Kentucky
Highlights, MVP, and Twitter reactions to Wildcats’ season-shifting win at Auburn
Shout out to the Southeastern Conference for doing its part and producing another opportunity for a much-needed Quad I win for the Kentucky Wildcats, who came into the day with just two for the entire season as well as just one win against a current top-25 team.
With the SEC projecting around nine teams in the tournament, it really has been a gauntlet for the Cats these past few weeks, creating a scenario where a big win is desperately needed.
Early on it was all Kentucky at Auburn. UK stormed out to an 11-2 lead before a shocked crowd. The pace was frenetic and enjoyable for the BBN from pretty much start to finish in half number one.
Kentucky would lead 39-29 at the break behind 11 dazzling points from Rob Dillingham. But the biggest takeaway would be UK’s smothering defense and converting turnovers into points on the other end.
The home crowd would try to fuel Auburn, but Antonio Reeves and the Cats just had too much juice tonight, ultimately coming away with the 70-59 victory after entering the game as a 10-point underdog. It was almost a carbon copy of Kentucky’s win last season at No. 5 Tennessee when that season appeared to be going off the rails.
Reeves would score 22 points with so many of his buckets looking effortless. 13 came in the second half. Rob Dillingham chipped in 11 points, all coming in the first half.
Adou Thiero added 14 points, eight coming in the second half.
At no point during the game did you get a genuine sense that Kentucky was going to let this one slip away.
What’s even crazier is Kentucky just beat a top-15 on the road with Reed Sheppard accounting for just four points. Sheppard and Dillingham had ZERO points in the second half. I don’t think anyone on this Earth would have said Kentucky could win this game with that happening, but somehow, Big Blue got it done.
The Cats forced Auburn into committing 11 turnovers, but it was the relentless pressure on the defensive end that won this game and provided optimism heading into the latter portion of conference play.
Safe to say the Big Blue Nation BADLY needed this.
Box Score
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Highlights
MVP
Antonio Reeves is a safe bet for UK night in and night out when talking about the most valuable player for the Kentucky Wildcats. The super-senior transfer seemingly gets a little craftier and more difficult for opposing defenses to stop every time he takes the floor.
Tonight, Reeves absolutely carved up the Tigers, making their defense look helpless in how to stop him from getting to his spots on the floor.
What did Reeves stat line look like?
22 points on 8/20 from the field, 3/6 from deep. He’s added five boards and some excellent defense to go along with his slew of points.
Also, a BIG shoutout to Ugonna Onyenso. He played a game and career-high 36 minutes, and Kentucky needed every bit of it to hold the Tigers at bay while Tre Mitchell was out. Onyenso also grabbed 11 boards — tied with Johni Broome for a game-high — while chipping in seven points on 3/3 shooting with two blocks, one assist, and no turnovers.
Great team effort all-around that may have just shifted Kentucky’s season back in a direction that will have them capable of making a Final Four run come March.
Twitter Reactions
Another game where we’re in the lead when Rob and Reed come in. This narrative is so wrong and just won’t die.
— Josh Poole (@josh72484) February 17, 2024
That is a GREAT start on the road!
‘Cats are locked in defensively. Keep ending possessions with a defensive rebound and we are going to have a good chance.
— Brandon Ramsey (@BRamseyKSR) February 17, 2024
About the best start you could’ve asked for. Kentucky’s guards are handling Auburn. Granted the Tigers can’t get a shot to go in but this team looks laser focused. Up 18-9 through the first nine minutes.
— Tres Terrell (@TerrellTres) February 17, 2024
And with those points taken off the board Kentucky now leads by double -digits.
— Steven Peake (@StevenPeakeKSR) February 17, 2024
Win or lose, a VERY interesting start. Main question about Kentucky is whether the defense can improve even 10%. Top-10 offense has 13points at home 13 mins into game.
At the very least, we now know they CAN defend at this level. Should impact conversation.
— Justin Rowland (@RowlandRIVALS) February 17, 2024
Today I bought milk with a March expiration date and now Kentucky looks like a defensive juggernaut. Ok.
— Big Blue Drew (@BigBlueDrew33) February 17, 2024
Does Auburn’s home court advantage just consist of them crying the whole game?
— tater (@GOATater) February 18, 2024
The stripes decided this game wasn’t good enough. They needed to make it a Ref Show.
— Nick Roush (@RoushKSR) February 18, 2024
Every game that 0 in white has played for his 27 year college career has been filled with his absolute clown show flops and he needs to be assessed a T.
