Cats close strong, top Penn 81-66​

Kentucky's Aaron Bradshaw put up a shot at the rim during Saturday's game against Penn in Philadelphia. (Kyle Ross/USA Today Sports)

Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor Edit
@JDrumUK

In only his second game since returning from off-season foot surgery, Kentucky's Aaron Bradshaw delivered a double-double and provided the Wildcats with some much-needed rim protection on Saturday in an 81-66 win over Penn.

The freshman 7-footer scored 17 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, blocked three shots, and recorded a steal as the Cats turned away the upset-minded Quakers in the Malone's Classic at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

"How nice is it to have Aaron back?" Kentucky head coach John Calipari said. "Like, block a shot, go get a rebound. His reach. He's 7-2, so that helps a lot. Tre (Mitchell) isn't in the same kind of grind."

No. 16 Kentucky (7-2) also got 17 points from freshman guard Rob Dillingham off the bench and 16 points from grad senior guard Antonio Reeves. The Cats shot 49.3% from the field and 40% from the 3-point arc (8 of 20).

Penn (6-5), whose early-season resume included a 76-72 win over No. 21 Villanova, fell behind by 16 points in the first half but rallied 47-46 with 15:17 remaining in the game. The Quakers hit 10 of their first 13 shots to open the second half as part of a 23-8 run that extended back to the final minute of the first half.

The Cats had an answer, though, as they went on a 14-5 spurt to regain control. Dillingham had six points and a steal during that key segment.

Kentucky put the game away with a 9-0 run at the 7:35 mark that included seven points from Reeves to regain almost all of the big lead it held earlier in the game.

"Here's the big thing for Antonio," Calipari said. "This was kinda like a game last year where you can't make a shot. You're 0-fer, 0-fer, and he makes a tip-in, a floater, and a 3... That shows how much better he is as a player."

Penn shot 45.6% from the field and knocked down nine 3-pointers but turned the ball over 15 times, contributing to a 14-2 edge in fast-break points by UK.

The Quakers were led by guard Clark Slajchert with 17 points and 15 from backcourt mate Tyler Perkins.

*****

In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK win...

KEY MOMENT:

Penn made back-to-back 3s at the 10:18 mark of the second half to cut the lead to 51-47 and force UK head coach John Calipari to use his second timeout. The Cats responded to whatever was said during that break in the action, going on a 9-0 run to regain control. Senior guard Antonio Reeves was the focal point, scoring seven of the nine points, including a nice hustle tip-in while drawing a foul. The key spurt also featured a DJ Wagner bucket, a Reed Sheppard blocked shot, a Tre Mitchell steal, and a blocked shot by Aaron Bradshaw.

GAME BALL:

Aaron Bradshaw, Kentucky -- It was a nice homecoming for Bradshaw, who grew up across the river from Philly in southern New Jersey. His all-around performance contributed heavily to the Cats' ability to hold off the Quakers. He finished with a team-best +/- of plus-17.

BY THE NUMBERS:

0:00 - Time that Penn held a lead in the game. UK trailed for 34:30 on Tuesday night in an upset loss to UNC-Wilmington.

6-0 - Kentucky's lead in the all-time series with Penn.

7-foot-1 - Aaron Bradshaw's official-listed height, making him the tallest player in UK program history to make a 3-pointer.

-17 - Quakers held under their season scoring average of 83 points.

40-5 - Bench-scoring advantage for UK, including 34 combined from Aaron Bradshaw and Rob Dillingham.

41-31 - UK advantage on the glass, including 20 combined from big mean Aaron Bradshaw and Tre Mitchell.

QUOTABLE:

"I thought we had a fight to us today, even though they came back on us and I had to use some timeouts." -- UK head coach John Calipari

UP NEXT:

Kentucky has another week to refine its game in practice before traveling to Atlanta for the CBS Sports Classic against No. 9 North Carolina. The Tar Heels (7-2) are coming off an 87-76 loss to defending national champion UConn on Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 ET in Atlanta.

