Eric Musselman marvels at the performance from Antonio Reeves

Kentucky arrived in Fayetteville feeling like an even bigger underdog than they were considering injuries in their backcourt. They were going to have to deal with Arkansas on their home floor without a formal point guard available. However, transfer guard Antonio Reeves had a game to remember and, from what he said after the game, Eric Musselman won’t soon forget it either.

Musselman commended Reeves following the Razorback’s 88-79 loss to the Wildcats. He noted that having Reeves run their point may have actually helped UK considering neither Cason Wallace nor Sahvir Wheeler are as aggressive at scoring the ball as Reeves was on Saturday. Either way, he still couldn’t believe the efficiency of the performance and said it was the best he’d seen since arriving in the SEC.

“What happened tonight is Reeves stepped in at the point guard position and he had 37 points,” Musselman said. “I mean they could have had both of those other guys play and, combined, couldn’t do what Reeves did. He played as good as any player that I’ve seen since I’ve been coaching here at Arkansas.”

“He played phenomenal. Those other two guys did not play and they put the ball in his hands. He made great decisions and missed five shots,” said Musselman. “He scored 37 points on 17 shots. So the productivity for Reeves? How many guys can score 37 points on 17 shots? It doesn’t happen.”

Reeves finished with the career-best 37 points as Kentucky’s de facto point guard. Distributing the ball wasn’t his role, though, as finished with only two assists. Instead, it was all about getting him good looks as UK’s go-to option. For the game, Reeves shot 12-17, including 50% from three as well as an 11-11 mark from the free-throw line.

Several other players stepped up in the Wildcat’s lineup but, as a whole, Reeves put on a show in order for them to close the season with a victory in Bud Walton Arena.

Now, while Kentucky continues to piece together its backcourt heading into the postseason, Musselman and Arkansas will now try to rediscover some momentum after losing their last three as they head into the SEC Tournament as the No. 10 seed.