QUICK TAKES: Kentucky 101, Stonehill 67​

Kentucky freshman guard Reed Sheppard directed the Wildcats' offense during Friday's win over Stonehill at Rupp Arena. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)

Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor Edit
@JDrumUK

In our regular postgame feature, the Cats Illustrated staff offers its first impressions from Kentucky's 101-67 win over Stonehill on Friday night at Rupp Arena...​

JUSTIN ROWLAND:

Reed Sheppard is one impressive basketball player. Even if he wasn't taking any shots, he's the kind of guy who could have a huge impact on the game with his defense, passing, and anticipation of all the action. He and Rob Dillingham play very well together. What stands out to me is the ball does not stop with those two. It's constantly moving, putting strain on the defense, forcing tough rotations and clean looks almost always result. The other two freshmen, Edwards and Wagner, look like they're still feeling their way around at this level. That's okay for now because Kentucky has such a plethora of offensive options capable of going for 20 points on a given night. Stonehill isn't a good team, but I do feel like they probably executed their offense about as well as they're capable of at times. This was a very strong performance by Kentucky with their skill fully on display, even if they turned it over more than they have in other games this year.

JEFF DRUMMOND:

I have always expected Reed Sheppard to be a quality player at Kentucky... at some point. I had no idea he could be this good (25 points, 7/8 3PFG, 7 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks) this fast. He might be the Cats' most efficient and productive player through four games this season, and this was his best showing yet. Big Blue Nation loves a home-grown talent, and when you factor in the "legacy" aspect of his father, he's well on his way to fan-favorite status. The other thing that stands out about tonight is, even though everyone expected this to be a blowout, UK is playing in a style that makes it fun. The Cats are running and gunning. The hardest part of these last three years since Covid was, not only did UK lose more than usual, but even most of the wins felt like joyless rock fights. These games have been a blast. Now, if they can get DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards on track and get just one of the 7-footers on the court, things could really be interesting.

..........the need for REED.

Login to view embedded media

Just getting up at the hotel waiting for the family to get moving. We really enjoyed the game last night, this team is fun to watch. Also love the spacing and ball movement this season. It appears Cal made some great hires on the staff.

Anyone else notice a lack of floaters this season? In the past years that was really a point of emphasis with Cals guards. Also have noticed not as many lobs. Obviously part of the libs is the lack of three 7 footers on the bench. The lobs that were attempted last night just weren't placed well for the most part and it made me wonder if it's not something they are working on as much with the new system. I'd take the new system in a heartbeat over the old system just curious if anyone else noticed this and had thoughts. Or maybe I'm just bored waiting for the family to get up so I can get on the road.

Avid UK supporter here...just watched Brohm on tv...how did he do what he did? Win on Sat, and play for ACC championship...I know ACC is weak, but still quite a turnaround

Our matchup in December might not be as of easy of a cake walk that we thought.

Reed Sheppard appears to be a special basketball player and this is big nostalgia for me. I remember watching the '98 national title and the comeback against Utah in my grandmother's living room like it was yesterday. For Reed to be even better than Jeff coming in, and a totally all around basketball player. What he did tonight was special.

The Cats had a really great night on offense. We really saw, again, how well this team can move the ball. It can be special in that regard. Just good look after good look. Of course, Stonehill hasn't had a lot of success this season so probably good to keep that in mind. But you can see the offensive skill every time they take the court.

Justin Edwards and DJ Wagner did not have especially big games. They weren't bad but again they weren't the leading scorers or top performers. In my mind, if Edwards can flip the switch on this season, Kentucky can be a title team. They're going to be really good even if he's not great, but they need him to be a real offensive threat. Wagner, it will be interesting to see how he develops deferring more to the other guards who are more skilled.

Mitchell and Reeves were great in the first half. Dillingham and Sheppard combined for 45.

Once again, the trend of taking fewer mid-range shots and more 3-pointers continues. That will probably continue all season long with the way the roster is constructed, the only thing to really watch is the impact of the big(s) returning. They really filled it up from outside.