— Billy Sewell (@GoCayts) February 18, 2024
An obvious leg kick. Unbelievable home cooking going on right now when they’re down 16
— Shaun Dunn (@Dunn30) February 18, 2024
Just a terrible college basketball officiating crew in Auburn today. UK needs to close this one out but the sequence of Edwards terrible call followed up by the BS call on Sheppard is as bad as it gets.
— Derek Terry (@DerekSTerry) February 18, 2024
3:10 2H – Kentucky 64, Auburn 54
Timeout with Cats with 12 seconds to go on shot clock. Tigers are on a 6-0 spurt. Can UK finish?
— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) February 18, 2024
This was an NCAA tournament game. And we crushed it. It’s impossible not to feel good about this team! #BBN
— Shannon AD (@sierralimahotel) February 18, 2024
Antonio Reeves has scored as many points in 25 games this season as he did in 34 games last season (488).
— TheCatsPause247 (@TheCatsPause247) February 18, 2024
Calipari said it’s weird, but this team seems to play better on the road. Today was the fifth road win for Kentucky. Onyenso said it’s because they come together more, realizing no one thinks they will.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) February 18, 2024
Prior to tonight, Auburn was 15-0 at home with all 15 coming by double-digits and by an average of 21.9 points per game.
— TheCatsPause247 (@TheCatsPause247) February 18, 2024
Need more A Sea Of Blue coverage? Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get all the latest Kentucky Wildcats news and views. Go CATS!
Kentucky
Several people hurt in Western Kentucky Parkway multi-car accident, officials say
MUHLENBERG, Ky. (WFIE) – Kentucky officials says there are multiple people injured in a three-car accident on Western Kentucky Parkway.
According to a post made by the Central City Fire Department, three vehicles were involved in a crash between the 64 and 65 mile markers eastbound of the parkway.
They say both the eastbound and westbound lanes are closed at this time. The closure should last around 3 hours.
Two people were extricated from a vehicle. Four adults and three juveniles are being taken to the hospital. No update has been given on their conditions.
They say a mass casualty incident was declared, and Ohio County Fire and EMS were called to the scene due to the number of patients.
We will update you when we learn more.
Copyright 2025 WFIE. All rights reserved.
Kentucky
2027 top in-state prospect talks about his Kentucky unofficial visit on Tuesday
Kentucky’s recruiting efforts in the 2026 class have hit a current rough patch, but things are looking promising in the 2027 class, as the staff has already casted a very wide net in the class, with a number of top targets in the fold. As they’re continuing to pursue mostly national targets, a local star is now on the staff’s radar.
2027 in-state guard Braxton Keathley, one of the state’s top prospects even regardless of class, took an unofficial visit to Kentucky on Tuesday for the game against NC Central. Keathley is native of Martin County, KY, and has took the state by storm as he has really stuffed the stat sheet. Just recently, he dropped a triple-double of 34 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds last weekend.
The Kentucky staff has certainly seemed to take notice really quickly. He’s also getting plenty of other interest, too, including having frequent contact with Louisville, LSU, Purdue, South Carolina, and Florida State, plus offers from Eastern Kentucky, UT Martin, Ohio, and Bowling Green, among others. Keathley sat down with Kentucky Wildcats on SI to talk about his recent visit to Kentucky. What were his impressions of the staff? He shared a conversation he had with them before Tuesday’s game. He also had some interactions with others, too.
“They really talked about how well I scored it and how they’ve been hearing about me for a long time,” Keathley said of his conversation with the Kentucky staff. “One of the (Kentucky) assistants mentioned he had a coaching friend tell them that they better jump on me quick cause I was really good. I had several fans come up to me and take pictures. Jack Givens welcomed me and talked to me for a little bit and said he’s highly impressed with my game and plans on coming to a game soon. A couple of other UK players came up, they were really nice and said they been keeping up with me.”
As a Kentucky kid, Keathley says he been a fan of the Wildcats since he was little, even getting to train with Tyrese Maxey this summer, and he also had some great things to say about what he saw from fellow Kentucky natives and current Wildcats Trent Noah, Jasper Johnson, and Malachi Moreno. “I looked up to players like Tyler Herro, SGA, Tyrese Maxey, Devin Booker, Malik Monk and Reed Sheppard. I got lucky that I got to train with Maxey for a week in August,” Keathley said. “I saw Trent Noah last night having great energy and keeping a smile on his face during warmups. You could tell he loved every minute wearing that Kentucky uniform. He cares and it shows. I saw Jasper and Moreno warming up hard. The one thing about it, and my dad always told me, it’s a different place. You got to be special to play there and be willing to accept everything that comes with wearing that jersey.”
