Kentucky-UNC-Wilmington Postgame Notes

KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
RUPP ARENA AT CENTRAL BANK CENTER | LEXINGTON, KY.
DEC. 2, 2023
ATTENDANCE: 19,990

Final Score: UNCW 80, No. 8 Kentucky 73

Team Records and Series Notes

Both teams now have a 6-2 record on the season.
This was the first meeting between Kentucky and UNCW.
UK will play one game a week for the next five weeks, beginning Saturday, Dec. 9, as the Wildcats travel to Philadelphia to take on Penn at the Wells Fargo Center. Game time is noon and it will be televised on ESPN2.

Team Notes

Key stats for UNCW: the Seahawks won second-chance points, 14-5, and bench points, 46-5.
Kentucky tied its season high for turnovers with 14.
- UK entered the game leading the nation in turnover percentage (10.9%), ranked second in the nation in turnovers per game (8.1 per game) and first nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (+2.56).
Kentucky is 653-82 (88.8%) in the 48^th season in Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.

Player Notes

Reed Sheppard led UK with 25 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals.
- It is his third 20-point game of the season, including back-to-back games after tallying 21 vs. Miami.
- He has had at least two steals in every game this season.
Antonio Reeves had 14 points and has scored double figures in every game this season.
- Has made a 3-pointer in 19 consecutive games.
Tre MItchell had 11 points and six rebounds. He has had at least four boards in every game this season.
Justin Edwards had 11 points, his sixth double-digit game of the season.
Freshman Aaron Bradshaw played in his first game at UK. He had three points and two rebounds in 12:31 of game action and had a plus/minus of +11.
D.J. Wagner, who had started the first seven games at point guard, missed today’s game because of injury.

Coach John Calipari

Calipari has an 838-255 (76.7%) all-time on-court record, including 393-115 (77.4%) at Kentucky.
Calipari is 323-65 (83.2%) at UK against unranked competition.
Calipari is 1-1 vs. UNCW.
Calipari is 226-22 (91.1%) in Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.

In the First Half

Kentucky started Reed Sheppard, Antonio Reeves, Justin Edwards, Adou Thiero and Tre Mitchell for the first time.
Rob Dillingham and Jordan Burks were UK’s first substitutions with 16:48 remaining.
UNCW scored on its first two possessions for a 5-0 lead and led the entire half.
The Wildcats opened cold, making only two of their first seven shots with three turnovers, as UNCW increased its lead to 13-4.
The Seahawks took their largest lead of 14 points at 38-24.
UK scored the last five points of the half but UNCW took a 41-33 lead into intermission. It is the first time this season that UK trailed at halftime.

In the Second Half

Kentucky began the second half with the starting lineup.
Kentucky started the second half on a 15-5 run, capped by a Sheppard 3-pointer at 15:38 which gave the Wildcats their first lead at 48-46, coaxing a UNCW timeout.
UK built the lead to six points at 55-49 with 12:27 to go but UNCW came back with a 13-1 run, making it 62-56 and the Seahawks never trailed again.
- Trazarien White scored 18 of UNCW’s final 31 points. He finished with a career-high 27 points.
UK got within two points on two occasions at 62-60 and 64-62 but got no closer.

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