Despite the loss, Antonio Reeves continues to put together All-American season

Antonio Reeves joined Kentucky’s 1,000-point club during Wednesday night’s buzzer-beating loss to LSU. He became just the sixth Wildcat in the John Calipari to reach the 1k threshold. The fifth-year veteran finished with a game-high 25 points against the Tigers — his 14th 20-point outing this season.

Despite the heartbreaking defeat, Reeves continues to make his case as an All-American.

Reeves got rolling quickly against LSU. He scored nine straight for Kentucky early in the first half, capped off by a three-pointer that gave his team a 13-8 advantage. He finished the opening half with 16 points on an efficient 7-10 shooting, including a 2-2 mark from deep. Reeves even scored five of Kentucky’s 10-0 run right before the halftime break. He then drilled another triple to start the second half, giving UK its largest lead of the night at 15 points.

It was just another regular outing for the Chicago native, who simply can’t stop getting buckets.

Antonio Reeves has officially joined the 1K point club at Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/VTzTuUgJzj

— KSR (@KSRonX) February 22, 2024

Unfortunately, after picking up a third personal foul with 15:14 left in the second half, he was forced to the bench. With LSU already mounting a comeback, the timing couldn’t have been worse. During Reeves’ less than four-minute stint off the floor, Kentucky’s four-point lead flipped to a three-point LSU edge. Reeves scored just two points off a pair of free throws the rest of the way.

“I was still locked in,” Reeves said postgame about his foul trouble. “It happens. Cheap fouls happen when you’re on the road. But just gotta stay locked in, stay focused, and try to help the other guys, try to talk them through it while I’m on the bench.”

Reeves still finished with a stat line of 25 points, four rebounds, and two steals in 33 minutes of action. He shot 8-15 from the field, 3-5 from deep, and a perfect 6-6 from the line. From jumpers to layups to his signature floater, he was scoring all over the floor. It just wasn’t enough to fend off LSU down the stretch.

But the outcome shouldn’t take away from what Reeves did against LSU, and really what he’s been doing all season long. Had Rob Dillingham (who scored 21 points after halftime) not gone nuclear in the closing 10 minutes, Reeves very well could have been Kentucky’s only player in double-figures against LSU. His consistency, especially as of late, has been impressive to watch — to the point where it’s a shock if he doesn’t drop 20 points. Reeves has scored at least 14 points in every single SEC game this season.

Here are Reeves’ updated stats following Wednesday’s loss: 19.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 31.4 minutes per game across 26 outings (all starts). He’s now shooting 49.5 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from deep, and 87.4 percent from the charity stripe. Only once this season has he failed to reach double-figures in scoring (nine points against North Carolina on Dec. 16). It doesn’t get more reliable than that.

We’re now well past the point where the Big Blue Nation has to speak Reeves’ All-American case into existence. His play on the hardwood is doing it for him.