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Lexington, KY 1-28-23
The No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks (17-4, 5-3 BIG 12) arrived in Lexington as arguably the most desperate team in the country. The Jayhawks were coming off three consecutive losses to Kansas State (83-82), TCU (83-60), and Baylor (75-69). Kansas had never lost 4 consecutive games in the Bill Self era, and that trend held true late Saturday night in a loud Rupp Arena environment. The Jayhawks left Rupp with a 77-68 win over the ‘Cats. Kentucky had entered the game on a 4-game winning streak featuring wins over Tennessee (63-56), Georgia (85-71), Texas A&M (76-67), and Vanderbilt (69-53). Over the course of that winning streak, the ‘Cats had rocketed up the NET rankings all the way up to No. 33. Kansas entered the game ranked No. 9 in the latest NET rankings. Offensively for the Jayhawks, Redshirt Junior Jalen Wilson (21.4 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 2.5 APG), Freshman Gradey Dick (14.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 43.7% from 3PT), Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar (10.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG), KJ Adams Jr. (10.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 63% FG%) and Redshirt Junior PG Dajuan Harris (7.2 PPG, 6.5 APG) have led the way this season. For the ‘Cats, Oscar Tshiebwe (16.6 PPG, 13.9 RPG), Antionio Reeves (16.8 PPG in last 6 games), Cason Wallace (11.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.6 APG), Jacob Toppin (11.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG) and CJ Frederick (10.4 PPG in last 5 games) have led the offensive attack for the ‘Cats. Those five highlight Kentucky’s best lineup that has been recently coined the “Basketball Benny” lineup by Big Blue Nation.
The environment at Rupp, both pre-game and during, was the best it has been all season. The student section was filled 90-minutes until tip and the crowd would erupt into “boos” anytime a Kansas player enterd the court for warmups. The student section was so engaged that they would also cheer anytime a Kansas player missed a shot in pre-game warmups as well. Kentucky looked as loose as they have all season during their warmups, with players dancing, singing, and talking with each other throughout the shootaround. The ‘Cats looked confident and unintimidated by the Jayhawks. Some keys to the game for the ’Cats were starting fast and not falling behind early, three-point shooting, winning the rebounding battle, bench impact and energy (Wheeler/Reeves/Ware), and the use and execution of the “Basketball Benny” lineup (Wallace/Frederick/Reeves/Toppin/Tshiebwe).
Calipari rolled out the same starting lineup of Wallace, Frederick, Livingston, Toppin, and Tshiebwe.
Kansas started Harris, Dick, McCullar, Wilson, and Adams Jr.
Game Recap:
The ‘Cats kicked off the game scoring with a Toppin floater that led to a loud burst of cheers from the Rupp crowd. The ‘Cats were locked in defensively to start the game, limiting the Jayhawks chances. The second score of the game came via a Frederick driving layup. The first Kansas points came from a Wilson floater. The ‘Cats and Livingston ran the floor for an easy layup after another Wilson layup that brought the score to 6-4 ‘Cats. A steal by Wallace and an outlet pass from Tshiebwe to Livingston pushed the score to 9-4 Kentucky at the first media timeout. Kansas responded with a mid-range jumper and three-pointer that tied the game at 11 before Toppin backed down his defender to push the ‘Cats back in front. Tshiebwe found Livingston again, who drove down the lane for an emphatic slam that pushed the ‘Cats in front by a score of 15-13. Wallace responded to a Jayhawks three with a driving acrobatic and-one finish that highlighted his NBA lottery pick talent. After the free-throw, Kentucky led 18-16. Livingston scored another transition basket through contact, giving him 8 early points in the game to lead the ‘Cats (spoiler… he would not score again). The score at the under 12-minute media timeout was 20-18 ‘Cats. Wheeler checked into the game for the first time following the timeout. The Jayhawks took the lead on a Adams Jr. jumper, but Tshiebwe quickly regained the lead for the ‘Cats with a strong layup. After a Kansas and-one, the Jayhawks took the lead at 24-22. That score held true until the under 8-minute media timeout. A Tshiebwe and-one pushed the score to 26-25 Kansas with 7:12 to play in the half. Toppin responded to a Jayhawks slam with a strong jam of his own that brought the score to 28-27 Jayhawks. Kansas continued to execute offensively for the next few possessions while the ‘Cats struggled to make the most of their chances. The score was 34-29 Kansas with 3:48 to play in the half. Kansas took a 7-point lead on a driving layup by Harris, 36-29. Reeves ended a Kentucky FG drought of over 3-minutes with a mid-range jumper that narrowed the Kansas lead to 39-32. Wheeler finished the scoring in the first half with his signature driving angled layup that brought the halftime score to 41-34 Kansas. Toppin and Livingston led the scoring effort for the ‘Cats in the first half with 8-points each. The ‘Cats did shoot an efficient 56% from the field but failed to make a three-pointer and went just 4-11 form the charity stripe in the half. Kansas outrebounded Kentucky 21-13 in the first half, with 5 offensive rebounds (UK with 0) leading to 9 second chance points. Another key note from the first half was that the ”Basketball Benny” lineup (Wallace/Frederick/Reeves/Toppin/Tshiebwe) played 0 minutes in the first half.
