< Previous10 @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 2019-20 SEC Standings Team SEC Overall Home Road Auburn 0-0 2-0 1-0 0-0 Kentucky 0-0 2-0 1-0 0-0 Mississippi State 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 Missouri 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 South Carolina 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 Arkansas 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 Georgia 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 Tennessee 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 LSU 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 Ole Miss 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 Texas A&M 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 Vanderbilt 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 Florida 0-0 1-1 1-1 0-0 Alabama 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-0 Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG Mason Jones, ARK .........................................................32.0 Kira Lewis Jr., ALA .........................................................30.0 Tyson Carter, MSU .........................................................25.5 Aaron Nesmith, VANDY ................................................25.0 Isaiah Joe, ARK ..............................................................24.0 Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG Rayshaun Hammonds, UGA ..........................................12.0 Justin Minaya, USC ........................................................11.0 Reggie Perry, MSU .........................................................10.5 Kerry Blackshear Jr., UF .................................................10.0 Austin Wiley, AUB ...........................................................9.5 Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Isaiah Joe, ARK ................................................................7.0 Lamonte Turner, UT .........................................................6.0 Scotty Pippen Jr., VANDY .................................................6.0 Xavier Pinson, MIZZOU ..................................................5.5 Kira Lewis Jr., ALA ...........................................................5.0 Steals Player-Team ................................................................... SPG Mason Jones, ARK ...........................................................5.0 Alex Reese, ALA ..............................................................4.0 Anthony Edwards, UGA...................................................4.0 Tyson Carter, MSU ...........................................................3.5 KJ Buffen, MISS ................................................................3.0 Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Charles Manning Jr., UGA ...............................................4.0 Jeremiah Tilmon, MIZZOU ..............................................3.5 Abdul Ado, MSU .............................................................3.5 Savion Flagg, TAMU ........................................................3.0 Yves Pons, UT .................................................................3.0 2019-20 Associated Press Rankings As of Nov. 11, 2019 (Week 1) Team Record Points 1 Kentucky (64) 2-0 1622 2 Duke 2-0 1538 3 Michigan State 1-1 1451 4 Louisville (1) 2-0 1425 5 Kansas 1-1 1354 6 North Carolina 2-0 1187 7 Maryland 2-0 1166 8 Gonzaga 2-0 1136 9 Virginia 2-0 1134 10 Villanova 1-0 1064 11 Texas Tech 2-0 888 12 Seton Hall 2-0 869 13 Memphis 2-0 828 14 Oregon 2-0 804 15 Florida 1-1 616 16 Ohio State 2-0 544 17 Utah State 2-0 507 18 Saint Mary's 1-0 438 19 Arizona 2-0 415 20 Washington 1-0 373 21 Xavier 2-0 370 22 Auburn 2-0 247 23 LSU 1-0 237 24 Baylor 1-1 179 25 Colorado 1-0 151Kentucky Ranked No. 1 in AP Top 25 For the seventh season in the 11-year John Calipari era, the Kentucky men’s bas- ketball team is ranked the top team in the land in the Associated Press Top 25. After defeating Michigan State – the pre- vious No. 1 team – in the State Farm Cham- pions Classic last week, and then following it up Friday with a dominating 42-point vic- tory vs. Eastern Kentucky, the Wildcats are atop the AP Top 25 for the first time since December 2016. UK, which was named the NCAA March Madness Team of the Week on Monday, re- ceived 64 of the 65 first-place votes. Behind UK was Duke, Michigan State, Louisville and Kansas in the AP Top 25. Louisville picked up the remaining first-place vote in the AP Top. Four teams from the Southeast- ern Conference are ranked this week. The USA Today Coaches Poll won't be updated until next week. No other school has reached No. 1 in seven of the last 11 seasons while Calipari has been at Kentucky. According to STATS, only three other programs (Duke, North Carolina and UCLA) have ever been ranked No. 1 in seven different seasons during an 11-year span. The Wildcats own an all-time record of 220-30 (.880) at No. 1 in the AP Top 25, in- cluding victories in 69 of their last 76 con- tests as the AP’s top team. UK has appeared at the top