Kentucky Hosts Central Michigan, Barbee on Monday
After winning for the fourth straight time Friday night, Kentucky is right back to the hardwood on Monday, facing a familiar face.
Former UK assistant coach Tony Barbee brings his Central Michigan squad to Rupp Arena to face the Wildcats in Monday’s contest (7 p.m. ET, live streamed on SEC Network+ / ESPN+).
Kentucky moved to 5-1 on the season with an 86-62 win over North Florida on Friday at Rupp Arena. Dontaie Allen and TyTy Washington Jr. each had 14 points for the Cats in the game, while Sahvir Wheeler had 12 points and 14 assists. That’s five straight wins for the Cats since dropping the season opener to Duke.
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| Kentucky vs. Central Michigan | ||
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Mon., Nov. 29 – 7:00 p.m. ET |
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Live Stream: SEC Network+ / ESPN+ |
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| UK | Stats | CMU |
| 5-1 | Record | 1-4 |
| 83.3 | PPG | 63.8 |
| 61.0 | Opp PPG | 84.2 |
| .493 | FG% | .394 |
| .378 | Opp FG% | .502 |
| 46.5 | RPG | 29.0 |
| .346 | 3PT FG% | .354 |
| .271 | Opp 3PT FG% | .336 |
| 17.3 | APG | 11.2 |
| 6.5 | SPG | 6.8 |
| 5.5 | BPG | 1.8 |
The Cats have been forced to use multiple lineups lately due to injuries and illness. Freshman Daimion Collins got his first career start in Friday’s game and responded with 12 points and six rebounds.
For the season, Kentucky has four players averaging in double figures in scoring. Washington leads the team at 14.8 points per game. Keion Brooks Jr. averages 14.2 points per contest, while Oscar Tshiebwe averages 13.2 points and 16 rebounds per outing. Wheeler is posting 11.8 points and 9.2 assists per game for UK.
Central Michigan has faced a formidable schedule so far this season, which has led to a 1-4 record. The Chippewas have lost to top-ranked Gonzaga, as well as Missouri, DePaul and Bellarmine. CMU’s only win so far this season came over Eastern Illinois.
Guard Jermaine Jackson Jr. leads CMU in scoring at 13.6 points per game. Forward Harrison Henderson scores 10.8 points per game while grabbing 5.0 rebounds per contest.
Central Michigan Game to Air Exclusively on SECN+, ESPN+
The Kentucky men’s basketball game vs. Central Michigan will be streamed exclusively on SEC Network+ and ESPN+ and will not be available via traditional television.
Every Southeastern Conference school has been assigned multiple SECN+ and ESPN+ games this season by the conference and its television partners.
Single-game tickets for the current home stand are available exclusively online at Ticketmaster.com or through the Ticketmaster app.
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Fans who do not have access to SEC Network+ or ESPN+ are invited to listen to the UK Sports Network radio broadcast for free on the UK Athletics App, on a computer at UKAthletics.com or on UK Sports Network radio affiliates, including WBUL 98.1 FM/630 WLAP AM in Lexington.
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Welcome Back, Coach Barbee
Longtime Kentucky assistant Tony Barbee will make his return to Rupp Arena as the head coach of the Central Michigan Chippeawas for Monday’s game.
Barbee, who joined the UK bench in 2014-15, served in a few different roles during his seven seasons at Kentucky. He initially joined John Calipari’s staff as special assistant to the head coach. The following season, Barbee moved to an on-court assistant, where he served for five seasons before completing his career in Lexington as associate to the head coach. He accepted the head coaching position at CMU after the 2020-21 season.
Barbee played a central role in Kentucky’s game management and Xs and Os as an assistant. He was responsible for game planning, scouting opponents, and helping Calipari formulate the team’s approach in practices and in games.
In Barbee’s seven seasons on staff, UK won four Southeastern Conference regular-season championships and four SEC Tournament titles. On the road recruiting in his five seasons as an assistant, he helped secure a top-three recruiting class in every season, including the No. 1 classes in 2016, 2017 and 2020, as designated by the Recruiting Services Consensus Index.
Barbee was previously the head coach at UTEP and at Auburn and has previously served as an assistant coach under Calipari for a total of seven seasons.
Barbee played for Calipari at UMass before starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant on the Massachusetts staff for the 1995-96 season. The Minutemen advanced to the NCAA Final Four in Barbee’s first season as a member of the coaching staff.
After Calipari departed for the NBA, Barbee stayed on as an assistant coach for two seasons at UMass before taking an assistant coaching position at Wyoming. He returned to UMass for a season and then rejoined Calipari as an assistant at Memphis for six seasons from 2001-06.
Kentucky Cruises Past North Florida
No. 10/13 Kentucky wasn’t at its best Friday night, but did the little things to wear down North Florida for an 86-52 victory — its fifth straight.
Kentucky made just six shots from long range, doing most of its scoring in transition with 28 points. The Wildcats forced 21 turnovers and scored 20 points off those miscues.
That’s the type of effort Kentucky coach John Calipari wanted to see from his squad, which has had to mix and match while dealing with injuries and illnesses since the season began.
“We’re still a work in progress but this is what I liked, we fought and we defended,” Calipari said. “That’s what we did. We scrambled, we played, we came up with balls and we flew.”
Five Wildcats finished in double figures, led by TyTy Washington Jr.’s 14 points. Oscar Tshiebwe had 12 points and 16 rebounds for Kentucky (5-1), while Damion Collins made his first career start and scored 12 points and Sahvir Wheeler had 12 points and a career-high 14 assists. Dontaie Allen added 14 points off the bench, all but two coming in the second half.
Jayden Parker led North Florida (1-6) with 10 points.
Kentucky struggled early and trailed by five early in the first half, but scored 23 of the last 30 points of the first half and led 37-23 at the break.
The Wildcats were without veterans Davion Mintz and Keion Brooks Jr., who sat out with illnesses. Mintz has missed the past two games, while Brooks, the team’s second leading scorer (14.5 points per game), had scored in double figures in the previous four games.
Jacob Toppin (shoulder), who had missed the past four games, returned to the lineup and finished with three points. Lance Ware (ankle) had missed the three previous games, also returned and scored four points.
Calipari liked the way his squad is responding to needing to rotate the cast of characters on the court.
“One guy’s misery is another guy’s opportunity,” Calipari said.
• The Wildcats outscored the Ospreys 28-0 on fastbreak points
• Kentucky held North Florida to 52 points. UK is a perfect 81-0 under head coach John Calipari when holding the opponent to 55 or points or less
• The Wildcats, who entered the contest No. 1 in the nation in rebounding margin, continued its rebounding dominance Friday with a plus-17 margin. UK has outrebounded all six opponents this season
• Wheeler tied for the third-most assists in school history and posted the most since Tyler Ulis had 14 vs. LSU on March 5, 2016
• Tshiebwe is tied again for the national lead with five double-doubles and has grabbed double-figure rebounds in all six games, the best streak since Julius Randle enjoyed a 10-game streak in February and March of 2014
