KSR's takeaways from Kentucky's 77-52 win over Duquesne

On3 imageby:Jack Pilgrim11/11/22

Two games, two wins for the Wildcats to open the regular season, as Kentucky defeated Duquesne by a final score of 77-52 at Rupp Arena to move to 2-0 on the season. It was a performance in which UK finished shooting 45.9% from the field and 57.9% from three while holding the Dukes to 30.3% shooting overall and 26.9% from deep.

How did the win come together for the Wildcats? KSR has the takeaways.

Sahvir Wheeler makes a clear difference in debut

Cason Wallace held down the fort nicely in Sahvir Wheeler’s absence, leading to questions regarding a potential battle at the starting point guard position. It took just one game back, though, for those rumblings to die down a bit — or at least have people acknowledge how great it is to have two players as talented as they both are in the Kentucky backcourt.

Wheeler showed off his value as an elite playmaker, finishing with 11 points (4-7 FG, 1-2 3PT, 2-2 FT), 11 assists, six rebounds, two steals, one block and two turnovers in 27 minutes of action. He was a ball mover and pushed the pace offensively while being a disrupter on defense, poking balls loose and mucking things up for the Dukes.

Wallace is a special talent, there’s no denying that. He finished with eight points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals and a block in his own right — though he did turn the ball over four times. He impacts the game positively in a wide variety of ways, but in his own ways, and he’s thankfully able to do so playing multiple positions.

Tonight showed this isn’t an either/or point guard situation for the Wildcats. Kentucky has both, and more importantly, opponents have neither.

Ugonna Onyenso will play significant minutes this season

It’s time to accept the fact that true freshman Ugonna Onyenso, who just arrived in America back in January and only made it to campus in late August, will be a difference-maker for this Kentucky team.

Not in a few years. Not next year. Now.

The 6-foot-11 center finished with nine points on 4-7 shooting to go with ten rebounds, three blocks and an assist in 19 minutes, changing the game with his defense and clean-up efforts on the glass. It was a performance that led Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot to point out Onyenso “is going to make a lot of money” playing basketball.

“I hope you guys keep him a while,” he said. “It won’t be easy.”

Calipari’s initial reaction said it all.

“Ugonna, wow,” he said, adding “he impacts the game the minute he walks on the court. Not afraid.”

When Oscar Tshiebwe’s status was brought up to close out the press conference, he brought up Onyenso and the very real possibility he cuts into the superstar center’s minutes — or they’re going to play together, one or the other.

“There’s this kid, Ugonna, that’s going to deserve some minutes,” Calipari said. “And then the question is, can they play together? I don’t know. I haven’t coached them together.”

Sounds like a spacing nightmare to me personally, but the fact that we’re even having this conversation right now means something. Onyenso has blown away expectations to start the year and the kid is going to play.

Antonio Reeves and CJ Fredrick lead Kentucky in scoring again

We’re starting to see a clear trend here with Kentucky’s scoring attack, as veteran guards Antonio Reeves and CJ Fredrick again led the Wildcats with a combined 32 points on 10-18 shooting and 8-13 from deep.

That comes after the dynamic shooting duo combined for 42 points on 14-25 shooting and 8-17 from three in the season-opener vs. Howard.

Individually, Reeves finished with 18 points on 5-9 FG, 4-6 3PT and 4-5 from the line to go with three rebounds, one block and one steal in 27 minutes vs. Duquesne. As for Fredrick, he had a quiet start, but finished strong, going for 14 points on 5-9 shooting and 4-7 from three to go with three assists and two rebounds in a team-high 31 minutes.

Calipari said this was a team that needed to shoot 25 3-pointers and score 80 points per game. They fell short in both of those areas tonight, but just barely, knocking down 11-19 attempts from three and scoring 77 points overall. And like they will be all season, Reeves and Fredrick will be a big reason Kentucky hits those marks (or comes close) every night.

“It’s going to be very hard for teams to stop both of them,” Jacob Toppin told KSR after the win. “You can stop one, but you’re not stopping both. That’s really good for us. If one has it going, we’re going to feed them. If the other has it going, then we’re going to feed that person.

“If they both have it going, it’s going to be really hard to beat us.”

Jacob Toppin acknowledges struggles are mental

It wasn’t all positive following Kentucky’s blowout win. Jacob Toppin was uncharacteristically down on himself, making it clear he’s in his own head and needs to play better moving forward for the Wildcats to play up to their title expectations this season.

The senior forward finished with eight points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block, but shot just 4-12 from the field and turned the ball over twice in 28 minutes. It wasn’t a bad game necessarily, but he just didn’t perform at the level his work in practice should reflect.

“Personally, I’ve got to be better. I don’t know what it is, but I’m gonna figure it out,” Toppin said. “I put in the work and I understand I put in the work, I just have to fall back on that work. I’ll be better. If I’m not better, it’s not going to do us any good. … At the end of the day, when you step on that court, it’s you vs. you. I understand that and I understand I’m in my own head.”

Toppin has star hopes and expectations going into the season, and he hasn’t played up to that level quite yet. It’s clear he’s on a mission to get there sooner rather than later.

When will Oscar Tshiebwe return?

What’s the deal with Tshiebwe? Calipari isn’t quite sure, with his status remaining up in the air going into the Champions Classic. Sitting out a month after undergoing a minor knee procedure in October, the star center still hasn’t returned to contact practices.

He’s ahead of schedule, but he’s still sore and swelling is off and on. If that continues, they’ll need to wait with Tshiebwe.

“I don’t know yet,” Calipari said when asked if Tshiebwe will play on Tuesday. “He’s got to go through some workouts and if it swells or does stuff, we’re just going to have to wait. That surgery, he’s ahead of schedule, but, you know, you’ve got to be able to stop and turn and, you know, it’s not ligament or anything like that. But there was an operation where they went inside that area where it will still be sore for a minute.

“So, we’ll have to see. I hope, but I have no idea.”


Kentucky will take on Michigan State in the Champions Classic on Tuesday in Indianapolis, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

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