Wildcats Today

Takeaways: Antonio Reeves lights it up against Illinois State leading Kentucky to the 96-70 win

What can we take away from Kentucky's win over Illinois State?

Andrew Stefaniak

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The Kentucky Wildcats were back in Rupp Arena for the first time in a long time and were able to get the big 96-70 win over the Illinois State Redbirds. 

This Kentucky team is just so great offensively that it's hard to see a world where they can lose when they are hot shooting the basketball. 

With the win over Illinois State in the books, SEC play is officially here, and things are going to get really interesting. 

What can we take away from Kentucky's 96-70 win over the Illinois State Redbirds? 

Kentucky continues to shoot well from the field and from deep

Kentucky Wildcats guard D.J. Wagner (21) scores two on this lay-up against Illinois State in the first half at Rupp Arena Friday night in Lexington, Ky. Dec. 29, 2023
© Matt Stone/The Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

The reason Kentucky has been so good this season is thanks to the outstanding offense. The Cats shot 57.1% from the field in this basketball game and 44% from deep. We have said it for weeks now that if this team shoots the basketball like they did in this ball game they will not lose. Kentucky assisted on 23 of 36 made field goals, which shows you how well this team moves the ball. This Kentucky offense could put up historic numbers if they keep playing like this. 

Antonio Reeves was great against his old team

© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Antonio Reeves, in this ball game, was playing against his old team, and he had himself a night scoring 27 points while going 10-15 from the field and 4-8 from three. Reeves also had six rebounds and two assists in this ball game. It's cool to see the Cats leading scorer have such a big game against his old team. Reeves will lead the SEC in scoring if he has a few more games like this during conference play. 

Kentucky always makes the winning play

Kentucky Wildcats guard Rob Dillingham (0) battles Illinois State Redbirds forward Myles Foster (4) for control in the first half at Rupp Arena Friday night in Lexington, Ky. Dec. 29, 2023
© Matt Stone/The Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

In this ball game, the Cats had 27 fastbreak points and 14 second chance points. These are two metrics that are very important in college hoops. This Kentucky basketball team lives and dies with the fast break points, and they had a lot of them in this game, leading to the blowout victory. This ball club always seems to make the right play and the right pass, leading to scoring opportunities in the half-court offense and transition. It's great to see the Cats put up great numbers against Illinois State as SEC play is on deck. 

What's next? 

The Cat's next ball game will be their first SEC matchup as Kentucky will hit the road to Gainesville, Florida, to face off with the Florida Gators. This game will be played at 12:30 pm et on January 6th and can be watched on ESPN.

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Andrew Stefaniak
ANDREW STEFANIAK