Kentucky basketball makes quick work of North Florida going into the Thanksgiving break
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Game day: No. 15 Kentucky 96, North Florida 56
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Wednesday evening’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and North Florida in Rupp Arena.
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The Kentucky Wildcats made a pre-Thanksgiving feast out of yet another overmatched opponent Wednesday afternoon.
UK defeated North Florida 96-56 in a game that was never close after the opening few minutes. The Cats had a double-digit lead before the second TV timeout of the first half and led 54-23 at halftime, Kentucky’s biggest lead at the break since the 2014-15 Wildcats demolished UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic eight years ago. (UK was up 41-7 at the half in that one).
Antonio Reeves set the tone in the first half with 18 points, going 4-for-5 from three-point range before halftime. He tallied 20 points and six rebounds for the game, finishing 7-for-12 from the field. It was a belated birthday celebration for Reeves, who turned 22 years old Sunday, the day of the Wildcats’ loss at Gonzaga, a game in which he went 4-for-13 from the field. Reeves was just 8-for-29 on field goals over Kentucky’s previous three games after scoring a total of 40 points in his first two games as a Wildcat.
Oscar Tshiebwe finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and three steals in 22 minutes. The reigning national player of the year achieved a double-double by grabbing his 10th rebound of the game just 22 seconds into the second half. He also set a career high for assists by halftime, earning his fourth of the game on a pass to Reeves, who beat the first-half buzzer with a three-pointer to put the Cats up 31 at the break.
Jacob Toppin, who was upset with his performance against Gonzaga three days earlier, particularly from a rebounding perspective, ended up with 20 points and 10 boards in 21 minutes against the Ospreys. The senior forward had zero rebounds in the first half against the Zags — just three for the game — but grabbed six rebounds by halftime against North Florida.
The result Wednesday continued a trend for these Wildcats, who have beaten up on the four lesser-regarded opponents on the early portion of their schedule, while losing both games they’ve played against the two big-name foes. (Michigan State beat Kentucky in double-overtime last week, and Gonzaga handed the Cats an embarrassing 88-72 loss in Spokane on Sunday night).
The Ospreys (1-4) came into Wednesday having already played three common opponents with Kentucky. They started the season with a 104-63 loss at Gonzaga and were coming into this game off an 83-82 loss at Duquesne on Monday. North Florida’s lone victory so far is a 72-66 win over South Carolina State, which UK beat by 43 points last week.
North Florida started the day at No. 217 nationally in the KenPom ratings. According to those rankings, Kentucky’s best win so far is a 77-52 victory over Duquesne, rated No. 116 by KenPom.
UK’s starting five
John Calipari trotted out yet another different starting lineup Wednesday, with Antonio Reeves joining Sahvir Wheeler, Cason Wallace, Jacob Toppin and Oscar Tshiebwe in the first five. That was the first start of the season for Reeves and the fourth different lineup in six games for Calipari, who started CJ Fredrick alongside Wheeler, Wallace, Toppin and Tshiebwe against Gonzaga on Sunday night.
Toppin and Wallace are the only two Kentucky players who have started all six games this season. Fredrick had started all five games before coming off the bench Wednesday, and Tshiebwe and Wheeler — the only two returning starters from last season’s team — were sidelined for the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
Where’s Lance Ware?
Junior forward Lance Ware did not play against North Florida on Wednesday afternoon due to an illness. Ware, who started the first four games of the season in Oscar Tshiebwe’s place, is averaging 4.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in 16.0 minutes so far. He was with the team Wednesday, sitting on the UK bench during the game.
With Ware sidelined, freshman center Ugonna Onyenso got 18 minutes of playing time as Tshiebwe’s backup. Onyenso ended up with seven points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Kentucky’s next game
The Cats will now get a little break over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and they’ll next play Bellarmine on Tuesday night in Rupp Arena.
The Knights won the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament last season, but they were not eligible for the NCAA Tournament since the program is still transitioning from Division II to Division I status. They will be eligible for the NCAA Tournament starting in the 2024-25 season.
Bellarmine’s 2022-23 schedule is packed once again. The Knights (2-3) started the season with a 67-66 win at Louisville, and they also defeated Campbellsville-Harrodsburg 86-46. Their losses have come at Morehead State (62-55), at Clemson (76-66) and at No. 8 Duke (74-57). Bellarmine will play two games on the West Coast before coming to Rupp next week, with scheduled dates against Loyola Marymount on Friday and No. 19 UCLA on Sunday,
Tuesday’s game will be the first time the Cats and the Knights have met on the basketball court.
This story was originally published November 23, 2022 at 5:56 PM.
