No. 8 Kentucky men’s basketball defeated Illinois State 96-70 inside Rupp Arena on Friday.
The game marked the final for the Cats prior to SEC play, while also being a revenge game for former Illinois State transfer Antonio Reeves, who recorded 27 points.
The Wildcats entered the game on the back of a three-game winning streak, all of which were on the road, over UPenn, No. 9 North Carolina and in-state rival Louisville. Most recently the Wildcats defeated the Cardinals 95-76 inside the KFC Yum! Center.
Looking to get things underway and earn a first home win since suffering a shocking defeat at the hands of UNC Wilmington, Kentucky brought out a familiar lineup: Justin Edwards, Reeves, D.J. Wagner, Aaron Bradshaw and Tre Mitchell.
At the first break Kentucky would find itself trailing early, 13-9, after two made 3-pointers by the Redbirds. Kentucky head coach John Calipari hoped that his usual injection of Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham would give his team the boost it needed.
The plan was successful as, by the next timeout, Kentucky would lead 18-15 with both Sheppard and Dillingham having scored.
Kentucky would then widen the gap from there.
Kentucky would then extend its lead into double figures with big shots from Reeves, a former Redbird himself.
While the lead would not grow anymore, it would be maintained into the halftime break with Kentucky leading 45-30.
Coming out in the second half, Kentucky kept its form, refusing to allow the Redbirds to surge.
Kentucky would, rather, have a surge of its own to rocket ahead by 20+ points with under 12 minutes left to play.
The Wildcats didn’t let up either, again maintaining the margin and leading by 21 with just under six minutes to go.
Things would only go on to get even worse for the Redbirds, leading to the lopsided margin.
The Wildcats will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 6, when they kick off their SEC schedule inside the Exactech Arena in Gainesville, Florida, against the Florida Gators. That game will tip-off at 12:30 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.
