No. 19 Kentucky Gets Past Michigan 73-69 For First Marquee Win of the Season

It wasn't pretty, but the Wildcats picked up an important win across the pond on Sunday.

Kentucky finally found its first Power Five win of the 2022-23 season on Sunday, fighting past the Michigan Wolverines 73-69 in the Basketball Hall of Fame London Showcase. 

All five of the Wildcats' starters reached double-figures, headlined by 14 points from both guard Cason Wallace and forward Jacob Toppin. 

Superstar center Oscar Tshiebwe notched a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double, while Michigan's Hunter Dickinson led UM with 23 points and nine boards. 

"I think we're starting to figure out how we can win," Tshiebwe said post-game. "We look good with this team." 

Kentucky (6-2) shot 46.6 percent from the floor on Sunday while knocking down nine of 15 attempts from 3-point range. The Cats crushed Michigan (5-3) on the glass, winning the boards battle 46-33. 

The win improves head coach John Calipari to 4-0 as UK's coach when playing in a foreign country. 

"We worked on execution, we were better today," Calipari said. 

After going blow for blow early, the Wolverines built an early six-point lead thanks to a 9-0 run. At the under 12 timeout, UM led by five despite Howard being on the bench with two early personal fouls. Tshiebwe got off to a slow start, missing four of his first five field-goal attempts. 

Dickinson was held to just two points in the first 10 minutes of action, though the Wolverines were carried early by guard play, as Howard and Bufkin combined for 13 of UM's first 22 points. 

Scoring droughts propelled a majority of the half, though the Wolverines remained efficient from deep, connecting on five of their first eight 3-point attempts. Kentucky managed to keep it close, but couldn't find much momentum until the end of the first 20 minutes. 

A quick run from Kentucky saw Reeves nail his third 3-pointer of the day to tie things up at 34, followed by a pair of free throws from Tshiebwe to give the Cats a rare lead. 

Michigan closed the half missing six of its last seven shots, ultimately leading to Kentucky leading 37-36 heading into the locker room. Tshiebwe led the way with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Reeves added nine of his own. The Wolverines has spread-out production from their starting five, led by nine from Bufkin. 

Wallace got out of first gear early in the second half, scoring the first eight points for UK out of the break, including two 3-pointers. He propelled the Cats to a 49-42 lead at the under-16 timeout. 

The decent lead was short-lived, however, as the Wolverines responded with an 8-0, sparking a back-and-forth segment between the teams. Ugonna Onyenso tallied some good minutes for the Cats during the spurt, picking up a block, two rebounds and two points. 

Dickinson kept UM afloat, scoring 13 of the Wolverines' first 18 points in the second period, doing a majority of his damage while Tshiebwe was on the bench with three personal fouls. 

The Wolverines had to play without starting point guard Jaelin Llewellyn for a large portion of the back half, as he went down after taking a shot, holding his left knee in what was a non-contact injury. 

With just over four minutes to go, Kentucky led 66-58 thanks to a 6-0 run from Wheeler, who added a total of six in the second half. Michigan went on a scoring drought that lasted over four minutes. 

UM would go nowhere, as it made four consecutive field goals to bring the game within two points. Dickinson went to work on Lance Ware in the post, as Tshiebwe wasn't in the game with four personals. 

Wallace would increase the lead back to five after canning a no-hesitation 3-pointer in what was the biggest shot of the game. 

"We get it to the paint, we kick it out, we gotta shoot those, they're open ... it was one of those moments where it was inside-out, I had to shoot it, cause if I don't, I would've been a selfish teammate," Wallace said. "So I shot the ball and it went in." 

Kentucky's defense would find a way to hold on, while the offense corralled enough game-icing free throws to put away UM for a major win across the pond. 

"We got a long way to go," Calipari noted. "But to come over here and win, with the schedule we've got in front of us — that does not get any easier — we've got two games coming up, that are both really good teams." 

Kentucky will have a healthy break upon returning home, as the Cats won't take the court again until Saturday, Dec. 10, welcoming the Yale Bulldogs to Rupp Arena. Tip is set for 1 p.m. EST and will air on the SEC Network. 

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