< PreviousMike Pratt previews tonight’s game against EKU 8 @KentuckyMBBgear up for the game! HEY WILDCAT FANS...10 @KentuckyMBBMonday Nights from 6-7 p.m. on the UK Sports Network. John Calipari Radio Show Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for complete UK Sports Network coverage of the Cats. UKATHLETICS.COMUK SPORTS NETWORK@UKSportsNetworkuk_sportsnetwork KENTUCKY BASKETBALL@KentuckyMBBkentuckymbb Tune in all season long to the UK Sports Network for official coverage of Kentucky Wildcats Basketball. Visit UKathletics.com/ UKSportsNetwork for radio and TV affiliates in your area.12 @UKFootball12 @KentuckyMBB 14 @KentuckyMBB Around the SEC Around the Country 2018-19 Final SEC Standings Team SEC Overall Home Road LSU 16-2 28-7 15-2 9-1 Tennessee 15-3 31-6 18-0 7-3 Kentucky 15-3 30-7 17-1 8-2 Auburn 11-7 30-10 15-2 4-6 South Carolina 11-7 16-16 11-6 4-8 Mississippi State 10-8 23-11 14-3 5-5 Ole Miss 10-8 20-13 11-5 6-5 Florida 9-9 20-16 9-6 5-6 Arkansas 8-10 18-16 12-6 5-8 Alabama 8-10 18-16 10-6 4-8 Texas A&M 6-12 14-18 9-8 3-7 Missouri 5-13 15-17 9-7 2-8 Georgia 2-16 11-21 8-9 2-9 Vanderbilt 0-18 9-23 8-10 1-11 Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG Grant Williams, UT .......................................................18.8 Quinndary Weatherspoon, MSU ....................................18.5 Breein Tyree, MISS .........................................................17.9 Daniel Gafford, ARK ......................................................16.9 Admiral Schofield, UT ...................................................16.5 Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG Donta Hall, ALA ..............................................................8.8 Daniel Gafford, ARK ........................................................8.7 Nicolas Claxton, UGA .....................................................8.6 Savion Flagg, TAMU ........................................................7.7 Chris Silva, USC ..............................................................7.6 Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Tremont Waters, LSU .......................................................5.8 Jordan Bone, UT ..............................................................5.8 Jared Harper, AUB ...........................................................5.8 Jalen Harris, ARK .............................................................5.6 Andrew Nembhard, UF ...................................................5.4 Steals Player-Team ................................................................... SPG Tremont Waters, LSU .......................................................2.9 Skylar Mays, LSU .............................................................1.9 Chuma Okeke, AUB ........................................................1.8 Wendell Mitchell, TAMU .................................................1.8 Lamar Peters, MSU ..........................................................1.7 Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Nicolas Claxton, UGA .....................................................2.5 Josh Nebo, TAMU ............................................................2.3 Daniel Gafford, ARK ........................................................2.0 Chris Silva, USC ..............................................................1.9 Kavell Bigby-Williams, LSU .............................................1.9 2019-20 Associated Press Rankings As of Oct. 21, 2019 (preseason) Team Record Points 1 Michigan State (60) 0-0 1619 2 Kentucky (2) 0-0 1497 3 Kansas (3) 0-0 1457 4 Duke 0-0 1399 5 Louisville 0-0 1386 6 Florida 0-0 1313 7 Maryland 0-0 1134 8 Gonzaga 0-0 1096 9 North Carolina 0-0 1060 10 Villanova 0-0 1048 11 Virginia 0-0 1007 12 Seton Hall 0-0 863 13 Texas Tech 0-0 837 14 Memphis 0-0 773 15 Oregon 0-0 742 16 Baylor 0-0 523 17 Utah State 0-0 491 18 Ohio State 0-0 407 19 Xavier 0-0 356 20 Saint Mary’s 0-0 330 21 Arizona 0-0 265 22 LSU 0-0 234 23 Purdue 0-0 230 24 Auburn 0-0 210 25 VCU 0-0 193Kentucky Knocks Off Top- Ranked Michigan State Kentucky's latest freshman star is a guard from Texas who likes to