By: Ronald "Doc" Ball
General Impressions Good win but will say that the aura around UK is somewhat diminished. Teams used to come into Rupp thinking they would not or could not win. IMO that was worth 4-7 points. That is no longer the case. The Aggies felt they could win and played like it. As for UK, we played well, or at least well enough. Certainly are looking better but the bar hasn't been set exactly high. Good news is we had some upper echelon players play brutal games but overcame it with some good play from others. We had plenty of open looks from long range so I am not bothered by the 11-32 (34%) long range shooting. I can't bitch about open looks, and most college level players will hit at least 40% of those. We didn't but still hit enough.
Jacob Toppin B+ This is the game Jacob needs to bring regularly. He logged 34 minutes, hit 7-12 for 17 points. Most importantly he hit a trey so lets hope he gets that rolling. Added 5 rebounds, 3 asts to 1 TO. But mostly he just played smart without forcing anything. Typically he tries to do too much or nothing at all. Today he played to his game, used his athleticism when needed.
Cason Wallace B- Was 4-13 shooting, 1-7 from long range, and tallied 11 points. Normally that isn't B- worthy however he did manage the team well, kept us at a good pace. His 36 minutes led the team. The 5 assists good, the 4 turnovers not so good. Had open looks that didn't fall. Was one of those players who played sub par, who needs to give a thanks to his supporting staff
Oscar Tshiebwe C+ His second foul was a dumb one, and his third just plain stupid. Too often he flails around and its a wonder he doesn't get more called like that. Did little to nothing in the first half, no pts and 3 rebounds. Second half was better so he finished with just 7 points (3-5 shooting, 1-2 from the line) and 17 rebounds. Still, that is a far cry from what we needed offensively. But on the defensive end we, and he, looked better. This is likely due to less switching. He had the highest differential with +22 so clearly the defensive side was much improved.
Sahvir Wheeler C This was a tough grade. I know many are happy with his under 8 minutes of playing time. Not me. I think he has value on the floor....just not 35 minutes value. Only "stat" was 2 assists, as he had no shots, no turnovers and no rebounds. Still, I like the change of pace, I like the fact you can rest Wallace with him and I like his leadership.
Antonio Reeves A- One of those who stepped up. Nearly 29 minutes, hit 8 of 17 shots and 5-11 from three land. His game high 23 points was deserved. He was looking for open treys and taking open treys. His defense also better than most games. His differential was 19, second best on the team.
Chris Livingston B- Added a couple treys as his only 6 points but it offered another perimeter threat which helped open some others. His kick came when we needed it. Its one thing to score a couple treys in a game but the impact of hitting them bang bang is another. UK was sluggish when he dropped those. Their value was huge. He only logged 13 minutes, so perhaps a few more might have helped his numbers. Still, no denying the contribution.
CJ Fredrick C Much of the night he couldn't get anything to drop. It wasn't due to bad shots, and he was looking to shoot. Good shooters don't quit when they miss. He didn't. Only hit 2 of his 10 trey and 3 of his 12 shots. To me, I'm fine with that. His defense is under-rated too. Short of not having good shots fall, it was not a bad game for CJ despite the "C" grade.
Lance Ware A- No points, 4 rebounds and an assist = an A-? Seriously? Absolutely. Oscar out, Lance in. He did exactly what he needed to do. We are not looking for him to put in 15 points or grab 12 rebounds. We are looking for him to hold the line which he did. His defense was spectacular. He played hard, he played physical and wasn't pushed around. I'll take that every night if it gives Oscar 10 minutes rest.
Adou Thiero
Ugonna Onyenso C When he come in it was a "come to jesus" moment for me! One of two players with a negative differential. His was -6. Now that was minus 6 in 74 seconds.
Daimion Collins
Coaching B Looks like Cal is giving an effort! He used on of those things they give coaches when you can stop the clock, bring your team to the bench and do some strategy..... or try to break the momentum of the other team. It's that "T" thing but not a technical foul. Also cut back on Sav's minutes in an extreme manner. IMO it was too much but the results speak for themselves. I don't see it staying at sub 8 minutes though.
Officials B+ As much as I hate to give Shows et al any good ink, they did well tonight. They called it fair and they mostly called it correct. Nope, no beef from me.
Commentators B Only one "viscous" and no ice cream or jets.
Other 11-17 from the FT line not good (64%), shooting 40% overall also not good. 34% from long range isn't bad but the quality of the treys was much improved. We won the glass 38-31, and the assist battle 14-10. We had 5 players shoot at least 1 trey and we had five players make at least one trey. You do that and its usually going to result in a W as its hard to defend. UK's passing around the perimeter was crisp which allowed for open looks eventually. UK took those open looks and fired. Far better than forcing them. We had four players in double figures scoring, and our leading scorer for the season wasn't one of them. Our interior play was great with Oscar, Lance and Chris.