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RECAP & TAKEAWAYS: Kentucky Overcomes First Half Deficit to beat Texas A&M Commerce 81-61

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11 months ago

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© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

It wasn’t pretty, but the ‘Cats (eventually) took the lead to down the Texas A&M Commerce Lions 81-61 to move on to 2-0 on the young season. Eight minutes into the game, Kentucky was down 21-8, but they went on a 17-3 run to take a one point lead with 7:16 to go in the first half. From there, it was all good guys.

Antonio Reeves leads the way (again)

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Antonio Reeves led Kentucky in scoring to help the ‘Cats get to their victory against Texas A&M Commerce. Reeves went 8-14 (57.1%) from the field overall while shooting a tremendous 5-8 (62.5%) from deep.

However, it wasn’t just shooting the ball where Reeves made an impact. He also finished with a solid six rebounds and two assists to add to his stat line. In addition, in 29 minutes of play, Reeves did not commit a single turnover.

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Overall, Antonio Reeves proved again why he has the potential to do big things this season. The Preseason 1st Team All-SEC selection is making a very strong case as to why he could very well win SEC Player of the Year. We’ll see if his game against Kansas helps or hurts that narrative.

Kentucky starts off slow

As stated in the intro, Texas A&M Commerce came out of the gates swinging, getting out to a 21-8 lead less than ten minutes into the game. Kalen Williams scored a team-high 19 points, and the majority of those came in the first half.

However, after a timeout at the 11:51 mark, Calipari rallied his troops and the ‘Cats would go on a 21-8 run over the course of the next five minutes of action. Adou Thiero was out of the game due to concussion protocol, and you could tell UK missed his physical presence inside.

Did Kentucky look forward to Kansas? Who knows? Considering Calipari mentioned that he had not looked at Kansas film, I would say he didn’t for certain. The players on the other hand? Well, that’s a question left up for all of us to decide.

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DJ Wagner struggles on defense

Coming into the game, the Lions had only made nine three-pointers on the season. Against Kentucky, Texas A&M Commerce scored 30 points from deep, going 10-27 (37%) from beyond the arch.

Perhaps one of the more major concerns moving forward is Kentucky’s on-ball defense, specifically DJ Wagner’s. Wagner fell victim to really any sort of deceptive dribble move that Commerce’s guards made.

Then, Coach Jaret von Rosenburg started using pick-and-roll action to expose Wagner, and it worked for a decent amount of time before Calipari made an adjustment defensively. Against Kansas, Wagner will be tasked with guarding much better players around the perimeter. It’ll be interesting to see if he can improve from Friday night’s game.

Next, Kentucky will make their way to the United Center in Chicago to take on the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks in the Champions Classic. It will be a big-time game for sure, but if John Calipari and his team have any chance of pulling off the upset, they must tighten up on both ends of the floor come Tuesday night. You can view the final box score from the game here.

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Men's Basketball

Former Louisville Player “Pissed Off” at Rick Pitino’s Return to Kentucky, Suggests He Is a Liar

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5 days ago

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October 17, 2024

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Former Louisville player Luke Hancock was "pissed off" about his former coach Rick Pitino returning to Kentucky, and suggests he is a liar.
IMAGN

If a Kentucky fan had been told on January 1st that Rick Pitino would return to Rupp Arena for Mark Pope’s first Big Blue Madness as the Wildcats’ head coach, they would have given you quite a look. Yet, it happened, and it even caught Louisville fans off guard.

“I want to come back to Camelot one more time,” Pitino said teary-eyed with a Kentucky blue pullover on. This was quite the opposite act of what he did the last time he was in Rupp Arena, which was flipping off the Wildcat fans as the head coach at Louisville in 2015.

Already angering Louisville fans with his return to their rival, Pitino was asked if he sees himself returning to Louisville in a similar fashion one day, to which he responded, “Probably not”.

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“I love that place, and I love the fans at Louisville, but I’ve never been invited back to Louisville. They fired me quite abruptly and not nicely, but I harbor nothing against the fans and certainly nothing against my players. I love them dearly. But I’ve never been invited back, not one time.”

Former Louisville captain Luke Hancock refutes this, saying he has invited Pitino back himself.

“I’ll tell you what pissed me off,” Hancock said. “The fact that coach went out there and acted like he hadn’t invited back. That’s the line I don’t like. Of course, you’ve been invited back… For him to go out of his way to say that, that’s simply not true.”

It likely is the case that Hancock invited Pitino back to Louisville, but being invited back by a player and an administration is different. Again Pitino left Kentucky on his own will to go to the Boston Celtics, whereas he was fired from Louisville.

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Now that he is back in the good graces of Big Blue Nation, and given the turmoil in his relationship with the UofL administration, it’s difficult to envision Pitino returning to Louisville for a reunion.

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BB Recruiting

Malachi Moreno Helping Kentucky Recruit Top 2025 Point Guard

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5 days ago

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October 16, 2024

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Five-star Kentucky commit Malachi Moreno is helping the Wildcats recruit one of the top point guards of the 2025 class Acaden Lewis.
UK Athletics

This past weekend was a big moment for Kentucky basketball, as the first Big Blue Madness of the Mark Pope era took place. In years past, the event has hosted multiple five-star recruits and this year was no different.

While the guest list was smaller due to USA Basketball junior mini camp, the Wildcats had two top recruits in attendance, 2026 five-star Anthony Thompson and 2024 four-star combo guard Acaden Lewis.

The latter is one of Kentucky’s biggest recruiting priorities in the 2025 class and was also on campus for an official visit as he prepares to make his college decision in early November. To help was five-star commit, Malachi Moreno.

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While Moreno couldn’t make it to Big Blue Madness, he was able to meet with Lewis during his visit on Thursday and even took part in his photo shoot, as the pair posed together in Kentucky uniforms in Rupp Arena.

It helps to have a five-star commit just down the road to help recruit. Could we see the pair play together next season at Kentucky? Things are trending in that direction, but time will tell.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

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Men's Basketball

Rick Pitino Takes Shot at Louisville Following Return to Kentucky

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6 days ago

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October 16, 2024

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Rick Pitino returned to Rupp Arena for Kentucky's Big Blue Madness, and took a shot at his former school Louisville.
© Clare Grant/Courier Journal

Time heals all wounds.

In 2015, Rick Pitino walked out of Rupp Arena with his middle finger up at the fans, as the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals. On Friday, he returned for the first time since, and as he emerged from the tunnel wearing Kentucky blue, holding the 1996 championship trophy, Big Blue Nation cheered for him for the first time in over two decades.

Clearly holding back tears, Pitino sat the trophy down on a mantle alongside seven others, and was welcomed with a warm embrace from his former player and now head coach, Mark Pope.

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“I am so happy to be back,” Pitino opened. “Before I pack it in, in coaching, I want to come back to Camelot one more time. This is one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time.”

On Friday, at an event that had become stale and repetitive of late, was a moment that will be remembered in Kentucky basketball history. To close this historical night, Kentucky Insider asked Pitino if he ever thought he would be wearing Kentucky blue again.

“Yeah, I thought so. Once I left Louisville, I said I’ll sleep in Kentucky blue.”

Pitino is one of Kentucky’s own again. Wow, how time has changed.

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