LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Sophomore point guard Rajon Rondo had 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds to lead No. 9 Kentucky past South Dakota State 71-54 on Sunday night in the first round of the Guardians Classic.
Rekalin Sims added 11 points for the Wildcats (1-0), who will play Lipscomb – a 72-60 winner over Northern Colorado – on Monday night in the second round. The winner will advance to the tournament’s semifinals Nov. 21 in Kansas City, Mo.
The Kentucky-South Dakota State game never quite turned into the mismatch it seemed it might become: the Wildcats with their seven national titles and annual Final Four hopes at home in Rupp Arena against a team starting its second season in NCAA Division I.
The Wildcats took the floor and missed their first eight shots, including air balls by Rondo and Joe Crawford. But South Dakota State (0-1), given an opportunity to open a wide lead, committed four turnovers and went 1-of-4 from the field during that early stretch.
By the 11:54 mark, the Jackrabbits had missed 16 of 17 shots and trailed 14-2.
Kentucky pushed its lead to 28-12 before an 8-2 run pulled the Jackrabbits within 30-21 late in the half. Rondo and Sheray Thomas hit 3-pointers to increase the lead to 37-24 at halftime.
South Dakota State got no closer after that, but the Jackrabbits didn’t exactly go away, either. Kentucky’s largest lead, 51-30, came with 16:02 left, but an 8-2 South Dakota State spurt cut the margin to 15 points and the Wildcats never led by more than 19 after that.
Junior forward Ben Beran, South Dakota State’s leading scorer last season, led the Jackrabbits with 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting. The rest of the Jackrabbits combined to shoot 13-of-48 from the field.
The 6-foot-1 Rondo finished 7-of-13 from the field and added six assists and six steals. His previous career high for rebounds was seven, and he missed his career high for points by one.
Crawford added 10 points for Kentucky after an embarrassing moment immediately before the game. Public address announcer Doug Bruce, apparently unaware that Crawford was starting, announced another player, Sims, in Crawford’s spot. Crawford remained on the bench as the team’s other starters were introduced before Bruce realized his mistake.
Kentucky is 88-15 all-time in home openers – with nine of those losses coming before Adolph Rupp began coaching the Wildcats in 1930. Since then, Kentucky is 69-6, including 27-3 in Rupp Arena.
