KSR's takeaways from Kentucky's gutsy win at Arkansas

OK, John Calipari. You win. An all-timer in Fayetteville, against all odds. One no one — and I mean no one — could predict, at least to this extent.

Hostile road environment with zero available point guards, another key rotation piece fighting through a cracked rib, star player fouls out with five minutes to go. It’s a matchup against a team who absolutely dog-walked Kentucky in the second half on its home floor less than a month ago, shooting 62.7% from the field and 44.4% from three overall.

And this time, a No. 3 seed was on the line in the SEC Tournament, one that could have been secured with a win vs. Vanderbilt on Senior Night. With a loss, you put your seeding fate in the hands of the rest of the conference, risking a potential Thursday start in Nashville as a No. 5 seed — one less day of rest and recovery for a team that desperately needs it.

That’s pressure. That’s adversity. This was a game no one would fault Kentucky for losing, probably even in blowout fashion. Hell, you try to build a game plan with no point guards, going against a team known for its long, athletic backcourt featuring two projected lottery picks.

Go back to Calipari’s comments on his call-in radio show Monday evening — before Cason Wallace‘s ankle injury and Sahvir Wheeler‘s minor procedure on Wednesday. What do you do if Wallace goes down while Wheeler remains out? “You punt.”

The Kentucky head coach was joking, but he wasn’t wrong. It’s a worst-case scenario for a team that had a long list of high-minute, high-usage pieces it really couldn’t afford to lose. And then CJ Fredrick takes an elbow to his cracked rib, a reaggravation that had him struggling to breathe? Then Oscar Tshiebwe — the Wildcats’ final saving grace — battles foul trouble and ultimately fouls out with 4:53 to go in a three-score game? 26 minutes from him overall? Get the hell out of here, no way.

88-79, final. Kentucky leaves Fayetteville with a win, ending its regular season with a 21-10 final record and 12-6 in the SEC, No. 3 seed secured.

How did it all come together for the Wildcats inside Bud Walton Arena? KSR has the takeaways.

Antonio Reeves saves his best for last

What do you do when you have zero primary ball handlers healthy? Easy, you get the ball to Antonio Reeves and get out of his damn way. Watch a professional bucket-getter do his job, simple as that.

The senior guard’s previous career high was 34 points in Illinois State’s overtime win at Valparaiso back on February 9, 2022. Tonight? 37 points on a ridiculous 12-17 shooting, 2-4 from three and 11-11 at the line, adding two assists, one rebound and just one turnover in 40 minutes. And that’s with a usage rate of 31.8%.

We saw Reeves struggle in the second half vs. Vanderbilt trying to find a healthy balance of facilitating, playmaking and hitting shots as the lead guard. He’s played point before — quite a bit at Illinois State, actually — but adjusting roles on the fly ain’t easy, especially at a place like Kentucky. Expecting him to step in and keep the ship from sinking in the season-finale is a pretty substantial ask and probably not realistic. A dud would’ve been completely justified given the circumstances.

Not only did he save the ship, he threw on the captain’s hat and guided the Wildcats to victory like a pro. He was a human flamethrower, dropping dagger after dagger at all three levels, drawing fouls to get to the line. It was an effortless scoring clinic in a game Kentucky desperately needed someone to step up, with Reeves becoming just the second Wildcat to score at least 37 in an SEC true road game since 1984, joining Jodie Meeks in 2008-09. He’s just one of four players to score 37 in a game under Calipari, Oscar Tshiebwe, De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk being the others.

Take credit for the win, Jacob Toppin

No one was harder on themselves after the Vanderbilt loss than Jacob Toppin, calling himself selfish and apologizing for letting his teammates down.

“I would put this loss on me because of what I did in the first half that sparked their run,” the third-year forward said on Senior Night. “… Toward the end of the first half, I messed up on two plays and then Coach (Calipari) said something to me and I got an attitude. I got selfish, and I argued back with him, told him to take me out. And that was selfish. … We shouldn’t have been in the game with them, so that’s why I’m putting this game on me. I’ve got to be better, especially as a leader.”

That kind of accountability isn’t easy to have, especially on a night there was plenty of blame to go around. The only fingers he was willing to point were at himself and no one else.

So on a night Toppin goes for 21 points on 6-9 shooting overall, 2-3 from three and 7-8 at the line while pulling down four rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in 38 minutes, you better believe he deserves credit for coming up huge in Fayetteville, especially down the stretch. I mean, 14 points on a perfect 3-3 shooting, 2-2 from three and 6-7 at the line in the second half alone? Playing all 20 minutes after the break, 38 overall? A solid portion playing point guard at 6-10? Come on. You can’t ask for more than that, he was outstanding.

And really, he has been essentially the entire back half of the schedule. Sure, he’s had a few slip-ups — everyone has — but overall, Toppin has emerged as the player we all hoped he’d be when he returned for his senior campaign. He’s been a force on the glass and smooth out of the high post, but embracing his physical gifts as an above-the-rim athlete. Oh, and he finished the SEC season shooting 50% from three, knocking down 13 of his 26 attempts.

