A wild night to be a Blue Blood

Tuesday night’s college hoops slate was entertaining from start-to-finish. Literally to the finish, thanks to Jarod Lucas.

Let’s dive in.

1. Reed Sheppard’s remarkable game saves UK

Maybe oddsmakers thought this was a classic letdown game for No. 16 Kentucky. The Cats were coming off a 117-point game against Alabama, and were on the road for a Miss State team that’s likely headed to its second-straight NCAA Tournament.

That must be why the Bulldogs closed as 4.5 favorites. But they don’t have Reed Sheppard.

Kentucky’s freshman guard was masterful in Kentucky’s 91-89 win with 32 points, five rebounds, seven assists, a pair of blocks and steals. Oh, and he hit the game-winner.

It was quite the moment for the hometown hero.

“It was really cool. Growing up as a little kid, I always wanted to play at Kentucky. Being able to hit a game-winning shot for Kentucky was really special for me. To be able to do it with this group of guys, that we're all really close with on and off the court, was really special," Sheppard said.

But all that underplays how good Sheppard was. He came off the bench (as usual) and was locked in. He was 11-of-14 from the field and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc in 35 minutes.

Coach John Calipari found ways to get Sheppard going. “We had to make some threes to stay in the game. We were running stuff to make some threes. He made a bunch of them. He took one, a 40-footer, I was like, ‘Are you shitting me? He’s steady heady,” Cal said. 

Sheppard saved his best for the final 96 seconds.

Somehow, Sheppard wasn’t even the highest scoring freshman in this game. Josh Hubbard rattled in 34 points for the Bulldogs (19-9, 8-7 in SEC). He tied the game just before Sheppard hit the game-winner. They’ll have to quickly regroup with a trip to Auburn on Saturday.

So. About that Kentucky offense.

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