The Kentucky Wildcats claimed their first win against a ranked opponent this season Tuesday night, and they did it in scary fashion, defeating No. 8 Miami Hurricanes in the ACC/SEC Challenge to the tune of a 95-73 victory in Lexington. The last time Kentucky basketball won by at least that many points against a top-10 team? You have to go all the way back to 2014 to check out that one, per ESPN Stats & Info (h/t Jeff Borzello of ESPN).
“Kentucky's 22-point win over Miami tonight was the Wildcats' second-largest win over an AP top-10 team since John Calipari took over in 2009. Only bigger margin was Kentucky's 32-point win over Kansas in 2014.”
Kentucky basketball flexes all over Miami in big win
Kentucky basketball failed in its first attempt in the 2023-24 season to beat a ranked foe when the Wildcats fell prey to then-No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks on Nov. 14. Since then, however, the Wildcats have managed to stitch together four wins in a row, including the triumph against Jim Larranaga's squad. Apart from the fact that Miami entered the Kentucky game ranked inside the top 10 of the AP Poll, it is also a team that reached the Final Four round of the last edition of the NCAA tournament, so the Wildcats beating the SEC program was a genuine flex of their potential.
Freshman guard Reed Sheppard went off against Miami, as he led the Wildcats with 21 points on 8-for-13 from the field with five 3-pointers in 30 minutes of action. Antonio Reaves paced Kentucky basketball starters with 18 points.
The 6-1 Wildcats will look to improve their record further when they host the UNC Wilmington Seahawks at Rupp Arena this coming Saturday.
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