If you could make a couple of criticisms it would be that the defense wasn't always great at times, and they didn't take care of the basketball quite like they did in their first three games.

Welcome to the Official Kentucky vs Stonehill OOC Prediction Contest!

Follow the rules below and make your prediction. I'll publish the results after the game. You can put any comment you would like below your score prediction (put '***' after your prediction to make it easier to separate the comments) but try not to put anything above as my scripts may not be able to find your prediction. This is the 1st of three prediction contests this season: the OOC Contest, the SEC Regular Season contest, and the Postseason Contest.

Whoever predicts the score closest to the actual score wins. I take the absolute value of the difference of your guess of the Kentucky score and the actual plus the absolute value of the difference of your guess of the opponent score and the actual. There is a penalty for picking the wrong winner. That penalty is the worst score among those who predicted the correct winner. In case of a tie, the tiebreaker is used. In case of a tie in the tiebreaker, we have more than one winner.

I will be awarding points for the first 10 places, including a 3 point bonus for a perfect prediction. I will track cumulative point totals and the number of games you make the top 10. This contest ends with the Gonzaga game in the middle of the SEC Regular Season.

Your post should look something really close to the example below. Remember the ":"s and the word "Tiebreaker:"! Do not!! use a "-" as a separator because some of our tiebreakers will be negative.

This game's tiebreaker is Kentucky Steals.

Kentucky vs Stonehill game:

-------------------------
Kentucky: 95
Stonehill: 56

Tiebreaker: 12
--------------------------

Just cut and paste everything between the lines above into your reply and then modify the scores and tiebreaker as you see fit. If you don't know how to do that, type very carefully. Remember to type in the word "Tiebreaker:" so that I can find it. Anything my scripts can't figure out will not count.

Don't edit your post or try to post a score after the game has started.

BTW I really would prefer exact names for the teams, but will try to be accommodating as long as it doesn't create too much work for me. If we are playing Louisville, just about anything not obscene will be OK.

--------------------------
Postseason Basketball Prediction Scores - Kentucky @ Kansas (tiebreaker was 45 Kansas Rebounds):

