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The Kentucky Men’s Basketball team took on the Missouri Western State Griffons on a rainy Sunday, October 30th night. The Griffons are led by head coach Will Martin, a University of Kentucky graduate and former student manager of the basketball team (head manager of the 2012 National Championship team). To add in another Kentucky connection to the Griffons, former Kentucky player Jon Hood (also a part of the 2012 National Championship team) is an assistant coach on the Missouri Western State staff. Kentucky came into the game with a pre-season AP Poll rank of No. 4 in the country. Sunday night also served as the debut of Kentucky’s new look jerseys that were redesigned this offseason by Nike. The new threads feature a classic lettering look with a modern twist in blue striping down the left side. The only inactive player for the game was Oscar Tshiebwe, who is still recovering from a knee scope from a few weeks ago. Before the game, Coach Calipari tweeted three keys to the game for fans to watch for. Those keys were defense (on and off the ball), rebounding (defensive and offensive), and sprinting. Some other things to look for in the game was Freshman Ugonna Onyenso’s impact and playing time and team three-point shooting.
The Kentucky starting lineup featured Sahvir Wheeler, Antonio Reeves, CJ Frederick, Jacob Toppin, and Daimion Collins.
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The first half scoring started with an and-one jump shot by Frederick. At the first media timeout, the Cats led 6-5 with Sophomore Daimion Collins struggling on the boards and picking up two early fouls. The next stretch saw Frederick drill a 3-point basket and Toppin follow a missed 3-point jumper with a putback slam, stretching the lead to 16-8 Kentucky thanks to a 9-0 run in a quick 2-minute spurt. Wheeler exhibited maximal effort in the first half fighting for loose balls, locking down defenders on defense, and consistently beating defenders off the dribble when he drove to the basket. Toppin knocked down two turnaround jumpers in the half as the shot clock was running down, showing off an athletic NBA-like move that he did not have in his game last season. Onyenso displayed his elite athleticism throughout the half, blocking 5 shots and grabbing 3 rebounds. Kentucky’s offense went cold to end the half, finishing with a 3-minute scoring drought. The leading scorer in the first half was Toppin with 9 points. Kentucky was outrebounded by the Griffons in the half 20-17. The lack of scoring on both sides left the halftime score at 26-18 Kentucky.
The second half started with much of the same from both teams, with Kentucky’s first points coming from a 3-pointer from Frederick. Kentucky mustered across just 5 points in the first 7 minutes of the second half. At the under 12 media timeout, Kentucky led 35-25. Midway through the half, starting guard and Senior leader Sahvir Wheeler got fouled hard driving to the basket. Wheeler had to be helped to the locker room and was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a right leg injury. With Wheeler out for the game, Freshman guard Cason Wallace was left to run the offense. Frederick also began to heat up late in the half, finishing the game with 4 3-pointers and a team leading 15 points. Freshman Adou Thiero also saw more playing time in the second half due to the departure of Wheeler, adding in multiple athletic energizing plays that led to transition buckets. Kentucky once again ended the game on a 3-minute scoring drought but came away with a 56-38 win at Rupp Arena.
A key takeaway from the game will surely be the injury status of Sahvir Wheeler. Calipari did not give a timeline after the game but did mention that it was the same knee Wheeler injured a few weeks ago. Freshman big man Ugonna Onyenso made an immediate impact when he entered the game, finishing the game with 5 blocks, all of which were accumulated in the first half. Kentucky finished the game getting out-rebounded by the Griffons 36-35, something that will be a rarity once 2021-22 NPOY Tshiebwe returns to the court for the Cats. The three-point shooting improved in the second half (45 % from 3-point range compared to just 18 % in the first half). Kentucky’s defense was suffocating throughout the game as the Griffons scored just 38 points on 31 % shooting from the field and 13 % shooting from three-point range. Overall, Kentucky will hope to improve the offensive output and continue their defensive dominance as they look forward to their second and final exhibition game.
The Wildcat’s next game is Thursday, November 3 at 7:00 p.m. against Kentucky State in the season’s final exhibition game at Rupp Arena.