The second half scoring started with an and-one opportunity for McCullar for Kansas. The score was 43-34 Jayhawks after the missed free-throw. Wallace nailed a corner three to re-ignite the crowd and brought the ‘Cats within 6 at 43-37. The pick-and-roll defensive struggles continued for Tshiebwe throughout the game. After another failed defensive possession by the ‘Cats, Oscar responded with a layup of his own. Tshiebwe again scored on the next possession to narrow the Jayhawks lead to 47-43 with 16:10 to play. The score sat at 51-45 Kansas at the under 16-minute media timeout. Good ball movement and the extra pass created an open look for Wallace, who nailed the three that brought the ‘Cats within 1 at 51-50. Wilson answered that three with a three of his own to quiet the rowdy Rupp crowd. The score with 11:03 to play was 56-50 Kansas. A driving floater by Reeves brought the score to 56-52 Jayhawks. Two Wallace free-throws brought the ‘Cats back within 4 after another Kansas score. The score sat at 58-54 Kansas with 7:29 remaining in the game. Toppin hit two free-throws after the timeout to narrow the score to 58-56 Kansas. After trading buckets, Reeves went to the line and hit two more free-throws that brought the score to 62-60 with 6-minutes to play. Kansas hit back-to-back threes to extend their lead back to 6 at 70-64 with 3:37 to play. Tshiebwe hit two free-throws to narrow the score to 70-66 Kansas. McCullar hit a three and Wilson hit a long jumper to re-extend the Kansas lead to 7 with just 1:49 to play, 75-68. The last points of the game came via two Kansas free-throws. The final score was 77-68 Kansas over Kentucky.
Kansas executed their offense to perfection throughout the game and finished the game shooting 49% from the field and 38% from three (6-16 from 3PT). Kentucky also shot 49% from the field but went just 2-13 from beyond the arc (15%). Kansas was the more physical and aggressive team throughout the game and finished the game outrebounding the ‘Cats by a count of 34-29. The leading rebounder in the game was McCullar for the Jayhawks, who collected 12 in the game (11 points). Wilson had a game-high 22-points for the Jayhawks and consistently hit clutch shots in pivotal points in the game. Tshiebwe led the ’Cats with 18-points and 9-rebounds. Wallace and Toppin added in 14-points each and Reeves finished with 10-points. Wallace also led the ‘Cats with 5 assists. No Wildcat finished the game in the positive (+) in the plus/minus total for the game, but Frederick led the team with a -1 in 29-minutes of action. As mentioned earlier, the “Basketball Benny” lineup did not play a single possession in the fist half and did not enter the game until 18-minutes left to play in the game. That lineup did execute offensively as they have in previous games, as they narrowed the Kansas lead from 9 down to 1 in the second half. Overall, this was an incredibly disappointing loss for the ‘Cats after so much anticipation and excitement had built up before the game. The Big Blue Nation’s energy took a hit Saturday night, but it will look to build it back up as the ‘Cats push forward the rest of the season.
The ‘Cats (14-7, 5-3 SEC) will look to bounce back next week as they hit the road to take on the Ole Miss Rebels (9-11, 1-7 SEC) on Tuesday, January 31. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN.