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Bradshaw reminds me of Andre Riddick

Bradshaw is the spitting image of Kevin Durant.

Bradshaw will be a one and done. Enjoy him while you can.

Bradshaw is extremely overrated. No way he goes in the top 10 of the draft.

Bradshaw is our best player behind Reed

Bradshaw must start

Bradshaw clogs up the lane and gets too many minutes

Bradshaw should not be shooting 3’s

Bradshaw is a stick figure and gets pushed around

We won’t lose another game with Bradshaw playing

We’re not going to win too many games playing 7 footers

I just saved all of us a lot of time 😎

JOHN CALIPARI UK NETWORK Q&A:

* Cal thanks the sponsors of this game (including Malone's and Drake's restaurants in Lexington) for setting up this game. Good benefit for the program to play in that arena against a good team. Nice to bring some guys back home to play close to family and friends, and nice to see some of his old players like MKG, Maxey, and Quickley at the game. Shared with his current players what these guys had to do to become special players and earn their way into the league.

* Penn was a tough opponent. Tough offense to defend. The Cats know they can face that now.

* "How nice is it to have Aaron back? Woo," Cals says. That size and length really changes things.

* Liked how the Cats finished when he decided to "shorten the game." Antonio Reeves was good there.

* Penn was 2/12 in the first half from 3 because they ran them hard off the 3-point line. But they didn't do that as much to start the second half. Had to get back into their legs. That's what he preached after they trimmed the lead down.

* DJ Wagner's toughness was needed. Nice to have him back.

* Glad to see Antonio Reeves rise to the occasion in the clutch. Had a tip-in, a floater, and a 3-pointer, all when they mattered a lot. Shows he's still improving as a player.

Does UK cover?

Team Records​

No. 12 Kentucky: 6-2 (KenPom: 22)

• 11/6: 86-46 W vs. New Mexico State
• 11/10: 81-61 W vs. Texas A&M-Commerce (Wildcat Challenge)
• 11/14: 89-84 L vs. No. 1 Kansas
• 11/17: 101-67 W vs. Stonehill (Wildcat Challenge)
• 11/20: 96-88 OT W vs. Saint Joseph’s (Wildcat Challenge)
• 11/24: 118-82 W vs. Marshall
• 11/28: 95-73 W vs. No. 8 Miami (FL)
• 12/2: 80-73 L vs. UNC-Wilmington

Penn: 6-4 (KenPom: 191)

• 11/6: 102-57 W vs. John Jay College
• 11/8: 80-61 W vs. Bucknell
• 11/10: 69-61 L vs. Saint Joseph’s
• 11/13: 76-72 W vs. No. 21 Villanova
• 11/18: 83-80 L vs. Maryland Eastern Shore
• 11/24: 74-72 W vs. Lafayette
• 11/25: 84-79 L (OT) vs. Belmont
• 11/26: 76-61 W vs. Monmouth
• 12/2: 93-92 L (OT) vs. La Salle
• 12/6: 111-57 W vs. FDU-Florham

Love to see it!!!

Does anyone know anything about how the WR coach search is going? The posting ended yesterday. Has it been re-posted? Anby rumors about talks being in progress.

Look, I get it, we don’t look as fluid as we did the first several games but it’s gonna take a little while to figure out how to play with our bigs. I don’t think we need to panic in early December. Let’s give it a month or so and see what we look like at the end of that period before we jump off a cliff.

Raymond Cottrell is a nice addition for the UK receiver room. He is a younger guy and sort of like Shamar Porter in his size/build and what he projects to be. You have to have/keep/develop those bigger young guys like that. Last year was one of exodus. Lot of guys like that going out of the program. On net, you want to see more of those guys staying in the program. I would not expect Cottrell to make a huge immediate impact because there is still some development there, but it's unquestionably a good thing for a couple of bigger, physical wide outs to be in the room for next year.

With Porter back and Cottrell on board I am hearing Kentucky is likely to take a couple more receivers.

