Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s smashing of Miami at Rupp Arena

Three takeaways from No. 12-ranked Kentucky basketball’s 95-73 thumping of the No. 8 Miami Hurricanes as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena:

1. Rupp Arena had the feel of a ‘Welcome Back’ party

After Kentucky basketball’s struggles of the past three seasons — the 9-16 COVID campaign, followed by the first-round NCAA loss to Saint Peter’s to last season’s NCAA second-round knockout — Tuesday night at Rupp Arena had the feel of a break from that recent past, of a return to the glory days. It had the feel of a celebration.

Tuesday night, Kentucky basketball was fun again. The packed crowd was into it. The students were into it. “We fed off the crowd,” UK freshman Justin Edwards said. “I know I did.”

Best of all, the Wildcats were into it, flying up and down the floor, dishing assists, draining shots, dominating. They turned a 42-37 halftime lead into a rout by outscoring the visitors 53-36 in the second half.

“We couldn’t guard them,” said Miami coach Jim Larranaga, whose Hurricanes brought a perfect 5-0 record into Rupp.

Indeed, Kentucky shot 67% for the second half and 59.7% for the game. After making just 2 of 10 three-pointers in the first half, the Cats were 7-for-10 in the second. They recorded 26 assists. They turned it over just eight times.

“Wow,” UK coach John Calipari said after surveying the stat sheet before taking questions in his postgame press conference. “Pretty good.”

Better than pretty good.

2. Reed Sheppard continues to impress

When this season is over, UK freshman Reed Sheppard might not be the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, but the guess here is that the former North Laurel star will be in the hunt.

Besides scoring a team-high 21 points, Sheppard had four assists, five rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot.

“I’ll bet his plus/minus was off the charts,” Calipari said before taking another squint at the stat sheet.

Good bet. How about a plus-35? No other player in the game had higher than a plus-21.

“You look at him and think he’s not that athletic,” Larranaga said. “But he moves his feet, and he has great hands.”

It doesn’t take a Basketball Bennie to know Sheppard has great instincts, too. He knows how to play the game.

3. Kentucky’s defense wasn’t bad, either

Miami came into Tuesday’s game as the nation’s best 3-point shooting team at 45.8%. Meanwhile, UK entered the game 66th in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to kenpom.

By the end of the night, Miami had made just five of its 19 3-point shots for 26.3%. Larranga’s team went 1-for-8 from beyond the arc in the second half.

“We came into the game saying, ‘Make their 3s hard,’” Calipari said.

The Cats did exactly that. Only one Miami player made more than one 3-point shot. That was Christian Watson at 2-for-3. Wooga Poplar entered the night shooting 59.4% from 3. He was 0-for-2 from there on the night. Bensley Joseph was shooting 55.6% from 3. He was also 0-for-2. Nijel Pack was 0-for-3.

“It wasn’t Pack, it was our team,” Larranaga said, who added that his team is not particularly tall. “We’re small. We have to outscore people. And we didn’t score the ball well enough, and we didn’t guard at all.”

The Cats are doing this without any of their trio of 7-footers. Aaron Bradshaw is back practicing. There were hints Tuesday that he could make his debut when UK plays UNC Wilmington on Saturday at Rupp. If there is concern about how Bradshaw will fit in with a team already playing so well, you couldn’t sense that Tuesday.

“Aaron is a great teammate,” Sheppard said. “That’s the biggest thing with Aaron. He always has a small on his face, and no matter what he’s going to be uplifting and encouraging. So to have him back on the floor will be really cool.”

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