Cats turn back the clock in 118-82 romp over Marshall​

Kentucky freshman guard Reed Sheppard lined up a 3-pointer during Friday's game against Marshall at Rupp Arena. (Jordan Prather/USA Today Sports)

Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor Edit
@JDrumUK

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The uniforms were modern, but Friday's game at Rupp Arena could have passed for a "Turn Back The Clock" game.

Kentucky shot 61% from the field, knocked down 16 3-pointers, and dished out 27 assists on Friday en route to a 118-82 victory over Marshall that looked more like a game from Pitino's Bombinos than Coach Cal's Rock 'em, Sock 'em era.

"I give Cal his due. He's come into the modern times," Marshall head coach Dan D'Antoni joked. "He's passin' the ball around and shootin' 3s. Who is that guy? I didn't know that was Calipari.

"I like good basketball. They're playing the way you should. It's fun. It's entertaining, good for the fans. I'm not into this sumo-wrestling basketball."

The No. 16 Wildcats set a new single-game scoring high under John Calipari and recorded their fourth consecutive game of 12 or more made 3-pointers. That's the most since Rick Pitino's squad did it in four straight during the halcyon 1989-90 season.

Kentucky recorded assists on 27 of its 45 buckets and committed only nine turnovers in the fast-paced affair. The Cats posted the most first-half points in the history of Rupp Arena (69) and the fourth-highest halftime total in program history.

"I don't look up at the score much in the first half. I'm not that worried about it," Calipari said. "... I didn't know we had 69 until that last huddle (before halftime). And I said, 'Dudes, you've got 69 points!'

"It's fun to play the way we're playing and fun to have a team that cares about each other and plays for one another."

Kentucky (5-1) placed six players in double figures, led by a career-high 28 points from freshman guard DJ Wagner, who also added five assists and three steals.

“I wasn’t really focused on the way I played individually," Wagner said. "That’s never the focus. I was just happy that we were able to win games. Everybody could see how good of a team that we’ve got. We still do. I’m confident in my teammates and they’re confident in me.”

Senior guard Antonio Reeves followed with 23 points for UK, including a 5-of-7 night from the arc, while Tre Mitchell (18), Rob Dillingam (16), Reed Sheppard (12), and Justin Edwards (10) also had a strong offensive night.

Marshall (2-4) was led by Obinna Anochili-Killen with 22 points.

*****

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

KEY MOMENT:

Marshall trailed only 15-14 and forced Kentucky head coach John Calipari to call a timeout after back-to-back 3s made at the 14:06 mark of the first half. Whatever was said during that break in the action, the Cats got the message. They went on to outscore the Thundering Herd 54-27 the rest of the half and owned a new Rupp Arena scoring record of 69 at the break.

GAME BALL:

DJ Wagner, Kentucky -- The heralded freshman from New Jersey has officially shaken off his "slow" start at Kentucky and exploded for 50 points in two games this week. It was only a matter of time for the grandson of Louisville great Milt Wagner and son of Memphis star Dajuan Wagner.

BY THE NUMBERS:

2nd - 100-point scoring game of the season for the Cats in their first six games. It marked the 21st of the Calipari era.

3rd - Straight game of 24 or more assists by UK. The Cats recorded 27 tonight.

5 - Kentucky players with multiple 3-point shots made.

13-0 - The Cats' lead in the all-time series with Marshall.

81+ - Points in all six games this season, the first time that has happened at UK since the 1970-71 season.

207-6 - UK's all-time record when scoring 100-plus points.

QUOTABLE:

"They keep the ball movin', and they got four knockdown shooters." -- Marshall head coach Dan D'Antoni on the Wildcats.

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday against Miami in the ACC-SEC Challenge at Rupp Arena. The Hurricanes (4-0), who return most of last year's Final Four squad, are ranked No. 10 in the latest AP Top 25 poll. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 ET on ESPN.

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The other guys have had time to gel, so that can't be the excuse not to let Hart get some time. Hart needs some development time in situations like this, don't you think?

Who ya got?

Tonight combined for:

79 points
17 rebounds
20 assists/6 turnovers
6 steals
29/41 FG, 71%
11/17 3FG, 65%

Best backcourt in America by a landslide.

Best guards in the country. That’s all I have to say.

Go Cats!