10 1 . Jazzycat : 6 points, tiebreaker=44
9 2 . rivercatinfl : 11 points, tiebreaker=40
8 3 . AFSTALLION13 : 13 points, tiebreaker=40
7 4 . Kycatspaws : 14 points, tiebreaker=44
6 5 . blubo : 15 points, tiebreaker=49
5 6 . maysvilleky : 15 points, tiebreaker=40
4 7 . Hang_Time_2 : 16 points, tiebreaker=45
3 8 . UK Cats1 : 16 points, tiebreaker=40
2 9 . ukfan041 : 17 points, tiebreaker=45
1 10 . *CatinIL* : 17 points, tiebreaker=48
.. 11 . TNCatfanforever : 18 points, tiebreaker=42
.. 12 . kybloo92 : 18 points, tiebreaker=40
.. 13 . Corbin_Creeper : 19 points, tiebreaker=43
.. 14 . Short-Dawg-69 : 20 points, tiebreaker=48
.. 15 . yes_takeaside : 21 points, tiebreaker=44
.. 16 . Smashcat : 21 points, tiebreaker=42
.. 17 . Blue_belly : 21 points, tiebreaker=34
.. 18 . Old_Red : 22 points, tiebreaker=48
.. 19 . kyfanrob : 22 points, tiebreaker=41
.. 19 . Jperry1987 : 22 points, tiebreaker=41
.. 21 . Blueworld_3.0 : 23 points, tiebreaker=40
.. 22 . Chad Rock : 23 points, tiebreaker=39
.. 23 . Creed Bratton : 23 points, tiebreaker=52
.. 24 . JFCats22 : 24 points, tiebreaker=41
.. 25 . kywildcat41086 : 24 points, tiebreaker=39
.. 26 . Rideordiewildcat : 24 points, tiebreaker=38
.. 27 . gblue5744 : 25 points, tiebreaker=48
.. 28 . ORCAT : 25 points, tiebreaker=41
.. 29 . pappy52 : 25 points, tiebreaker=39
.. 29 . UKCatWoman : 25 points, tiebreaker=39
.. 31 . Green River : 25 points, tiebreaker=38
.. 32 . LogicalCat : 26 points, tiebreaker=44
.. 33 . howercat : 26 points, tiebreaker=42
.. 34 . number8please : 27 points, tiebreaker=43
.. 35 . kywildcatsfannumber1: 27 points, tiebreaker=37
.. 36 . docholiday51 : 28 points, tiebreaker=42
.. 37 . North Carolina Blue Wildcat: 28 points, tiebreaker=38
.. 38 . ThreeHogNight : 30 points, tiebreaker=42
.. 39 . Jamal Mercer : 31 points, tiebreaker=43
.. 40 . CincyUKFan : 32 points, tiebreaker=35
.. 41 . RMorris33 : 36 points, tiebreaker=35
.. 42 . THE_HOOK : 36 points, tiebreaker=31
.. 43 . YardCat : 39 points, tiebreaker=40
.. 44 . U Go UK : 45 points, tiebreaker=35
.. 45 . cat888 : 48 points, tiebreaker=46
.. 46 . lyngz : 53 points, tiebreaker=40
.. 47 . $Z71$ : 55 points, tiebreaker=42
.. 48 . KY Long Rifle : 55 points, tiebreaker=37
.. 49 . Lovebaskelball : 57 points, tiebreaker=43
.. 49 . _Rooster : 57 points, tiebreaker=43
.. 51 . BlobUK : 59 points, tiebreaker=35
.. 52 . wfm101981 : 61 points, tiebreaker=33
.. 53 . cat tat2 : 62 points, tiebreaker=47
.. 54 . ArtLaibsGhost : 63 points, tiebreaker=42
.. 55 . Wildcat_In_Florida: 64 points, tiebreaker=39
.. 56 . WalterTheHippo : 65 points, tiebreaker=43
.. 57 . kennyskywalker34 : 65 points, tiebreaker=41
.. 58 . warrior-cat : 66 points, tiebreaker=39
.. 58 . BigBlueFanGA : 66 points, tiebreaker=39
.. 60 . WeWant9 : 67 points, tiebreaker=42
.. 61 . somekindofcat : 67 points, tiebreaker=38
.. 61 . Roe07 : 67 points, tiebreaker=38
.. 63 . Blueisbest : 68 points, tiebreaker=38
.. 64 . UKBB4Ever : 69 points, tiebreaker=35
.. 65 . TOMCATS1990 : 70 points, tiebreaker=47
.. 66 . M4CAT : 72 points, tiebreaker=38
.. 67 . Hargyt13 : 75 points, tiebreaker=38
.. 68 . the nail at the foul line: 76 points, tiebreaker=38
.. 69 . drew_ukfan : 78 points, tiebreaker=38
.. 70 . Bigblueincincy : 83 points, tiebreaker=45
.. 71 . BarnabusStinson : 137 points, tiebreaker=0

Those who picked the wrong winner: cat tat2, the nail at the foul line, $Z71$, _Rooster, wfm101981, cat888, Blueisbest, Lovebaskelball, somekindofcat, warrior-cat, WeWant9, TOMCATS1990, U Go UK, Bigblueincincy, WalterTheHippo, M4CAT, kennyskywalker34, BarnabusStinson, BlobUK, KY Long Rifle, UKBB4Ever, Hargyt13, drew_ukfan, ArtLaibsGhost, Wildcat_In_Florida, Roe07, lyngz, BigBlueFanGA

Postseason Basketball Prediction Contest Leader Board:

11 : AFSTALLION13
10 : Bigblueincincy
10 : Jazzycat
10 : pappy52
9 : cat tat2
9 : LogicalCat
9 : rivercatinfl
9 : warrior-cat
8 : Creed Bratton
8 : RMorris33
7 : Green River
7 : Kycatspaws
7 : TNCatfanforever
6 : blubo
6 : Hargyt13
5 : maysvilleky
5 : TOMCATS1990
5 : Wildcat_In_Florida
4 : Corbin_Creeper
4 : Hang_Time_2
4 : ThreeHogNight
3 : Blue_belly
3 : UK Cats1
2 : GoBIG BLUE
2 : North Carolina Blue Wildcat
2 : ukfan041
1 : *CatinIL*
1 : ukypug


Players Who've Made the Top Ten at Least Once:

2 : AFSTALLION13
2 : warrior-cat
1 : *CatinIL*
1 : Bigblueincincy
1 : blubo
1 : Blue_belly
1 : cat tat2
1 : Corbin_Creeper
1 : Creed Bratton
1 : GoBIG BLUE
1 : Green River
1 : Hang_Time_2
1 : Hargyt13
1 : Jazzycat
1 : Kycatspaws
1 : LogicalCat
1 : maysvilleky
1 : North Carolina Blue Wildcat
1 : pappy52
1 : rivercatinfl
1 : RMorris33
1 : ThreeHogNight
1 : TNCatfanforever
1 : TOMCATS1990
1 : UK Cats1
1 : ukfan041
1 : ukypug
1 : Wildcat_In_Florida


Total Players:
Kentucky vs New Mexico State : 59
Kentucky vs Texas A&M-Commerce : 61
Kentucky @ Kansas : 71

Season Average for Players: 63.7


Postseason Basketball Prediction Champs:
Kentucky vs New Mexico State : Bigblueincincy: 13
Kentucky vs Texas A&M-Commerce : pappy52: 7
Kentucky @ Kansas : Jazzycat: 6


@Deeeefense

Shep goes out and we lost.

Who besides me saw it coming?

Thanks Cal.

Reports that Quinn Ewers is now expected to return to Texas next year. That means Arch will 100% transfer. Word is that LSU is a likely spot.

The History of the Middle Finger:
Well, now......here's something I never knew before, and now that I know it, I feel compelled to send it on to my more intelligent friends in the hope that they, too, will feel edified.
Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous English longbow was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as 'plucking the yew' (or 'pluck yew').
Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and they began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, See, we can still pluck yew! Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodentalfricative 'F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute! It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as 'giving the bird.'
And yew thought yew knew every plucking thing. Didn't yew! 😛

Do we have a comprehensive list of ex Cats that transfered and are currently playing? Brooks and Wheeler at Washington, Allen at WKU, etc....

Login to view embedded media
*****

Nm

Got Zach Collins this time

Login to view embedded media

Should be an easy one. But as always GO CATS!

BWO

Wonder when the Cats last shot better ?

64% is an absurd number.

KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
RUPP ARENA AT CENTRAL BANK CENTER | LEXINGTON, KY
NOV. 17, 2023
ATTENDANCE: 18,960

Final Score: No. 17/16 Kentucky 101, Stonehill 67

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 3-1 on the season, Stonehill is 1-4.
• This was the first meeting between the teams.
• This was UK’s second game in the Wildcat Challenge presented by Kentucky Tourism.
• UK continues the five-game homestand Monday against St. Joseph’s for the final game of the Wildcat Challenge. Game time is 7 p.m. and it will be televised on SEC Network.

