Reeves explodes for 37 as shorthanded Cats stun Hogs
Kentucky's Antonio Reeves played 40 minutes as the Cats' emergency lead guard on Saturday and delivered a career-high 37 points in an 88-79 win over Arkansas. (Nelson Chenault/USA Today Sports)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor Edit
@JDrumUK
Kentucky added another surprising chapter to its plot-twist of a season on Saturday, riding a stunning, shorthanded victory at Arkansas into the postseason.
Senior transfer wing Antonio Reeves, playing lead guard in the absence of injured UK point guards Cason Wallace and Sahvir Wheeler, scored a career-high 37 points as the Wildcats spoiled the Razorbacks' Senior Day with an 88-79 win at Bud Walton Arena.
Much like their January win at No. 5 Tennessee, the Cats left fans and media alike pondering, "How did they do that?"
"We had no point guard," Kentucky head coach John Calipari said. "We had guards, but we were kinda positionless. Jacob (Toppin) brought it up a lot for us. And we had some guys have big-time performances.
"What Antonio did, I went back and hugged him. I had no idea he had 37. I knew he had a bunch, but not 37. I just hugged him and said, 'Wow.'"
Eric Musselman was equally impressed with Reeves, who was 12-of-17 from the field and 11-of-11 at the line. “He played as good as any player I’ve seen since I’ve been coaching here at Arkansas… He played phenomenal.”
Kentucky (21-10, 12-6 SEC) also got 21 points from Toppin and another double-double from big man Oscar Tshiebwe (12 points, 13 rebounds) on a day when it shot 54% from the field and 79% at the free-throw line. The Cats also held a 41-35 advantage on the glass.
The win helped UK clinch the No. 3 seed and a double-bye in next week's SEC Tournament in Nashville.
Arkansas (19-12, 8-10 SEC) shot only 36% from the field after blistering the Cats for 63% in an 88-73 win last month at Rupp Arena.
Nick Smith Jr. scored a team-high 25 points for the Razorbacks, but the NBA prospect shot only 10 of 23 from the field. Anthony Black, who had 19 points in the first meeting with UK, was held to 14 on 3-for-10 shooting.
Kentucky led for all but 4:23 in the rematch, including by as much as eight in the first half and by 14 late in the second half.
*****
In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...
KEY MOMENT:
The opening segment of the second half proved to be the decisive moment in Arkansas' 88-73 win over Kentucky last month at Rupp Arena. The Wildcats were more prepared coming out of the locker room in this one, pushing their 40-36 halftime lead to 51-40. Antonio Reeves had all 11 of those points, forcing Arkansas coach Eric Musselman to burn an early timeout, much like John Calipari had to do during the Feb. 7 matchup. The Razorbacks never got closer than five the rest of the way.
GAME BALL:
Antonio Reeves, Kentucky -- Several players have their own day in Kentucky basketball lore, and this one will long be remembered as "The Antonio Reeves Game." A spectacular performance by the senior transfer wing, who stepped in as the emergency lead guard today with both Cason Wallace and Sahvir Wheeler out with injuries and delivered a career high 37 points. He missed only five shots of any kind on the day.
BY THE NUMBERS:
2nd - Time in the John Calipari era at Kentucky that the Cats have featured a 30-point scorer and a 20-point scorer in a league road game. Malik Monk and Bam Adebayo accomplished the feat at Ole Miss on December 29th, 2016.
8 - Players in UK Basketball history have scored 37 or more points in an SEC road game. Antonio Reeves joined a club that includes: Jodie Meeks, Melvin Turpin, Kevin Grevey, Dan Issel, Louie Dampier, Johnny Cox, and Frank Ramsey.
18th - Double-double of the season for UK's Oscar Tshiebwe, who recorded 12 points and 13 rebounds. He now has 46 double-doubles in 63 career games with the Cats.
34-14 - The Cats improved to 20 games over .500 in their all-time series with the Razorbacks. They are now 10-8 in Fayetteville.
79% - Kentucky hit a season-high 26 of 33 free throws.
QUOTABLE:
"We knew about the storms (on Friday in Kentucky). The guys were talking about it. They wanted to do this for our fans. Some of you, I imagine, had to go somewhere because you had no electricity just to watch the game. Well, that was for you fans. We fought." -- UK head coach John Calipari
UP NEXT:
By virtue of its win over Arkansas, Kentucky will be the No. 3 seed in next week's SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The Cats will play on Friday at approximately 9 p.m. against the winner of Vanderbilt's game against either Georgia or LSU.