In just six games, according to Kenpom which dates back to 1998 we have had:

Our third best offensive efficiency game since 98 tonight vs Marshall. We scored 1.484 points per possession.
Our second best effective FG% game since 98 vs Stonehill with 77.9%.
Our second best turnover % game since 98 vs Texas AM Commerence with just 4.5% turnover %.

This team is an offensive juggernaut.

Let's get it on...

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Just heard this song in a commercial. Did the advertiser have to pay them for it?
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In the country.

Imagine this. There are a lot of guys paying their mortgages this month with paychecks due to their "expertise" with determining these preseason polls. Must be nice to get paid for being oh so wrong. My goodness.

When we beat teams like St Joes by 30 in Rupp?

6 players averaging double figures.

We will be dominant WHEN we get ours bigs going.

Welcome to the Official Kentucky vs Marshall 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 Marshall Blocks.

Kentucky vs Marshall game:

-------------------------
Kentucky: 82
Marshall: 66

Tiebreaker: 3
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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.

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Postseason Basketball Prediction Scores - Kentucky vs Saint Josephs (tiebreaker was 37 Saint Josephs 3 Pt Attempts):

10 1 . Blue_belly : 16 points, tiebreaker=26
9 2 . Roe07 : 17 points, tiebreaker=24
8 3 . howercat : 19 points, tiebreaker=33
7 4 . ukfan041 : 20 points, tiebreaker=35
6 5 . lyngz : 22 points, tiebreaker=30
5 6 . BlobUK : 22 points, tiebreaker=28
4 7 . MidseasonTweak : 22 points, tiebreaker=25
3 8 . maysvilleky : 23 points, tiebreaker=31
2 9 . thedahc : 23 points, tiebreaker=28
1 10 . Jazzycat : 23 points, tiebreaker=27
.. 11 . North Carolina Blue Wildcat: 23 points, tiebreaker=24
.. 12 . cat888 : 23 points, tiebreaker=22
.. 13 . YardCat : 24 points, tiebreaker=36
.. 13 . Hargyt13 : 24 points, tiebreaker=36
.. 15 . kybloo92 : 24 points, tiebreaker=30
.. 16 . KY Long Rifle : 24 points, tiebreaker=28
.. 17 . CBBCrazy : 26 points, tiebreaker=32
.. 18 . kennyskywalker34 : 26 points, tiebreaker=29
.. 19 . *CatinIL* : 26 points, tiebreaker=28
.. 20 . kywildcat41086 : 26 points, tiebreaker=24
.. 21 . ThreeHogNight : 27 points, tiebreaker=32
.. 22 . Hang_Time_2 : 27 points, tiebreaker=31
.. 23 . Bigblueincincy : 28 points, tiebreaker=36
.. 24 . _Rooster : 28 points, tiebreaker=33
.. 24 . Old_Red : 28 points, tiebreaker=33
.. 26 . drew_ukfan : 28 points, tiebreaker=32
.. 27 . Kycatspaws : 28 points, tiebreaker=30
.. 28 . TNCatfanforever : 28 points, tiebreaker=29
.. 29 . RMorris33 : 29 points, tiebreaker=26
.. 30 . ORCAT : 30 points, tiebreaker=32
.. 31 . WeWant9 : 31 points, tiebreaker=36
.. 31 . Lovebaskelball : 31 points, tiebreaker=38
.. 33 . Rideordiewildcat : 31 points, tiebreaker=28
.. 33 . Blueworld_3.0 : 31 points, tiebreaker=28
.. 35 . Jperry1987 : 31 points, tiebreaker=27
.. 35 . TOMCATS1990 : 31 points, tiebreaker=27
.. 37 . Short-Dawg-69 : 32 points, tiebreaker=37
.. 38 . kywildcatsfannumber1: 32 points, tiebreaker=32
.. 39 . ArtLaibsGhost : 32 points, tiebreaker=22
.. 40 . Wildcat_In_Florida: 33 points, tiebreaker=29
.. 41 . BigBlueFanGA : 34 points, tiebreaker=34
.. 42 . M4CAT : 34 points, tiebreaker=30
.. 42 . UKCatWoman : 34 points, tiebreaker=30
.. 42 . rivercatinfl : 34 points, tiebreaker=30
.. 42 . cat tat2 : 34 points, tiebreaker=30
.. 46 . number8please : 35 points, tiebreaker=31
.. 47 . UK Cats1 : 35 points, tiebreaker=30
.. 48 . kyfanrob : 35 points, tiebreaker=29
.. 49 . AFSTALLION13 : 36 points, tiebreaker=32
.. 50 . GoBIG BLUE : 36 points, tiebreaker=29
.. 51 . pappy52 : 37 points, tiebreaker=31
.. 52 . Blueisbest : 37 points, tiebreaker=29
.. 53 . blubo : 37 points, tiebreaker=20
.. 54 . warrior-cat : 38 points, tiebreaker=31
.. 55 . Jamal Mercer : 38 points, tiebreaker=3
.. 56 . LogicalCat : 39 points, tiebreaker=29
.. 57 . the nail at the foul line: 40 points, tiebreaker=25
.. 58 . WalterTheHippo : 41 points, tiebreaker=30
.. 59 . TheBlueCat : 42 points, tiebreaker=32
.. 60 . docholiday51 : 45 points, tiebreaker=28


