The most notable game of the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge was Miami at Kentucky. It was a Tuesday night showdown that was supposed to be competitive.
And it was — but only for a half.
Final score: Kentucky 95, Miami 73.
John Calipari's Wildcats outscored Jim Larrañaga's Hurricanes 53-36 in the final 20 minutes to improve to 6-1 on the season with the lone loss coming to Kansas. UK is up to No. 8 in Wednesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
"I said the first team to 80 would win — but we didn't score," Larrañaga said. "We played totally out of character on offense and that impacted our defense, which, unfortunately, is a weakness of ours."
It was a weakness exposed mostly by Kentucky's Reed Sheppard, who continues to be one of the sport's biggest stories. The 6-foot-3 guard who was merely the fifth-best prospect in UK's top-ranked recruiting class, according to 247Sports, took 13 shots against Miami, making eight. He finished with 21 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. His brilliance helped the Wildcats shoot 59.7% from the field en route to a blowout.
"I just go out and try and do what I need to do — whatever I can to help my team win and make the right play," Sheppard said. "With these dudes around me, it's really, really easy doing that. We were hitting shots left and right and everyone was moving the ball, passing and having fun."
The 22-point victory over a program returning three starters from a 2023 Final Four team should launch Kentucky into the top 10 of Monday's Associated Press Top 25. The only thing between now and then for UK is a Saturday home game against UNC Wilmington that should present few issues. After that, the Wildcats will play Penn on Dec. 9 before matching up with North Carolina on Dec. 16 in the 10th annual CBS Sports Classic.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Braden Smith finished with 19 points and 10 assists in Tuesday's 99-67 win over Texas Southern. The Boilermakers' next game is Friday at Northwestern. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | Tyler Kolek finished with 16 points and three assists in Tuesday's 93-56 win over Southern. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday at Wisconsin. | -- | 27-10 |
| 3 |  | Caleb Love finished with 17 points and four assists in Thursday's 74-68 win over Michigan State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Colgate. | -- | 27-9 |
| 4 |  | Kyle Filipowski finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds in Friday's 80-62 win over Southern Indiana. The Blue Devils' next game is Wednesday at Arkansas. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday's 71-63 win over Eastern Illinois. The Jayhawks' next game is Friday against UConn. | -- | 23-11 |
| 6 |  | LJ Cryer finished with 24 points and four rebounds in Friday's 79-44 win over Montana. The Cougars' next game is Friday at Xavier. | -- | 32-5 |
| 7 |  | Donovan Clingan finished with 29 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 84-64 win over New Hampshire. The Huskies' next game is Friday at Kansas. | -- | 37-3 |
| 8 |  | Reed Sheppard finished with 21 points and three steals in Tuesday's 95-73 win over Miami. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against UNC Wilmington. | 4 | 23-10 |
| 9 |  | Tennessee only shot 31% from the field in Wednesday's 69-60 loss to Kansas. The Vols' next game is Wednesday against North Carolina. | -- | 27-9 |
| 10 |  | Langston Love finished with 23 points in Tuesday's 108-70 win over Nicholls. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Northwestern State. | -- | 24-11 |
| 11 |  | Ryan Nembhard finished with 22 points and five assists in Tuesday's 81-65 win over Cal State Bakersfield. The Zags' next game is Saturday against USC. | -- | 27-8 |
| 12 |  | Alijah Martin finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in Sunday's 84-50 win over Virginia Tech. The Owls' next game is Thursday against Liberty. | 1 | 25-9 |
| 13 |  | Solomon Washington finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Sunday's 73-69 win over Iowa State. The Aggies' next game is Wednesday at Virginia. | 1 | 21-15 |
| 14 |  | Max Abmas finished with 23 points and four rebounds in Sunday's 86-63 win over Wyoming. The Longhorns' next game is Thursday against Texas State. | 1 | 21-13 |
| 15 |  | Isaiah Stevens finished with 20 points and seven assists in Thursday's 69-48 win over Creighton. The Rams' next game is Wednesday against Colorado. | 1 | 25-11 |
| 16 |  | TJ Bamba finished with 13 points and three rebounds in Friday's 79-63 win over Memphis. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday against Saint Joseph's. | 1 | 18-16 |
| 17 |  | Nijel Pack was 1-of-6 from the field in Tuesday's 95-73 loss at Kentucky. The Hurricanes' next game is Saturday against Notre Dame. | 9 | 15-17 |
| 18 |  | Trey Alexander missed 15 of the 16 shots he attempted in Thursday's 69-48 loss to Colorado State. The Bluejays' next game is Thursday against Oklahoma State. | -- | 25-10 |
| 19 |  | Harrison Ingram finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 87-72 win over Arkansas. The Tar Heels' next game is Wednesday against Tennessee. | -- | 29-8 |
| 20 |  | Jaden Akins finished with 14 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 86-55 win over Georgia Southern. The Spartans' next game is Tuesday at Nebraska. | -- | 20-15 |
| 21 |  | Terrence Shannon finished with 19 points and two rebounds in Friday's 84-52 win over Western Illinois. The Illini's next game is Saturday against Rutgers. | -- | 29-9 |
| 22 |  | Javian McCollum finished with 18 points and three assists in Friday's 72-70 win over USC. The Sooners' next game is Thursday against Arkansas Pine Bluff. | 1 | 20-12 |
| 23 |  | Jaykwon Walton was 1-of-9 from the field in Friday's 79-63 loss to Villanova. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Ole Miss. | 1 | 22-10 |
| 24 |  | Jaxson Robinson finished with 23 points and four rebounds in Friday's 95-86 win over NC State. The Cougars' next game is Friday against Fresno State. | 1 | 23-11 |
| 25 |  | Dylan Andrews was 2-of-15 from the field in Wednesday's 69-65 loss to Gonzaga. The Bruins' next game is Thursday against UC Riverside. | 1 | 16-17 |
| 26 |  | Chaney Johnson finished with 15 points and two steals in Tuesday's 84-54 win over Alabama A&M. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday against Virginia Tech. | NR | 27-8 |
