In game two of what Cats fans hope will be a long season ahead, Kentucky hosted the Duquesne Dukes at Rupp Arena on Friday Night.
The Wildcats were still without Damion Collins and Oscar Tshiebwe on Friday night, but Sahvir Wheeler did make a return to the court, making his impact felt.
To start, the Wildcats were a little sluggish as they didn’t hit double-digits until the 13-minute mark of the first half. However, Sahvir Wheeler check in off the bench and dished three straight assists, and hit a layup to ignite the Wildcat offense. This gave Kentucky some momentum and allowed them to create separation and enter halftime with a 38-22 lead.
Coming out of the half, Duquesne went on a quick 7-0 run that cut the lead to single digits. While Kentucky made some runs of their own, they had just an 11-point lead with just 11 minutes to go. Finally, Fredrick-Reeves-Toppin went on a 12-2 run themselves and Kentucky never looked back.
To summarize, the Wildcats were dominant in almost every asset, coming out of Rupp Arena with a 77-52 win, covering their 19-point spread.
Let’s talk about it.
Sahvir Wheeler shows his impact in return
For what was Sahvir Wheeler’s season opener, he looked to have already found his groove. Prior to the game, it was reported that Wheeler would only see 10-15 minutes of action, but ended up playing 27 minutes, and did plenty of good.
Coming off the bench, the senior guard already had 4 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds through his first five minutes of action. Wheeler finished with a double-double scoring 11 points and adding 11 assists and 2 steals.
Looking more in-depth, Wheeler went 1-2 from the three-point line and limited his turnovers, only having 2 for his 27 minutes of play.
While some fans are calling for Cason Wallace to be the starting point guard, Wheeler proved his value once again. The Bob Cousy award finalist and SEC assist leader was +32 on the night, with Antonio Reeves in second at +20.
Bench impact
The biggest story of the Kentucky offense against Duquesne was the bench production.
The starting five consisted of the same live last game, Wallace-Fredrick-Reeves-Livingston-Toppin. Off the bench, Onyenso-Reeves-Wheeler combined for 38 points, nearly half of Kentucky’s 77 points.
While Wheeler will most likely be starting for the remainder of the season, Reeves and Onyenso will be two of the biggest contributors off the bench and the best was seen from both on Friday night.
The duo affected the game on both ends. On offense, they combined for a total of 27 points on an efficient 56 percent from the field, as well as two of the highest offensive ratings. On the other end, the pair combined for four blocks and also had two of the highest defensive ratings.
The bench contribution should improve even more with the return of Collins, and when Livingston is moved back.
Onyenso continues to impress
Ugonna Onyenso should be a high school senior this year, but instead, he reclassified and is making an impact for the Kentucky Wildcats.
In the absence of Oscar Tshiebwe, the freshman has stepped up in both regular season games in a big way. Through the exhibitions and the first two regular season games, Onyenso has proven that he is an elite rim protector and can rebound well, but it is clear his offense is a bit behind.
On Friday night, Onyenso had an impressive 10 rebounds and three blocks, but also scored 9 points. Wheeler set the freshman big up with a few baskets, but Onyenso also showed the ability to create opportunities for himself.
In the freshman’s first two games he is averaging just under 20 minutes per game, but is making use of his time on the floor, floating with a double-double; averaging 7.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks.
When a player is playing with that level of efficiency, it is going to be hard to keep him off the floor.
Guard-play
The guard play for the Cats had another impressive outing.
All four guards – Fredrick, Reeves, Wallace, and Wheeler – scored at least 8 points for the Wildcats, and shot a combined 55 percent from the field. Yet they performed even better from the perimeter.
As a team, the Cats shot 11-19 (58%) from 3-point range. Of course, CJ Fredrick and Antonio Reeves accounted for eight of the threes, but Wallace and Wheeler both hit one apiece as well.
It is early, but Fredrick and Reeves are both shooting over fifty percent from three on thirty combined attempts. The duo looks to be among the purest shooters in the Cal era, and could put themselves in the program record books.
What may be the most impressive stat, Kentucky had 22 assists on 28 made field goals, giving them a 79 percent assist percentage. For reference, East Carolina had the highest assist percentage in the country last season at 67.2 percent.
Right now, it seems that in nearly any rotation Calipari draws up, the guards seem to play well with one another and it will interesting to see how that develops over the course of the season.
Through two games, the Cats have performed very well despite not being at full strength. However, it is expected for Collins and Tshiebwe to make their season debut against Michigan State on Tuesday night.
With that said, Kentucky seems to be playing well and prepared regardless of lineup.
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