Only one week faraway from falling to Vanderbilt within the Southeastern Convention Event, Kentucky had a shot at redemption on this Friday evening. And the Cats’ veterans made certain that UK didn’t waste the chance.

Senior Antonio Reeves led all scorers with 22 factors as sixth-seeded Kentucky beat No. 11 seed Windfall 61-53 within the first spherical of the 2023 NCAA Males’s Basketball Event on Friday inside Greensboro Coliseum.

Reeves acquired loads of assist from his fellow seniors. Jacob Toppin had 18 factors and 6 rebounds, whereas Oscar Tshiebwe had simply eight factors, however grabbed 25 rebounds, etching his identify even additional into the UK file e book.

Tshiebwe topped the rebounding mark by a UK participant in an NCAA Event recreation, which got here on this present day in 1956 when Jerry Fowl had 24 rebounds in Kentucky’s 89-77 win over Iowa within the NCAA Midwest Regional Closing in Iowa Metropolis. Tshiebwe’s 25 rebounds had been three wanting his profession excessive of 28 that got here final 12 months in opposition to Western Kentucky. His 25 rebounds on Friday evening had been the eighth-most by a UK participant in any recreation at school historical past.

Kentucky (22-11) was in a position to redeem itself from the early exit within the SEC Event final week. The Cats will now face the winner of the Kansas State-Montana State to be performed afterward Friday.

For Toppin, Tshiebwe and the opposite UK veterans, this win additionally put final 12 months’s upset loss to Saint Peter’s within the rearview mirror.

The Cats additionally did an impressive job on Windfall’s main scorer, and former Wildcat, Bryce Hopkins. Toppin drew a big portion of the defensive project and he, with assist from his teammates, held Hopkins to seven factors, under his common of 16.1 factors per outing.

The sport was a story of two halves. The primary half was a high-paced affair with a lot of scoring. Reeves had 14 factors and Toppin 12 as Kentucky grabbed a 38-31 benefit on the break.

The second half was a bit extra defensive. Kentucky made simply seven of 28 subject objectives within the second half, whereas Windfall made simply eight of 27 (29.6 %). UK outscored Windfall 23-22 within the second half. The 53 factors by Windfall was the fewest by a UK opponent since UK held West Virginia to 39 in 2015.

Up Subsequent

The time and TV community for Kentucky’s Sunday recreation will likely be introduced later.