Getting Ja'Mori Maclin on campus this weekend is really big. I think the three top guys on the wish list right now are probably Donaven McCulley (Indiana), Ja'Mori Maclin (North Texas), and Matt Golden (Houston). Each for their own reasons, but those are the three "difference-makers" that will really have an outsized impact on next year's team and what Kentucky is able to be offensively. Cottrell is more of the long-term development add, and a good one, and that trio is who I'm really focused on in terms of making the WR room in '24 a lot better.

Still hearing great things on the OSU running back, wouldn't be surprised if that is wrapped up soon, too.

Welcome to the Official Kentucky @ Penn 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 Penn FTs Made.

Kentucky @ Penn game:

-------------------------
Kentucky: 82
Penn: 62

Tiebreaker: 9
--------------------------

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 vs UNC Wilmington (tiebreaker was 20 UNC-Wilmington 3 Pt Misses):

10 1 . thedahc : 21 points, tiebreaker=18
9 2 . rivercatinfl : 22 points, tiebreaker=14
8 3 . Jamal Mercer : 22 points, tiebreaker=3
7 4 . TheBlueCat : 23 points, tiebreaker=16
6 5 . lyngz : 24 points, tiebreaker=22
5 6 . howercat : 24 points, tiebreaker=15
4 7 . Bigblueincincy : 25 points, tiebreaker=13
3 8 . Wildcat_In_Florida: 26 points, tiebreaker=15
2 9 . cat888 : 26 points, tiebreaker=12
1 10 . Blue_belly : 26 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 11 . _Rooster : 27 points, tiebreaker=17
.. 12 . Kycatspaws : 27 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 13 . ThreeHogNight : 28 points, tiebreaker=17
.. 13 . Blueworld_3.0 : 28 points, tiebreaker=17
.. 15 . pappy52 : 28 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 16 . GoBIG BLUE : 28 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 17 . RMorris33 : 28 points, tiebreaker=9
.. 18 . maysvilleky : 29 points, tiebreaker=18
.. 19 . TOMCATS1990 : 30 points, tiebreaker=17
.. 20 . docholiday51 : 30 points, tiebreaker=16
.. 21 . warrior-cat : 30 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 22 . KY Long Rifle : 30 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 23 . yes_takeaside : 31 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 23 . number8please : 31 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 25 . Blueisbest : 32 points, tiebreaker=16
.. 26 . WalterTheHippo : 32 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 27 . Roe07 : 33 points, tiebreaker=18
.. 28 . TNCatfanforever : 33 points, tiebreaker=17
.. 29 . ORCAT : 33 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 29 . wfm101981 : 33 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 31 . UKCatWoman : 33 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 31 . Jazzycat : 33 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 33 . Chad Rock : 34 points, tiebreaker=16
.. 34 . YardCat : 34 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 35 . ukypug : 35 points, tiebreaker=17
.. 36 . THE_HOOK : 35 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 36 . drew_ukfan : 35 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 36 . the nail at the foul line: 35 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 39 . kyfanrob : 35 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 40 . M4CAT : 36 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 41 . Rideordiewildcat : 37 points, tiebreaker=16
.. 42 . Old_Red : 37 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 42 . cat tat2 : 37 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 44 . $Z71$ : 38 points, tiebreaker=16
.. 45 . kybloo92 : 39 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 46 . gblue5744 : 40 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 47 . North Carolina Blue Wildcat: 41 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 48 . kywildcatsfannumber1: 41 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 49 . ukfan041 : 42 points, tiebreaker=16
.. 50 . AFSTALLION13 : 43 points, tiebreaker=18
.. 51 . Hang_Time_2 : 44 points, tiebreaker=17
.. 52 . BlobUK : 44 points, tiebreaker=16
.. 53 . Hargyt13 : 44 points, tiebreaker=25
.. 54 . blubo : 45 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 55 . kennyskywalker34 : 47 points, tiebreaker=19
.. 56 . Short-Dawg-69 : 47 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 57 . *CatinIL* : 47 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 58 . NociHTTP : 47 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 58 . kywildcat41086 : 47 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 60 . MidseasonTweak : 48 points, tiebreaker=18

