University of Kentucky

UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

August 15, 2022
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KENTUCKY vs. THE BAHAMAS NATIONAL SELECT TEAM 

BIG BLUE BAHAMAS | BAHA MAR

AUG. 14, 2022
ATTENDANCE: 1,200

FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 98, The Bahamas National Select Team 74

  • This was Kentucky’s final exhibition game of the Big Blue Bahamas foreign exhibition tour.
  • UK improved to 13-1 in the Bahamas foreign tours. The Wildcats went 5-1 in their first foreign tour in the Bahamas in 2014 and 4-0 in their second stint in 2018. 
  • Kentucky is 144-12 all-time in exhibition games and has won 23 straight. UK is 41-1 in exhibition contests under head coach John Calipari.

First-Half Facts

  • UK utilized a starting lineup of Sahvir Wheeler, Cason Wallace, Jacob Toppin, Daimion Collins and Oscar Tshiebwe.
  • The Bahamians opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, but Wheeler scored a quick layup in transition, then Toppin found Tshiebwe for an ally-oop and Collins also got out in transition for a dunk and a 6-3 UK lead. The Bahamas took a timeout at the 17:46 mark.
  • At the first media timeout, UK led 10-7. Kentucky made five of its first 11 field-goal attempts and was 0 of 4 from behind the arc.
  • The Cats endured a stretch in which they made just one of eight field-goals, but Wallace foundChris Livingston for a corner 3 to end the draught and lift UK to a 15-9 lead.
  • The Bahamas continued to chip away and eventually took the lead with 8:15 in the opening half at 26-23 behind a traditional three-point play. 
  • The lead stretched to as many as eight at 32-24 with 5:28 in the opening half.
  • UK utilized an 11-0 run over 3:23 of clock, which was sparked by back-to-back transition baskets to retake the lead 37-34 with 1:26 to go.
  • A Wheeler layup to just beat the buzzer gave the Cats a 41-40 edge at the break. Kentucky held The Bahamas to just one field over the final 4:41of the first half. 
  • Kentucky’s defense was once again pesky, forcing The Bahamas into 12 first-half turnovers. It led to 21 fastbreak points for the Cats.
  • Playing its fourth game in five days, Kentucky’s outside shooting was hard to come by. UK shot 37.5% (15-40) from the floor and 1-13 (7.7%) from long range. 
  • Wheeler led the way in the points’ column with 13 points. Toppin added nine and Reeves chipped in with six.
  • The Bahamas owned a 20-19 edge on the boards, but Tshiebwe corralled nine in the opening half.

Second-Half Story

  • Kentucky began the second half with Wheeler, Wallace, Livingston, Toppin and Tshiebwe.
  • UK forced turnovers on each of The Bahamas first three possessions of the second half.
  • With The Bahamas keeping things close, Reeves helped break the game open with three straight possessions by draining a 3-pointer to lift UK to a 70-59 lead with 11:05 to play.
  • Consecutive Wheeler dishes for dunks to Collins and Toppin ignited the crowd as Kentucky took its largest lead of the contest by a 78-63 score and 8:02 remaining.
  • Kentucky shot 66.7% (20-30) from the field and 6-10 (60.0%) from 3-point range in the second half.
  • UK also dominated the boards by a 24-8 margin.

Team Notes

  • Kentucky shot 50% from the field (35-70), and 84.0% from the free-throw line (21-25).       
    • UK averaged 106.5 points per game behind a 54.8% field-goal clip. The Wildcats also connected on 38.1% from behind the arc with an average of 10 made 3s a game. Kentucky shot 84.8% as a team from the free-throw line over the four games.
  • The Cats forced 21 turnovers and turned that into 35 points, including 33 in the fastbreak variety.            
    • Kentucky averaged 21.3 turnovers forced per game in its four games this week.
  • Three players scored 20 or more points, Reeves (22), Wheeler (21) and Toppin (20).
    • Six players averaged double-digit scoring, with Livingston almost making it a seventh with a 9.8 points per game average.
  • Kentucky dominated the boards with a 43-28 advantage after getting outrebounded in the opening half. Tshiebwe led the way with 12.
    • UK averaged a plus-19.8 rebound margin in its four games.
  • The Wildcats recorded 11 steals and seven blocked shots.            
    • Kentucky averaged 14.0 steals and 7.3 blocks per game in its four wins this week.

Player Notes  

  • Antonio Reeves was tabbed the tournament’s most valuable player. He scored 22 points and sank four 3-pointers in the win against The Bahamas.
    • He was UK’s leading scorer, averaging 17.0 points per game this week.
    • He made four or more 3s in three of the four games.
    • He made 51.9% from behind the arc this week.
  • Sahvir Wheeler scored 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while adding four assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
    • Wheeler accounted for 24 assists and just six turnovers in the four games.
    • He averaged 14.5 points per game and 6.0 assists per game.
  • Jacob Toppin had 20 points, five boards, two steals and a blocked shot.
    • He averaged 16.8 points per game and shot 53.3% from long range over the four games.
  • Oscar Tshiebwe registered his second double-double of the week with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
    • He posted 11.5 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game this week.
  • Daimion Collins had eight points, six rebounds and a game-high-tying two blocked shots.
  • Cason Wallace had five assists and a team-high four rebounds to go along with five points.
    • He averaged 10.5 points per game and led the team with 12 steals in the four games.
    • He also made 40% from behind the arc this week.