Kentucky Wildcats battled Kansas Jayhawks all the way to the end of Tuesday's game before the Jayhawks emerged victorious
When No 17 Kentucky took on No 1 Kansas in Tuesday night's Champions Classic in Chicago, they were clearly the underdogs — compared to the youthful, gifted, but inexperienced Cats, the Jayhawks were larger and more experienced.
However, Kentucky battled Kansas all the way to the end of Tuesday's game before the Jayhawks emerged victorious, 89-84, as per Sec Sports.
Antonio Reeves, a native of Chicago, led the Cats with 24 points, while rookie Rob Dillingham finished with 18.
Adou Thiero, a sophomore, recorded career highs in points (16) and rebounds (13). Reed Sheppard, a rookie, finished with 13 points and 4 steals.
Kentucky rallied after Kansas went out to an early 11-3 lead. Mitchell scored six of the Cats' eight consecutive points to knot the game at 11 points each.
After Kansas scored five points in a row in response, the Cats took a 17–16 lead thanks to two threes by Sheppard.
The Jayhawks would lead 25-21 after Kansas scored five straight points to take a 21-17 lead, and Kentucky would respond with a three-point shooting spree. Dillingham converted a four-point deficit into a 33-30 advantage with four consecutive three-pointers.
Reeves added another three to put the Cats up six points, forcing Kansas to call a timeout.
With 2:25 remaining in the first half, Thiero scored six consecutive points to extend the UK advantage to 43-34 from the Jayhawks' 37-34 deficit.
With 37 seconds remaining in the half, Kentucky led 48-36 thanks to an 11-2 run that began then. UK would lead 48–41 at the half with 16 points from Dillingham in the first half.
In the second half, Kentucky would score the first five points to take a 53-41 lead. Reeves made a three-pointer and a layup to give UK its largest lead, 58-44, after Kansas had pulled it to nine, 53-44.
But just as Kansas got hot, the Cats went cold, hitting just one of seven shots from the floor. The Jayhawks consecutively made five shots, andseven of nine, going on a 16-2 run to take a 65-62 lead with 10:53 remaining.
Reeves' three-pointer tied the score at 65-65, and Sheppard's two free throws gave UK a 67-65 lead.
The Cats were not going away. With 8:36 remaining, Sheppard made two more three-pointers to equalise the score at 70-70 after Kansas scored the next five points to take a 70-67 lead.
With 7:18 remaining, a Thiero free throw gave Kentucky a 71-70 lead. KJ Adams' layup gave Kansas the lead again, and Thiero's putback made it 73-72 for the Cats. With 6:03 left, Reeves gave the UK a 76-72 lead after forcing a mistake by KU. He then hit a fast break layup and a free throw for a three-point play.
After Adams missed two free throws for Kansas, Sheppard's driving layup put Kentucky up 78-72. Tre Mitchell and Reeves each made two free throws, and the UK went up 81-75 after Kansas had closed the gap to 78-75. But with 2:04 remaining, Kansas answered with a 10-2 run to grab an 85-83 lead.
With 1:33 left, a Mitchell free throw made it 85-84 for KU, but a Hunter Dickinson basket with 1:13 left gave Kansas a three-point edge.
Reeves had a pair of three-pointers that could have tied the game with about one minute left in the game but neither would drop. After Kentucky got a defensive stop, the Cats were unable to get a good look at the basket and Kansas got the rebound. The Jayhawks converted a pair of free throws with five seconds left to provide the final margin of victory.
Dickinson had 27 points and 23 rebounds to lead Kansas.
Kentucky returns to action on Friday night, hosting Stonehill at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 7pm ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.