Those who picked the wrong winner: kywildcat41086, lyngz, pappy52, WalterTheHippo, TOMCATS1990, Hargyt13, TheBlueCat, number8please, Blueworld_3.0, ukfan041, kywildcatsfannumber1, Jazzycat, wfm101981, KY Long Rifle, ukypug, blubo, ORCAT, Blueisbest, the nail at the foul line, GoBIG BLUE, TNCatfanforever, Jamal Mercer, docholiday51, YardCat, gblue5744, Short-Dawg-69, rivercatinfl, BlobUK, cat tat2, Roe07, $Z71$, UKCatWoman, North Carolina Blue Wildcat, howercat, Hang_Time_2, kybloo92, AFSTALLION13, cat888, MidseasonTweak, thedahc, M4CAT, Kycatspaws, kennyskywalker34, Bigblueincincy, _Rooster, NociHTTP, Old_Red, warrior-cat, Wildcat_In_Florida, kyfanrob, Blue_belly, *CatinIL*, RMorris33, maysvilleky, drew_ukfan, Chad Rock, THE_HOOK, Rideordiewildcat, ThreeHogNight, yes_takeaside

Postseason Basketball Prediction Contest Leader Board:

21 : Jazzycat
18 : rivercatinfl
17 : Jamal Mercer
17 : TNCatfanforever
16 : blubo
15 : cat tat2
14 : Bigblueincincy
14 : Blue_belly
14 : lyngz
13 : Hargyt13
13 : howercat
12 : the nail at the foul line
12 : thedahc
11 : AFSTALLION13
11 : kennyskywalker34
10 : *CatinIL*
10 : cat888
10 : kywildcat41086
10 : pappy52
10 : _Rooster
9 : LogicalCat
9 : Roe07
9 : SWVA WildcatFan
9 : ukfan041
9 : warrior-cat
9 : Wildcat_In_Florida
8 : Creed Bratton
8 : Lovebaskelball
8 : maysvilleky
8 : MidseasonTweak
8 : RMorris33
7 : CatFanAj
7 : Green River
7 : Kycatspaws
7 : ORCAT
7 : TheBlueCat
6 : Hang_Time_2
6 : ukypug
5 : BlobUK
5 : M4CAT
5 : TOMCATS1990
4 : Corbin_Creeper
4 : ThreeHogNight
3 : $Z71$
3 : North Carolina Blue Wildcat
3 : UK Cats1
2 : GoBIG BLUE
2 : kyfanrob
1 : docholiday51
1 : drew_ukfan


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

3 : *CatinIL*
3 : blubo
3 : Blue_belly
3 : Jazzycat
3 : lyngz
3 : Wildcat_In_Florida
2 : AFSTALLION13
2 : Bigblueincincy
2 : cat tat2
2 : cat888
2 : Hang_Time_2
2 : Hargyt13
2 : howercat
2 : Jamal Mercer
2 : kennyskywalker34
2 : kywildcat41086
2 : maysvilleky
2 : MidseasonTweak
2 : North Carolina Blue Wildcat
2 : rivercatinfl
2 : the nail at the foul line
2 : thedahc
2 : TNCatfanforever
2 : ukfan041
2 : ukypug
2 : warrior-cat
1 : $Z71$
1 : BlobUK
1 : CatFanAj
1 : Corbin_Creeper
1 : Creed Bratton
1 : docholiday51
1 : drew_ukfan
1 : GoBIG BLUE
1 : Green River
1 : Kycatspaws
1 : kyfanrob
1 : LogicalCat
1 : Lovebaskelball
1 : M4CAT
1 : ORCAT
1 : pappy52
1 : RMorris33
1 : Roe07
1 : SWVA WildcatFan
1 : TheBlueCat
1 : ThreeHogNight
1 : TOMCATS1990
1 : UK Cats1
1 : _Rooster


