Fun-n-Gun Wildcats Whip Marshall 118-82

By Jamie H. Vaught

This Kentucky club has the makings of being the most fun team the Big Blue Nation has seen during the John Calipari era.

And it was definitely fun to watch the 16th-ranked Wildcats again Friday night as they whipped Marshall 118-82 in a 36-point blowout at Rupp Arena.  The win improved UK’s record to 5-1, while Marshall, considered the preseason middle-of-the-pack team in 14-team Sun Belt Conference, dropped to 2-4.

Kentucky's Reed Sheppard receives his 2023 Kentucky Mr. Basketball ring from Mac Ferguson of the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation before Friday night's game at Rupp Arena. (Photo by Danny Pendleton)

Kentucky’s 118 points are the most ever scored by a Calipari-coached Wildcat squad.

“It is fun to play the way we are playing and it is fun to have a team that cares about one another and plays for one another,” said Calipari, who saw his team dish out 27 assists with six players scoring in double figures.

The hot-shooting Wildcats, who only committed nine turnovers, hit 16 of 27 three-pointers. They have made at least 12 three-pointers in four straight games, the first time that has happened since coach Rick Pitino’s first Kentucky team in December 1989.

Kentucky freshman Reed Sheppard -- who had 12 points, a season-high seven rebounds, and six assists -- was asked about the high-scoring affair.

“That was crazy – we were shooting it well, credit to Marshall they had 80-something,” he said. “Scoring is really good, we got a bunch of dudes that can score. We got to get more connected on the defensive end and keep their numbers lower and keep staying at that. It was a super fun game -- Marshall is a really good team -- and we were hitting shots, moving the ball so it was really, really good.” 

Leading the scoring attack for the Wildcats were freshman D.J. Wagner and senior Antonio Reeves who gunned in 28 and 23 points, respectively.  Tre Mitchell, a 6-foot-9 graduate transfer from West Virginia, had 18 points and four rebounds.  Freshman Rob Dillingham had 16 points, making 7 of 8 field goals, including 2 of 2 three-pointers, along with a season-high eight assists. Freshman Justin Edwards gunned in 10 points, including 3 of 4 three-pointers.

Sheppard was asked if he takes pride in the other things such as steals, rebounds and assists.

“Yeah for sure – anything I can do to help the team win,” said Sheppard. “If I have to go out and score zero points and do the little things then that’s perfectly fine as long as we come out with the win. Any time I can make an assist for Rob or D.J. or any of them to make an easy bucket is really, really good. I just love going out and making the easy play and the basketball play, and helping the team win.” 

UK continues the five-game homestand Tuesday against No. 10 Miami (Fla.). Game time is 7:30 p.m. ET and it will be televised on ESPN.

Jamie H. Vaught, a longtime sports columnist in Kentucky, is the author of six books about UK basketball, including recently-published “Forever Crazy About the Cats: An Improbable Journey of a Kentucky Sportswriter Overcoming Adversity." He is the editor and founder of KySportsStyle.com Magazine, and a professor at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @KySportsStyle or reach him via email at KySportsStyle@gmail.com.