Just one week removed from falling to Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, Kentucky had a shot at redemption on this Friday night. And the Cats’ veterans made sure that UK did not waste the opportunity.
Senior Antonio Reeves led all scorers with 22 points as sixth-seeded Kentucky beat No. 11 seed Providence 61-53 in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Friday inside Greensboro Coliseum.
Reeves got plenty of help from his fellow seniors. Jacob Toppin had 18 points and six rebounds, while Oscar Tshiebwe had just eight points, but grabbed 25 rebounds, etching his name even further into the UK record book.
Tshiebwe topped the rebounding mark by a UK player in an NCAA Tournament game, which came on this day in 1956 when Jerry Bird had 24 rebounds in Kentucky’s 89-77 win over Iowa in the NCAA Midwest Regional Final in Iowa City. Tshiebwe’s 25 rebounds were three short of his career high of 28 that came last year against Western Kentucky. His 25 rebounds on Friday night were the eighth-most by a UK player in any game in school history. Read full article here.