Kentucky MBB bounces back with easy 106-63 win over South Carolina State

After falling in double-overtime to Michigan State just two days ago, Kentucky men’s basketball picked up a much-needed blowout win on Thursday night.

The Wildcats (3-1) took down a winless South Carolina State (0-4) team by a final score of 106-53 inside Rupp Arena. Outside of the opening few minutes, the contest was never truly close and Kentucky quickly cruised to the landslide victory. With a road date against No. 2 Gonzaga scheduled for Sunday, this performance was exactly what the ‘Cats needed.

Redshirt senior CJ Fredrick powered Kentucky with a team-high 17 points (3-7 3PT) to go along with three assists and four steals. Freshmen Chris Livingston and Cason Wallace went for 13 and 12 points, respectively, while junior Lance Ware added 12 points and two blocks playing in the starting lineup once again. Senior Antonio Reeves rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points on a 3-7 clip from distance.

Kentucky never trailed in this one, as Fredrick opened the game with a confidence-boosting three-pointer. Fredrick would go on to score the Wildcats’ first six points before the rest of the crew got involved. A layup from Jacob Toppin followed by a triple from Wallace put UK in front by eight early.

South Carolina State would actually respond with a 7-0 run to cut the Kentucky lead to just one, but it was the Wildcats’ night from then on. UK established its first double-digit lead with under seven minutes left in the first half, ballooning the advantage to 19 points by the intermission.

Fredrick led the way for Kentucky through the first 20 minutes, dropping a game-high 11 points. Of the 11 Wildcats who saw first-half action, only Sahvir Wheeler failed to score, although he did dish out five assists. UK was shooting over 57 percent from the floor but did shoot just 2-11 from long range.

Out of the locker room, all that Kentucky needed to do was finish the game off without any hiccups or injuries. Mission successful. The Wildcats’ lead continued to grow, eventually reaching 30-plus as the 3s were flying and fastbreak points were abundant. When it was all said and done, UK cruised to a 43-point victory (covering the spread) as they await a top-5 matchup against Gonzaga on Sunday.

As a team, Kentucky shot 57.4 percent overall from the floor and was much more efficient from deep in the second half, finishing 10-24 (41.7 percent) from distance. Playing just 14 minutes, reigning national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe had his double-double streak snapped at 17 as he closed the night with six points and seven rebounds.