GAMEDAY Mens Basketball
Kentucky 88, Arkansas 79
(AP Photo/Michael Woods)
By ERIC W. BOLIN
Associated Press
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Antonio Reeves scored a career-high 37 points, and No. 23 Kentucky handed Arkansas its third straight loss with an 88-79 victory.
Oscar Tshiebwe had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Wildcats (21-10, 12-6 Southeastern Conference). Jacob Toppin scored 21 points.
Tshiebwe fouled out with 4:53 left, but Arkansas (19-12, 8-10) was unable to take advantage of his absence. The Razorbacks missed three straight buckets before Reeves scored to lift Kentucky back to a 10-point lead with four minutes left.
Kentucky shot 54% from the field in its fifth win in six games. It also held Arkansas to 36% shooting.
The Razorbacks had 17 offensive rebounds, but they were outscored 17-9 in second-chance points.
Nick Smith Jr. led Arkansas with 25 points on 10-of-23 shooting. Ricky Council had 16 points, and Anthony Black finished with 14.
BIG PICTURE
Kentucky's late-season push likely secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament. A strong showing in the conference tournament could help with its seeding.
Arkansas likely would have locked up a berth in the NCAA Tournament with a win over Kentucky. Instead, the SEC Tournament may determine the Razorbacks' fate.
March 4, 2023
| Kentucky | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| J. Toppin | F | 38 | 6-9 | 7-8 | 2-3 | 0-4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 21 |
| C. Livingston | F | 34 | 0-5 | 1-4 | 0-3 | 0-9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| O. Tshiebwe | F | 26 | 5-11 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 4-13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 12 |
| A. Reeves | G | 40 | 12-17 | 11-11 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 37 |
| C. Fredrick | G | 15 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| A. Thiero | 24 | 2-6 | 3-6 | 0-2 | 3-5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | |
| L. Ware | 17 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| D. Collins | 5 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | |
| Totals | 199 | 29-54 (.537) |
26-33 (.788) |
4-14 (.286) |
10-41 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 26 | 88 | |
| Arkansas | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| M. Mitchell | F | 18 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| M. Mitchell | F | 15 | 0-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4-5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| N. Smith Jr. | G | 35 | 10-23 | 2-4 | 3-8 | 1-3 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 25 |
| A. Black | G | 34 | 3-10 | 7-12 | 1-3 | 2-8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 14 |
| D. Davis | G | 20 | 3-5 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 |
| R. Council IV | 34 | 3-11 | 10-12 | 0-2 | 1-4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 16 | |
| J. Walsh | 31 | 4-12 | 1-3 | 1-6 | 3-7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 10 | |
| K. Johnson | 8 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 3-3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| J. Pinion | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| J. Graham | 2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| D. Ford | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 200 | 25-70 (.357) |
22-34 (.647) |
7-22 (.318) |
17-35 | 14 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 26 | 79 | |
