Two stock risers from Kentucky's win over Arkansas
The Kentucky Wildcats went on the road to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks and won 63-57.
This was my favorite Kentucky win of the season because it was ugly, but the Wildcats left Fayetteville with a win. Yes, Arkansas is a bad basketball team, but the Cats were without Rob Dillingham and still found a way to win a game where they did not shoot the ball well. The reason Kentucky won was because the defense was solid, and that hasn't been the case this season. If the defense hadn't kept Kentucky in this game, they would have lost.
Two Kentucky Wildcats that played well against Arkansas were Reed Sheppard and Ugonna Onyenso. Obviously, Antonio Reeves was great in this game, but he plays great every night, so we will highlight these two. Onyenso played a ton of minutes in this game, as we didn't see a ton of Zvonimir Ivisic, and Aaron Bradshaw was in foul trouble. He has six points on 3-4 shooting while grabbing four rebounds and blocking three shots. He also had the best +/- on the team with a +14. If Onyenso can have a good season, it will be huge for Kentucky. Dick Vitale was begging for Sheppard to shoot the ball more, and he got his wish against Arkansas. Sheppard had 14 points on 5-12 shooting. While that's not the most efficient shooting day, Kentucky fans don't care because Sheppard shot the rock. If he shoots more, this Kentucky offense will get even better, which is unimaginable. Sheppard was 5-7 from the field in the second half and was clutch when it mattered.
After the game, John Calipari had this to say about Onyenso, "I like what he's been through. The foot. Having to wait his turn. Fighting for what you want. I keep telling him, 'The rest of your basketball life nothing will be given to you. You will either take it, or someone will take it from you.'"
This was an excellent win for the Kentucky Wildcats. If you want to go deep in March, you have to win the ugly ones, and they did that against Arkansas.