smile wide and take big shots. Tyrese Maxey did both in upsetting No. 1/1 Michi- gan State on Tuesday night in the State Farm Champions Classic. Maxey scored 26 points, including a clutch 3 that beat the shot clock with a minute left, as the second-ranked Wildcats opened the season with a 69-62 in New York. A day after his 19th birthday, Max- ey came off the bench at Madison Square Garden and had one of the best debuts for a freshman in coach John Calipari's 11 years at Kentucky, which has been filled with one-and- done guards like John Wall and Devin Booker. As a matter of fact, it was the most points scored by a Kentucky freshman in a debut in school history. "I wanted him to come in firing," Calipari said. The Associated Press Nos. 1 and 2 teams opened their seasons against each other for just the second time ever and for the first time since 1975, and the Wildcats made their case to be top-ranked next week. Michigan State entered the season as the No. 1 team in the country for the first time, but aside from All-American Cassius Win- ston, the Spartans struggled to score against an athletic, active defense from UK. Win- ston had 21 points. This Kentucky team is built around re- turning contributors instead of freshmen, but Maxey asserted himself in his first game. After Winston cut the lead to three on a three-point play with 1:27 left, Maxey hit a 3 from way behind the line to make it 65-60 with 59 seconds left. "Honestly, I just trust my training,'' Max- ey said. "I shot that shot a thousand times." It was a marquee, event but a chop- py game. Neither team shot 40% from the field. They combined to take 50 free throws. The Spartans couldn't find the range from 3, going 5 for 26. Michigan State had whit- tled a 10-point halftime deficit down to four when Kentucky went on a 9-0 run behind 3s from Kahlil Whitney and Nate Sestina, pushing the lead to 54-41 with 10:00 left in the second half. Kentucky's veteran backcourt of Ashton Hagans (11 points) and Immanuel Quickley (10 points), both sophomores, were solid but were outshined by Maxey. "He put on a show,'' MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. ''He's got great intangibles. He's happy-go-lucky but plays hard." The 6-foot-3 guard attacked the basket and made big 3s. "It was an amazing birthday celebration," Maxey said. "I'm very happy. Happy for me and my guys. It was a lot of fun out there." Maxey-mum Effort Shines Bright on Basketball's Grandest Stage Since John Calipari took over the reins of the Kentucky men's basketball program, 27 freshmen have been drafted into the NBA. Of those selections, 25 were taken in the opening round. Twenty-one went in the lot- tery. Thirteen were top-10 picks. And three have been selected No. 1 overall. None of those players had the debut that Tyrese Maxey produced Tuesday night. Even more impressive? It happened in perhaps the biggest open- ing matchup and on the grandest of stages in Madison Square Garden in New York. A day removed from his 19th birthday, Maxey came off the bench to ignite the Wildcats past the nation's No. 1 team. He scored 26 points on 7 of 12 from the field with a trio of 3-pointers. That mark topped Terrence Jones' 25 points against East Ten- nessee State in 2010 for the most points by a freshman in their debut as a Wildcat. He also became the first UK freshman to score 20 or more points against the No. 1 ranked team. In fact, it's the most points by any UK player against the No. 1 ranked team since Jamal Mashburn, a sophomore at the time, had 28 in an overtime loss to No. 1 Duke on March 28, 1992. How Maxey produced may have been equally as remarkable. His first points didn't come until just after the midway point of the first half, but he scored seven straight points to help Ken- tucky earn an 11-point halftime lead. From the 10:03 mark of the second half until a pair of Ashton Hagans' free throws with 37 seconds to play, Maxey scored or assisted on 14 straight UK points to hold off the Michigan State rally led by All-American Cassius Winston. From Press Row 16 @KentuckyMBB 90785_BHLX_Cyberknife_8_375x10_875c.indd 110/13/16 1:17 PMNext >