If he’s going to be hard on himself for the lows, he better love himself for the highs — or just love himself always, preferably. Because Toppin’s all-around growth has been one of the greatest joys of the season. As Kentucky has figured out how to play its best basketball of the season, the senior forward has individually, too. It’s not a coincidence those two things have gone hand in hand.

Kentucky doesn’t win without CJ Fredrick

Reeves went for a career-high 37, Toppin added 21, both willing the Wildcats to victory in the second half. Neither, though, earned the team’s Most Impactful Player award after the game.

That was given to senior guard CJ Fredrick, who finished with two points on 0-2 shooting and 2-2 at the line to go with four assists, one steal and zero turnovers in 15 minutes.

“Most Impactful Player is not about who scores the most points. That’s not what this is about. This is about who impacts winning,” assistant coach Chin Coleman told the team after the win. “F****** CJ Fredrick, that’s who the Most Impactful Player was. If CJ Fredrick don’t play, we don’t win.”

“Playing when he was really hurting, helping out team,” Calipari added.

What a way to finish the regular season. #GoBigBlue pic.twitter.com/5x4OzAq5ha

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) March 4, 2023

Some backstory: Fredrick very nearly missed this game, and he would have been right to. Cracking a rib after falling into a cameraman vs. Florida on March 4, his original recovery timeline was 6-8 weeks, one that would force him to miss the rest of the regular season, the SEC Tournament and the first round of the NCAA Tournament, at minimum. Struggling to breathe and sleep, let alone get shots up on the floor, the injury could’ve knocked him out the rest of the year.

He decided to tough it out and return last week vs. Auburn. Then he took an elbow to the rib vs. Vanderbilt, reaggravating the injury and causing him excruciating pain. Medical professionals advised against playing, but left it up to Fredrick to make the final call. When he knew Wallace was going to be out, he decided to fight through the pain because he knew the team needed him. Maybe not much, but he’d give what he had. And that ended up being 15 tough, productive minutes — he finished with a team-high +16 in the plus/minus — doing whatever it took to help the Wildcats limp across the finish line.

He’s had a brutal string of injury luck, but it’s impossible to question Fredrick’s toughness and his love for the game. It’d be easy for him to take a step back and let his body heal, get some much-needed rest — no one would blame him. Instead, he helped Kentucky earn an unlikely statement road win to regain momentum going into the postseason.

Arkansas goes 2-20 on layups, misses 12 free throws

After setting the world on fire inside Rupp Arena back in February, the Razorbacks went cold in Fayetteville, shooting just 35.7% overall (25-70) and 31.8% from three (7-22). Taking a closer look, though, some of their other inefficiencies really make no sense.

For starters, Arkansas made just two of 20 layup attempts, missing just a laughable number of bunnies. Essentially every shot within a few feet of the basket rimmed out, crushing any chance at real momentum for the home team in an environment waiting to explode. They got open dunks — 9-9 in that area — many coming in transition (13 fast break points, 15 off turnovers). But the missed layups were the story.

The Razorbacks also somehow managed to miss 12 free throws in a game they got 34 attempts at the line, nine misses coming in the second half alone. Meanwhile, the Wildcats went 26-33 (78.8%) at the line, including a 17-24 finish in the second half (Reeves and Toppin combined for 13-14 in that stretch).

While we’re talking about Arkansas screw-ups, Davonte Davis blowing a gasket to open the second half was unfathomably poor timing, allowing Kentucky to break things open and cruise the rest of the way. How does Eric Musselman not pull him to let him cool off a bit? Just a mind-boggling decision to watch a key piece unravel like that.

It was a product of the gameplan, one that clearly focused on getting the Wildcats to break in an uncomfortable environment rather than sticking to what worked in the first matchup. They wanted to turn it into a mental game rather than a physical one, a losing formula that undoubtedly backfired.

The end result? Sad Arkansas fans heading to the exits before the final buzzer.

“The best home court in the country” is leaving a little early. Anyone know why???? pic.twitter.com/OjR0g4wHSI

— Matt Sak (@MattSakBBN) March 4, 2023

One of John Calipari’s best coaching efforts at Kentucky

The odds were unbelievably stacked against the Wildcats, a potential disaster in the making. Rather than punting on the matchup and looking ahead to postseason play, John Calipari put together one of the best coaching performances of his career in Lexington.

It’s not hyperbole, either. Considering the setbacks and what was on the line, the execution, putting players in position to succeed, the whole nine yards, it was a brilliant all-around effort that deserves credit. He gave this team confidence it could go into Bud Walton Arena and not only compete, but leave with a statement win. Kentucky was loose from start to finish, playing with nothing to lose, thriving in a position most would crumble.

What’s the worst that could happen? You fall short with half the team missing? Who cares, just hoop.

A winning mindset produced a winning result. And once again, a Calipari-coached team has found its stride entering postseason play.