Kentucky Set to Host High Point, Honor Tubby Smith
Fans in attendance for Friday’s game are encouraged to be in their seats by 11:40 a.m. for the Tubby Smith ceremony. For those unable to attend, a live stream will be available on the Kentucky men’s basketball Facebook page and UKathletics.com.
Riding a three-game winning streak, No. 18/17 Kentucky welcomes High Point to Rupp Arena on Friday afternoon.
The Cats (10-3) beat Missouri 83-56 on Wednesday night in the Southeastern Conference opener. Keion Brooks Jr. had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Cats, while Oscar Tshiebwe had 13 points and 20 rebounds.
Wednesday’s win came on the heels of a 98-69 win over North Carolina on Dec. 18 and a 95-60 victory over Western Kentucky on Dec. 22.
While the Cats and the Panthers will be the main event, Friday will also serve as a chance for UK to hang a jersey in the rafters of Rupp Arena. Former UK head coach Tubby Smith, who is now the head man at High Point, will have his jersey retired in a ceremony on Friday. Smith led Kentucky to the 1998 NCAA Championship.
Kentucky head coach John Calipari is looking forward to honoring Smith.
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| Kentucky vs. High Point | ||
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Wed., Dec. 31 – 12:00 p.m. ET |
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TV: SEC Network |
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| UK | Stats | HPU |
| 10-2 | Record | 6-7 |
| 83.2 | PPG | 71.8 |
| 61.5 | Opp PPG | 69.4 |
| .489 | FG% | .438 |
| .385 | Opp FG% | .412 |
| 44.8 | RPG | 37.4 |
| .330 | 3PT FG% | .381 |
| .264 | Opp 3PT FG% | .316 |
| 17.2 | APG | 13.6 |
| 6.8 | SPG | 6.8 |
| 5.2 | BPG | 5.8 |
“We wanted this moment for him,” Calipari said. “Part of it is, you want guys like him and coach (Joe B.) Hall to know how appreciated they are by our fan base. Tubby deserves to be in the rafters.”
The current UK head coach wants Smith and his family to know how Kentucky, the program and the state, feel about him.
“The biggest thing is, I want he and his wife and the kids to understand that this place, these fans, this school, this state, absolutely appreciates what he did while he coached here,” Calipari said.
Calipari also knows that Smith has a quality team this season.
“(Wednesday), I think they were up one at halftime against Michigan State and ended up losing by 13,” Calipari said. “So, don’t think, oh, this is just another pushover game. No, it isn’t. And you all know how good a coach he is. You know what kind of defensive coach he is.”
The pregame ceremony honoring Smith will take place at approximately 11:40 a.m., ahead of the noon ET tipoff.
Balanced Scoring Effort Leads No. 18 Kentucky Past Missouri
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Keion Brooks Jr. quickly established the spark Kentucky wanted against Missouri before supplying another jump start later to seal another convincing victory.
Brooks scored 17 points, TyTy Washington Jr. added 14 and No. 18 Kentucky overcame an uneven second half to roll past Missouri 83-56 on Wednesday night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both schools.
The Wildcats (10-2) trailed just once early on against a Tigers squad playing without head coach Cuonzo Martin, who missed the contest with COVID. But Kentucky had to offset 38% percent shooting in the second half and some ragged stretches to pull away from Missouri (6-7) after consecutive blowouts over North Carolina and Western Kentucky.
Brooks provided the needed cushion with several key baskets after the break, including a couple of dunks during the Wildcats’ 7-2 spurt for a 59-45 lead with 9:23 remaining. Kentucky soon followed with 10 straight points to make it 73-52 and eventually improve to 14-2 against Mizzou and 8-0 in Lexington.
“With me, it’s just a matter of just continuing to play hard, not worrying about what could happen, what might happen, just play hard and bring energy,” Brooks said. “The ball finds energy, so that’s really what happened.”
Brooks did have one flat stretch after halftime that led Kentucky coach John Calipari to pull him briefly. The point was made and the veteran responded with the same effort his coach considered necessary against the aggressive Tigers.
“Here’s what I love, how we started the game,” Calipari said. “The energy we started with, who we are, how we run. And if you play the way we’re playing, where you’re picking them up and you’re running at some point, if a team’s not used to playing that way, there’s going to be a gap.
“You’re going to get a layup, a layup, a 3. They turn it over, bam, layup. And now all of a sudden it’s 12, 14 (points) instead of four. And that’s why we want to keep playing fast.”
Amari Davis and DaJuan Gordon had 10 points each for Missouri, which dropped its fourth in six games. The Tigers were beaten 36-28 in the paint and 25-10 in fast break points. Their bright spot was outscoring Kentucky’s bench 34-20.
“I think our guys came out to perform, especially early in the first half,” acting Tigers coach Cornell Mann said. “Then in the second half, we obviously lost momentum. I thought we had some silly fouls that take a little bit of air off the ball for us, and it doesn’t allow you to be as confident and play with as much confidence as you would normally play.”
Kentucky shot just 43% overall but Brooks’ 7-of-11 shooting, including two of its first three baskets, was the bright spot. The junior forward also had nine rebounds. Washington was 6 of 13, while Oscar Tshiebwe made 9 of 10 free throws for 13 points while grabbing 20 boards. Sahvir Wheeler had 11 points and nine assists.
Kentucky Dominates SEC Weekly Awards
Oscar Tshiebwe and TyTy Washington Jr. were named SEC Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively on Monday.
Tshiebwe had a record-breaking day with 28 rebounds and 14 points while Washington scored 20 points and reached the plateau for the third time this season in the 95-60 win over Western Kentucky.
Kentucky swept the SEC Weekly honors for the first time this season. It is the first time two UK players have earned weekly honors since Immanuel Quickley and Tyrese Maxey were named Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively, on Jan. 13, 2020.
The Wildcats have now earned four honors this season. Sahvir Wheeler won SEC Player of the Week a week ago following his 26-point effort against North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic. This is the second time this season Washington has claimed the Freshman of the Week honor. He was also recognized on Nov. 22 after averaging a team-high 18.0 points per game in wins over Mount St. Mary’s and Ohio.
Kentucky has dominated the weekly SEC awards with John Calipari at the helm. UK has won more weekly SEC honors (114) than any other school during the Calipari era, including 87 SEC Freshman of the Week honors and 27 SEC Player of the Week awards
