Antonio Reeves’ electric first half is too much for Louisville in another rivalry rout
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Game day: No. 9 Kentucky 95, Louisville 76
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Thursday’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Louisville at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville.
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For a little while Thursday night, it looked like the latest edition of Kentucky vs. Louisville might actually be a game. That idea faded fairly quickly.
Antonio Reeves scored 30 points — most of them in a nearly perfect first half — and the No. 9-ranked Wildcats defeated the reeling Cardinals 95-76 in the Yum Center, which was as filled with UK fans as it has ever been for this annual rivalry game.
U of L fans still outnumbered those who wore blue into enemy territory, but the count was close. And several loud “Go Big Blue!” chants broke out throughout the night. For the most part, the expected blowout went according to the script, and the lopsided loss left embattled Louisville head coach Kenny Payne — an assistant at UK for a decade before returning to lead his alma mater — with another embarrassing defeat.
Reeves finished just four points shy of the series record for scoring by an individual player — UK’s Derrick Miller dropped 34 in a loss during the 1988-89 season — and the Wildcats nearly delivered their 10th victory of 20-plus points since the rivalry was renewed 40 years ago. U of L hit three free throws in the final minute to avoid that fate.
It was also the second consecutive lopsided loss in the series for Payne, whose Cardinals were beaten by 23 points in Rupp Arena last season en route to a 4-28 record. This defeat dropped Louisville to 5-7 on the season with the ACC schedule next up for the Cards.
Kentucky improved to 9-2 and won’t play again until facing Illinois State on Dec. 29, the Wildcats’ final tuneup before beginning their SEC schedule Jan. 6 at Florida.
Reeves was joined in double figures by Tre Mitchell with 18 points, Justin Edwards with 13, Rob Dillingham with 12 and Reed Sheppard with 11. Mitchell led the Cats with 12 rebounds, while Sheppard — Kentucky’s reigning Mr. Basketball — dished out 11 assists in his first appearance in the rivalry. That total set a new record for most assists by a player in one game on either side of the rivalry.
The game didn’t start exactly as planned for the Wildcats.
Kentucky missed its first five shots, didn’t score until Dillingham made two free throws with 16:30 left in the first half, and didn’t get its first bucket until Reeves hit a 3-pointer nearly four minutes into the game. The Cats were losing at the first TV timeout, D.J Wagner picked up his second foul with 13:00 left in the half, and UK went down 17-16 on a jumper by Louisville’s Tre White shortly after that.
Right around then, the Cats caught fire.
Midway through the half, Kentucky went on a flurry that featured seven consecutive made baskets and buckets on nine straight possessions. At the start of that run, the Cats were down one point. By the time Mitchell capped it with a 3-pointer, UK led by 14.
Louisville fought back with a 9-3 run of its own to get the game back within single digits — and keep the Cardinals fans invested — but another UK run effectively ended it by halftime.
Already leading 39-31, the Wildcats ran off a 14-2 run over the final 2:56 of the first half to go into the locker room up 53-33, their biggest lead of the night to that point. Reeves had 22 points at the half, making 9 of 10 shots and all four of his 3-point attempts.
The second half was more of the same.
Kentucky scored the first five points out of the break — three on free throws from Reeves — and controlled the game the rest of the way. Former UK signee Skyy Clark — now in his first season with Louisville — hit back-to-back jumpers to cut the Wildcats’ advantage to 17 points with 13:06 left, but that’s as close as the Cards would get.
What’s next for Kentucky?
The Wildcats will get some time off after Thursday night’s victory over Louisville, with eight days between games over the holiday break.
Kentucky won’t play again until hosting Illinois State — that was where Antonio Reeves started his college career and played three seasons — on Dec. 29 in Rupp Arena, which will revert back to its “old court” after the new one unveiled earlier this month was deemed unsuitable.
Illinois State entered Thursday at No. 199 nationally in the KenPom ratings. The Redbirds had a 7-4 record going into Thursday night’s meeting with Southeast Missouri State, one of the worst teams in Division I basketball, and their best win so far was a 61-52 victory last month over Long Beach State, which is 123rd in the KenPom ratings. Illinois State has already lost to Saint Louis, High Point, Wright State and Norfolk State so far this season.
The Redbirds have not had a winning record in their league (the Missouri Valley Conference) since the 2017-18 season, and they have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1998, when Kevin Stallings was the head coach.
The only previous meeting between UK and Illinois State happened during the 2015-16 season, and No. 1-ranked Kentucky won 75-63 in Rupp Arena.
This story was originally published December 21, 2023 at 8:13 PM.