Postseason Basketball Prediction Contest Leader Board:

21 : Jazzycat
15 : cat tat2
13 : Blue_belly
11 : AFSTALLION13
10 : Bigblueincincy
10 : pappy52
9 : blubo
9 : LogicalCat
9 : rivercatinfl
9 : Roe07
9 : the nail at the foul line
9 : ukfan041
9 : warrior-cat
8 : Creed Bratton
8 : howercat
8 : Lovebaskelball
8 : maysvilleky
8 : RMorris33
7 : Green River
7 : Kycatspaws
7 : ORCAT
7 : TNCatfanforever
6 : Hargyt13
6 : lyngz
6 : ukypug
5 : *CatinIL*
5 : BlobUK
5 : TOMCATS1990
5 : Wildcat_In_Florida
4 : Corbin_Creeper
4 : Hang_Time_2
4 : MidseasonTweak
4 : ThreeHogNight
3 : UK Cats1
2 : GoBIG BLUE
2 : kyfanrob
2 : North Carolina Blue Wildcat
2 : thedahc
1 : drew_ukfan


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

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


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

Season Average for Players: 60.4


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

@Deeeefense

In my humble opinion the result of tomorrow's game will be determined by the word pride.
If Kentucky has pride in themselves they will win.

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Let the complaining begin. 😆

Reminded me of the way the 1966 team played. Matter of fact Reed Shepard and Larry Conley are similar in the way they play. Unselfish.
The ball didn’t touch the floor on that last basket.

There’s just so much to say about the state of affairs as it pertains to UK football, but I finally learned a valuable lesson this year with UK under Stoops and Vince - Don’t Buy The Hype.

Specifically, the pre-season hype. Specifically, how this staff feeds info to the press hyping up individual players about to “break out”. Every single year we hear about guys who are “about to blow up” and are “dominating” in off-season workouts, spring practice, or fall camp, only to barely be heard from during the actual season. LoL.

There’s just SOOO much hype they feed people on guys that never materialize and the same usually holds true for the team itself. It’s easy to get excited in the off-season when we get reports of certain guys impressing, but I’ve learned once and for all that it’s all mostly B.S. I’m not paying attention to any of that crap Vince feeds the media ever again. Show it to me on Saturdays in the Fall.

Watching Texas A&M-Florida Atlantic and this clown Sirmons has already called two techs on A&M in the first half for taunting. Are we really going to be that soft, Doug? The last tech was for Taylor chirping at the FAU bench, a few minutes after a FAU player did the exact same thing to the A&M bench - no call. So we're giving FAU 4 free points because of "talking" when everyone on the court is talking.

College basketball officiating needs a complete overhaul. I'm so sick of guys like Sirmons, Ayers, Higgins, etc putting their fingerprints all over meaningful games. These dudes have unbelievable egos and should not be able to arbitrarily hand out points because they got their feelings hurt by a player

SEC SHORTS

UK appears about 1/2 of the way thru.... though the main focus is on Auburn...

Go CATS!

3 sacks + controlling both lines of scrimmage should be enough tomorrow ?!

😄 😻 Only score so far for the Jets.
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Arrived on campus - 10/12/2023

Deadline to rule on eligibility is 45 days from arrival - 11/26/2023

We should know on him before the Miami game unless the rules are being bent

Will regret giving Pitman another year. Totally dysfunctional.
I sure wish we'd gotten them instead of Bama this year.

Kentucky will be unstoppable.
All this team needs is rim protection and garbage points around the basket and 2 bigs to rotate on Purdue’s Edey.

Mark my words if we get them both back soon we are winning the national title.