of the AP Top 25 24 different sea- sons in school history, and this will mark their the program’s 125th week at No. 1, third most in college basketball (Duke has 142 after last season’s run and UCLA, thanks in large part to its dynasty in the 1960s and 1970s, has 134). Maxey's Big Debut Punctuated by SEC Freshman of the Week Honors Since John Calipari took over the reins of the program, 27 freshmen have been drafted into the NBA. Of those selections, 25 were taken in the opening round. Twenty-one went in the lottery. Thirteen were top-10 picks. And three have been selected No. 1 overall. None of those players had the debut that Tyrese Maxey produced last week vs. the then-No. 1 team in the country, Michigan State. Even more impressive? It happened in perhaps the biggest opening 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 top-ranked 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. Maxey followed that breakthrough to with nine points and three rebounds vs. Eastern Kentucky on Friday. The opening-week performance was more than enough to earn the first South- eastern Conference Freshman of the Week honors to start the season. Kentucky has dominated the weekly SEC awards under Calipari. UK has won more weekly SEC honors (101) than any other school during the Calipari era, including 81 SEC Freshman of the Week honors and 20 SEC Player of the Week awards. En route to 26 points in his first game, Maxey became the first UK freshman to score 20 or more points against the No. 1 ranked team in school history. In fact, it was 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. Confident Richards Playing His Best Basketball Nick Richards has helped calm ear- ly-season concerns about Kentucky's front- court depth with a fast start to the season. The junior forward anchored Ken- tucky's front line in the first two games with 14.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. Just nine days after spraining his left ankle in the first exhibition game vs. Georgetown College, Richards returned to game action vs. then-No. 1/1 Michigan State and played 25 minutes. Richards posted seven points and four rebounds, but more importantly, he provided rim protection and valuable minutes on a bad ankle. A few days later, feeling close to 100%, Richards was unstoppable against Eastern Kentucky. He recorded the sec- ond double-double of his career with 21 points and 10 rebounds, plus he blocked four shots, one shy of his career high. The 21 points were just four short of his career high of 25, set back on Nov. 22, 2017 vs. Fort Wayne (which also hap- pened to be his previous double-double). Richards appears more confident and assertive than at any other point in his UK career. From Press Row 16 @KentuckyMBB 90785_BHLX_Cyberknife_8_375x10_875c.indd 110/13/16 1:17 PM2019-20 Basketball Schedule 18 @KentuckyMBB Florida Gainesville, Fla. 1 p.m. Saturday March 7 Texas Tech Lubbock, Texas Big 12/SEC Challenge | 6 p.m. Saturday January 25 UAB Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Friday November 29 Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn. 1 p.m. Saturday February 8 Georgetown (Ky.) Lexington, Ky. Exhibition Sunday October 27 TM Ohio State Las Vegas CBS Sports Classic | 5:15 p.m. Saturday December 21 n Won, 80-53 Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. 7 p.m. Tuesday February 11 Louisville Lexington, Ky. 3:45 p.m. Saturday December 28 Kentucky State Lexington, Ky. Exhibition Friday November 1 n Won, 83-51 Ole Miss Lexington, Ky. 2 p.m. Saturday February 15 Missouri Lexington, Ky. 2 p.m. Saturday January 4 Michigan State New York Champions Classic Tuesday November 5 n Won, 69-62 LSU Baton Rouge, La. 9 p.m. Tuesday February 18 Georgia Athens, Ga. 9 p.m. Tuesday January 7 Eastern Kentucky Lexington, Ky. Friday November 8 n Won, 91-49 Florida Lexington, Ky. 6/8 p.m. Saturday February 22 Alabama Lexington, Ky. Noon Saturday January 11 Evansville Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Tuesday November 12 Texas A&M College Station, Texas 7 p.m. Tuesday February 25 South Carolina Columbia, S.C. 6:30 p.m. Wednesday January 15 Utah Valley Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Monday November 18 Auburn Lexington, Ky. 3:45 p.m. Saturday February 29 Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. 4 p.m. Saturday January 18 Mt. St. Mary's (Md.) Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Friday November 22 Tennessee Lexington, Ky. 9 p.m. Tuesday March 3 Georgia Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Tuesday January 21 Lamar Lexington, Ky. 6 p.m. Sunday November 24 SEC Tournament Nashville, Tenn. TBA Wed.-Sun. March 11-15 Vanderbilt Lexington, Ky. 6:30 p.m. Wednesday January 29 Fairleigh Dickinson Lexington, Ky. 4 p.m. Saturday December 7 NCAA Tournament Final Four® Atlanta | TBA March- April 17-6 Auburn Auburn, Ala. 6/8 p.m. Saturday February 1 Georgia Tech Lexington, Ky. 5 p.m. Saturday December 14 Mississippi State Lexington, Ky. 9 p.m. Tuesday February 4 Utah Las Vegas 11 p.m. Wednesday December 18 Home Away/NeutralNext >