Team Notes

• Kentucky totaled 101 points, reaching the century mark for the 20th time in the John Calipari era, the first time since a 106-63 win over South Carolina State exactly a year ago, Nov. 17, 2022.
• Kentucky made 17 of 32 on 3-pointers, the most 3-pointers made in the Calipari era and the most since making 20 threes (35 att.) on March 4, 1995, against LSU.
• Kentucky shot 39 of 61 from the field, 63.9%, the eighth-highest single-game figure of the Calipari era.
• Kentucky had assists on two-thirds of its baskets, 26 assists on 39 field goals made. The 26 assists are sixth-most in one game in the Calipari era.
• Kentucky limited Stonehill to 37.5% from the field (24 of 64). UK is 235-24 (90.7%) in the Calipari era, 2-0 this season, when the opponent shoots 40% or less.
• Kentucky led by as many as 37 points. The Wildcats are 332-15 (95.7%) in the Calipari era when leading by as many as 10 points at any time during the contest.
• Kentucky had a pair of 20-point scorers for the first time this season.
• Kentucky is 650-81 (88.9%) in the 48th season in Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.

Player Notes

• Reed Sheppard had a season-high 25 points, making 7 of 8 3-pointers.
  • The seven threes tie for the 13th most in school history and are just one shy of the most in one game in the Calipari era.
  • Sheppard’s seven assists are a season high.
  • Sheppard had three steals and has had at least two thefts in each game.
• Rob Dillingham had a season-best 20 points and has hit double-digits in all four games. He added seven assists, tying Sheppard for game-high honors.
• Antonio Reeves had 15 points, giving him double figures in all four games.
• Tre MItchell had 15 points on an efficient 7 of 9 shooting.

Coach John Calipari

• Calipari has an 834-254 all-time on-court record and a 389-114 mark at Kentucky.
• Calipari is 319-64 at UK against unranked competition.
• This was Calipari’s first game vs. Stonehill.
• Calipari is 222-21 in Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.

In the First Half

• Kentucky started D.J. Wagner, Antonio Reeves, Justin Edwards, Adou Thiero and Tre Mitchell.
• Stonehill scored the first five points of the game before a Mitchell layup got the UK on the board with 18:31 on the clock.
• Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard were UK’s first substitutions with 16:16 remaining.
• Stonehill held its last lead at 12-11 when Reeves’ layup and 3-pointer gave the Wildcats the lead for good.
• A 14-0 run, ended with consecutive 3-pointers by Sheppard, put the Wildcats in control at 30-15.
• After missing their first 3-point attempt, the Wildcats bagged their next six long balls.
• UK went to intermission with its largest lead of the half, 21 points at 58-37.

In the Second Half

• Kentucky began the second half with the starting lineup.
• Stonehill tallied the first eight points, cutting the count to 58-45 and prompting a UK timeout at 17:12.
• Ahead 61-48, a 10-0 run pushed UK ahead 71-48.
• Kentucky led by as many as 37 points at 99-62.
• UK went into triple digits with 19 seconds left when Edwards’ layup curled around the rim before finally dropping home to make the Cats’ tally 101.

Login to view embedded media
Apparently the firm "US Integrity" that investigates anomolies in betting lines and gambling bets is now involved.

If all this IS true, UM is about to be in a world of hurt....

I'm not expecting any reactions or replies. I just want to vent a little.

Today we took our 7 year old great dane to the emergency vet. For the last few days he's had a stuffy nose and obviously felt a little down. The last couple of days he stopped eating and developed a fever. Nothing major, or so we thought.

Turns out he has fluid in his lungs. A test determined it's very possibly due to cancer but they're not sure. They plan to do more blood work and an ultrasound tomorrow. So, they want to keep him overnight to give him an IV and to keep an eye on him in case the fluid in the lungs becomes an issue.

About an hour ago I got a call that his bp is dropping and his pulse rate is up. They did a quick ultrasound and determined his lungs are filling with fluid. It's possible it's from the earlier test and he's just not able to clot. They want to drain the fluid and give him something to help with clotting.

I've been through this before and I'm afraid we're at the end. I told them to give me a call at whatever time in case we need to rush in to say goodbye. Just writing this hurts. It's not supposed to happen this fast. Our other danes lived to be 12.5 and 14. This guy is a baby compared to them.

I don't know where I'm going with this. I guess hug your pets because you never know.

No words. Dude is just smart as hell and built for this game! WOW!