bynum hit a pair of important 3-pointers right before the break, sending the Cats to the locker room with a 38-31 lead.
Tshiebwe had as many rebounds (13) as the Friars did 50 percent of the way through the action. Starting forward Ed Croswell played just nine minutes in the half due to foul trouble, making life in the paint hell for coach Ed Cooley's bunch.
"At the end of the day the game was won on the backboard," the Providence skipper said postgame. "When you look at that, game, set and match. Plus 17 on the glass, 18 offensive rebounds. That's the game right there."
The feasting took a hiatus early in the second half for Tshiebwe, though, as he picked up his second and third personal fouls of the game in the span of 23 seconds, forcing UK coach John Calipari to sub in the green sophomore Daimion Collins.
Providence was unable to take advantage, even with Croswell on the floor, as a 3:18 scoring-drought denied any run-making it may have had in mind.
Kentucky's lead hovered around eight points for a majority of the back half, as both teams partook in an atrocious war of attrition that couldn't look pretty if it tried. Greensboro felt like the southwest there were so many droughts. As the Friars prodded, UK jabbed back from the free-throw line, making eight of nine freebies in the final 20 minutes.
"The first game is a hard game for guys, and we missed probably seven straight shots where we could have extended the game or extended the lead, and we missed them," Calipari said. "But I'll tell you what we did, we made every free throw down the stretch we needed to make to keep them at bay."
Former Louisville Cardinal and Florida Gator Noah Locke hit his second 3-pointer of the half, striking some life into the game, cutting UK's lead to 46-41 with just over seven minutes to play.
After lighting the Friars up from the perimeter early, Reeves continued his attack closely, landing a floater, followed by a slick drive to the rim. Croswell punched back, finding an open layup after dumping Tshiebwe to the floor, then landing another bucket to keep his team within real striking distance late.
Poor shooting from both teams down the stretch negated momentum in every facet, allowing the Cats to continue to coast, though the score may not have suggested it. UK needed just seven makes in the second half, three of which came from Reeves.
"We almost had 40 at half. I'm thinking great, we're on line to get 80. That's where you want to be," Calipari said. "Then we come up dry on layups, stick-backs, jumpers, floaters, but we still won. That's a good sign for these guys."
Kentucky will now play the winner of No. 3 seed Kansas State vs. No. 14 seed Montana State in the Round of 32. That game will also take place inside Greensboro Coliseum, as the Cats seek their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2019.
"Whoever we play is going to be a really hard game, but we're not worried about that right now," Calipari explained. "We'll go back and enjoy this, meet in my room later tonight, know who we're playing. Go have a great night. Sleep in. We'll get up tomorrow and figure things out tomorrow. This has been a great group."
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