Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s win over South Carolina State
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Game day: No. 4 Kentucky 106, South Carolina State 63
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Thursday night’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and South Carolina State in Rupp Arena.
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Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 106-63 victory over the South Carolina State Bulldogs on Thursday night at Rupp Arena.
1. This was a feel-good game
After that double-overtime loss to Michigan State in the Champions Classic on Tuesday, John Calipari’s Cats got a confidence-booster by blowing out a winless South Carolina State team.
Now 3-1, Kentucky shot 57.4 percent for the game, hit eight of their 13 three-point attempts in the second half on the way to a 10-of-24 night behind the stripe, and battered the Bulldogs on the boards, 48-28. The Cats also were credited with 25 assists on 39 made field goals.
CJ Fredrick recovered from a bad shooting night in Indy to go 3-of-7 from three on the way to 17 points. Chris Livingston scored 13 points in 17 minutes. Lance Ware scored 12 in 14. Sahvir Wheeler had 10 assists and 0 turnovers in 25 minutes. Antonio Reeves was also 3-of-7 from three after an off night against the Spartans.
Kentucky did all this with just a 14-minute contribution from Oscar Tshiebwe, who saw his double-double string end. The center finished with six points and seven rebounds. And Calipari said that at first UK wasn’t going to play the star center, who is still recovering from knee surgery.
“But we’re a different team when he is in the game,” said Calipari, who praised Tshiebwe’s unselfishness because the big man knew limited playing time would hurt his stats. “He didn’t care.”
2. It always looks better when you make shots
In their first two games, the Wildcats were an encouraging 22-of-43 from three-point range while routing Howard and Duquesne. Against Michigan State’s tough defense, the Cats were just 7-of-25 from behind the arc. Thursday, back to facing an inferior foe, UK started slowly from the perimeter, but caught fire in the second half.
So do we know yet if this is going to be a good shooting team? Probably not. We know the potential is there with Fredrick and Reeves. Cason Wallace was 2-of-4 from three on Thursday. Chris Livingston made one of his two three-point attempts.
But the Cats have to prove they can make shots against stiffer competition. Not just make shots, but get shots, good shots. Part of the problem against the Spartans was finding comfortable threes. Yes, UK missed some open looks, but there were plenty of contested looks, as well.
“I told Antonio, ‘Score baskets. That’s what you do,’” Calipari said.
And Reeves appeared to regain some of his confidence Thursday. He combined with Fredrick to shoot 3-of-14 against Michigan State. Against South Carolina State, the Illinois State transfer scored 11 points in 20 minutes. He needs to be a contributor for this Kentucky team to play up to its offensive potential.
3. Gonzaga will be the team in a bad mood now
After edging Michigan State 64-63 last week, Gonzaga ran into a buzzsaw Wednesday night at Texas, losing 93-74 to Chris Beard and the Longhorns.
Texas shot 51.5 percent from the floor, made 13 three-pointers and forced 20 Gonzaga turnovers. The Longhorns outscored the Zags 47-37 in the first half and 46-37 in the second.
Now Kentucky leaves on Friday to play the Zags on Sunday in Spokane, Wash. It’s a 7:30 p.m. game on ESPN.
“They are going to be a lion right now because they just lost at Texas,” Calipari said.
“I’m super excited,” said UK’s Fredrick. “Obviously to go out there and play in Spokane Arena. I’ve never played there. I’m sure it’s going to be a hostile environment and as a competitor that’s what you like.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 11:24 PM.
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