Total Players:
Kentucky vs New Mexico State : 59
Kentucky vs Texas A&M-Commerce : 61
Kentucky @ Kansas : 71
Kentucky vs Stonehill : 51
Kentucky vs Saint Josephs : 60
Kentucky vs Marshall : 56
Kentucky vs Miami FL : 67
Kentucky vs UNC Wilmington : 60

Season Average for Players: 60.6


Postseason Basketball Prediction Champs:
Kentucky vs New Mexico State : Bigblueincincy: 13
Kentucky vs Texas A&M-Commerce : pappy52: 7
Kentucky @ Kansas : Jazzycat: 6
Kentucky vs Stonehill : Jazzycat: 5
Kentucky vs Saint Josephs : Blue_belly: 16
Kentucky vs Marshall : TNCatfanforever: 30
Kentucky vs Miami FL : _Rooster: 2
Kentucky vs UNC Wilmington : thedahc: 21


@Deeeefense

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This is the weekend our offense becomes playoff worthy!
Lil work on defense still but I'm excited anyway!
Let's go!!!

Is there a free trial or something going on right now? A lot of weird stuff popping up on the board lately. We always have weirdos but these weirdos are different.

The Stoops comment got me wondering how many here give to UK’s NIL.

I will start out and say no; and I don’t see myself ever wanting to give directly to NIL.

Do we bounce back handily? Or do we struggle again? Do the Miami Cats show up or do the UNCW Cats crawl out?

Once again apparently the NCAA has given our program and Cal the big middle finger. One thing is for certain, the NCAA could never be accused of putting the kids first. The deadline has come and past and kid is so far out of the rotation now I’m not sure it matters.

They mentioned a certain QB that was entering the portal and the guy said to be quiet and not talk about him because the Kitties will be looking for a QB in the portal
Literally all I said was the kitties have beaten you five years in a row and they banned me
I wear it like a badge of honor.

......specifically, I've been pondering whether the hellfire and brimstone would have been worse if we had been 7-0 headed into the loss with UNCW?

Does it make it any less egregious losing to UNCW since we'd already lost to KU?

For me, it doesn't. Just curious what the board thinks.

weekend of the year seems like a missed opportunity. A good home game at Rupp this weekend with Lexington hopping would’ve made a lot of sense. It’s a shame there is a divide between the 2 programs and they aren’t on the same page. If we were playing a top tier team somewhere I’d understand, but playing Penn in Philadelphia seems silly. What do you have to gain?

If I’m not mistaken did we not have this guy committed before he ultimately decided on Miss St? Dude is

Does UK have a shot? Him and Deon would make a pretty good DL.

Very deserving

At #22 or what ever it was. I made a comment months again that if Reed was from N Carolina and was the son of a former UNC or Duke great and then picked Duke or UNC to go to college coupled with his basketball skills he would have easily been a top 10 recruit.

Im starting to think more like top 5 now.

Its total BS, these recruit rankings.

Very biased.

And whats even crazier is that Reed always held his own in the All Star games if not excelled but the recruiting services never moved him any higher.

Those bums get what they deserve on this one and hopefully when Shep leads UK to #9 they will all have pie in their eye!!!

Matt Jones while talking about portal today and Dingle leaving:

“The portal giveth and the portal taketh….can be replaced”

“If Deion were to leave…that would be a loss”

“If Dane were to leave… that would be a loss”

….stumbles a bit thinking about further players, states “there’s really nobody else that can’t be replaced”

Seemed like he obviously thought about saying Barion but then didn’t. Very interesting the way he seemed to say this. Earlier in the week he mentioned he was worried about Barion leaving but seemed happy since nothing had happened yet and would feel even better if we made it through the week.

Anyway. The way he said that today just made me nervous as he seemed to intentionally not say Barion leaving couldn’t be replaced.

Thoughts ?