Kentucky Takes Care of Business in 69-53 Handling of Vanderbilt
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Kentucky basketball had to fight tooth-and-nail for its first four wins in SEC play leading into Tuesday night.
Staving off late comeback bids, executing at the free-throw line late, finding timely buckets in the dying embers, you name it, the Wildcats have had to persevere just about everything. Someone may have even actually thrown the kitchen sink at one point.
UK (14-6, 5-3 SEC) took its licks in the wins — and certainly in its six losses, too. The collective bumps and bruises presented a battle-tested group that was ready to play zero games with Vanderbilt inside Memorial Gymnasium, ultimately leading to a 69-53 win for the Wildcats, their biggest margin of victory in conference play so far.
Five Wildcats reached double-figures as coach John Calipari's group extended its winning-streak to four games on the season, and Kentucky's winning-streak over the Commodores (10-10, 3-4) to 14 games.
Shooting guard Antonio Reeves cemented his place as UK's bonafide bucket-getter, pouring in 16 points on 7-14 shooting, an encore performance to his 23-point night on Saturday in Kentucky's win over Texas A&M. It's his eighth game with 15 or more points this season.
"Antonio walked right in the game...bang. Made one. He's on a different level from where he's been," Calipari said. "He's been good. Very confident, playing better defensively, rebounding balls, mixing it up. He's not just worried about offense, he's worried about playing."
Jacob Toppin collected his fourth double-double of the season, providing 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Oscar Tshiebwe added 15 points and 13 rebounds in what felt like his 400th double-double in a Wildcat uniform, though it was just his 40th.
It was a back-and-forth affair in the first 20 minutes, featuring five ties and six lead changes. Kentucky led for 14:57 of the half, but the 'Dores held strong thanks to four or more points from four players, led by starting guard Paul Lewis with seven.
Instead of playing around with its food again like an unmannered toddler, UK quickly snatched control of the game in the second half, using a 9-0 run to quickly spark its lead to 48-30. Starting guard Cason Wallace laced two corner 3-pointers to begin the stretch.
Coach Jerry Stackhouse's squad was without leading scorer and rebounder Liam Robbins, as well as backup forward Lee Dort. Despite the injuries, 12 Commodores still saw action on Tuesday. It was freshman forward Malik Dia who led the way with a career-high 14 points.
Shooting guard CJ Fredrick stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds. He's now notched 10 or more points in four of Kentucky's last five games.
"The game is just slowing down for me. I'm taking whatever the defense gives me right now," Fredrick told reporters after the win.
His five dimes were tied with point guard Sahvir Wheeler, who saw more run on the floor than his past two outings, totaling 22 minutes.
The Cats shot 57.7 percent from the floor in the second half, taking care of business en route to a point-making victory, while the 'Dores failed to make a field goal in the final 4:33 of the game. Kentucky shot 56.4 percent in the game, its second-best true road game shooting performance in the Calipari era.
Calipari reiterated after the win that through thick and thin, his confidence in his players has never wavered, It's just taken some time to turn that corner, which now feels a few blocks in the rearview.
"It's been an avalanche," Calipari said. "I like this team. I'm saying it, I told you before, we just had to get on the same page ... it's a natural progression."
"I just think we're really connected right now as a team," Fredrick said. "Everyone's understanding their role. In practice, we've been just so big on winning each day, I think that's what we've been doing is just locking in and winning every day and it's starting to continue to be a continuous pattern for us."
Kentucky's SEC tear will take a momentary pause, as the Wildcats will return home to gear up for the downward-spiraling No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Cats will have the opportunity to hand KU its first-ever four-game losing-streak under head coach Bill Self.
"Eh, it's another game," Calipari shrugged. "They're really good. Top-10 team coming to Rupp ... hopefully we're playing at our best too."
Tipoff inside Rupp Arena on Saturday, Jan. 28 is set for 8 p.m. EST and will air on ESPN.
More on Kentucky's win over the Texas A&M Aggies here.
The Cats let it fly from deep in the win. More here.
WATCH: Calipari, Williams speak after Kentucky's victory
WATCH: Tshiebwe, Ware, Reeves speak after win
Game notes from the win can be found here.
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