Interestingly enough, Keathley’s dad coached former Kentucky greats Anthony Epps and Wayne Turner after their time at Kentucky, so Keathley has a family history of being around all that comes with the passion of Kentucky basketball. What did Keathley’s dad learn about the two former Wildcats he got the privilege to coach? “He said they carried a chip on their shoulder and were great leaders always humble but tough. and I have to do the same.” Now, for Keathley, it’s about climbing the ranks nationally. “A couple (recruiting services) don’t have me ranked yet and that’s ok. I’m going to walk in the gym every night and know I outworked you and I’m going to outplay you,” he said. “I’m going to compete like every game is a championship. I’m going to to play with the same passion that the fans have. I’m always all in there’s no going back or in-between.”
Keathley has so much passion for his community in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, and he has plans of doing big things at Martin County. He also shared a message Trent Noah’s dad had for him during their interaction at Tuesday’s Kentucky game. “Something he said that really stuck out. ‘Us mountain people have got to stick together.’ He’s right, Eastern Kentucky has great people and basketball players. Kentucky basketball as whole, we got to stick together through the highs and lows. That’s what we do.”
That’s a great message from a parent of a current Wildcat who was in his shoes before, being a fellow native of that part of the state. The Kentucky staff is certainly going to keep an eye on him as he continues the impressive run he is on so far this season, because he just continues to catch more and more people’s attention with his play.
Kentucky
Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduces legislation for U.S. to leave NATO – UPI.com
Dec. 10 (UPI) — U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican serving a House district in Kentucky, introduced legislation for the United States to pull out of NATO.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Florida, posted on X that she would be a co-sponsor of the Not a Trusted Organization Act, or NATO Act. Utah Republican Mike Lee introduced the same legislation in the Senate earlier this year.
“NATO is a Cold War relic,” Massie said in a statement Tuesday. “We should withdraw from NATO and use that money to defend our own country, not socialist countries.
“NATO was created to counter the Soviet Union, which collapsed over 30 years ago. Since then, U.S. participation has cost taxpayers trillions of dollars and continues to risk U.S. involvement in foreign wars.”
He added: “Our Constitution did not authorize permanent foreign entanglements, something our Founding Fathers explicitly warned us against. America should not be the world’s security blanket – especially when wealthy countries refuse to pay for their own defense.”
NATO was founded in 1949 by 12 members as a military alliance involving European nations, as well as the U.S. and Canada in North America. There are now 32 members, with Finland joining in 2023 and Sweden in 2024.
The NATO Act would prevent the use of U.S. taxpayer funds for NATO’s common budgets, including its civil budget, military budget and the Security Investment Program.
Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty allows nations to opt out.
“After the Treaty has been in force for 20 years, any Party may cease to be a Party one year after its notice of denunciation has been given to the Government of the United States of America, which will inform the Governments of the other Parties of the deposit of each notice of denunciation,” the treaty reads.
During the last NATO summit in The Hague, the Netherlands, President Donald Trump told reporters he agrees with NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense treaty.
“I stand with it. That’s why I’m here,” Trump said. “If I didn’t stand with it, I wouldn’t be here.”
Article 5 was invoked for the first time after the 9/11 attacks in the United States, leading to NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan.
The Kentucky Republican, who calls himself a “fiscal hawk” and a “constitutional conservative,” has been at odds with Trump on several issues, including fiscal spending, foreign policy/war powers, government surveillance and transparency.
Trump has also been critical of NATO.
During his 2016 election campaign, Trump called the alliance “obsolete.”
He urged nations to spend at least 3.5% of gross domestic product on core defense needs by 2035.
In June, NATO allies agreed to a new defense spending guideline to invest 5% of GDP annually in defense and security by 2035.
Five nations were above 3% in 2024: Poland at 4.12%, Estonia at 3.43%, U.S. at 3.38%, Latvia at 3.15% and Greece at 3.08%. In last is Spain with 1.28% though Iceland has no armed forces and Sweden wasn’t listed.
Some Republican senators want stronger involvement in the alliance, including Joni Ernst of Iowa and Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Wicker is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
For passage, a House majority is needed, but 60 of 100 votes in the Senate to break the filibuster and then a majority vote. Trump could also veto the bill.
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