Kentucky has been up and down pretty much all season. One game, it's a loss to UNCW. Two games later, it's a win over North Carolina. One Saturday, it's a third straight loss inside Rupp Arena for the first time in school history. Two Saturdays later, it's a total thrashing of Alabama that followed a loss at LSU that followed a double-digit win at Auburn.
You never know what you're getting.
With that as the backdrop, UK visited Mississippi State on Tuesday in pursuit of a second straight Quadrant 1 victory. For most of the night, it looked like the Wildcats would fail to capitalize; they trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half. But then Reed Sheppard got going and turned in an all-time great performance for one of the sport's biggest brands. The 6-foot-3 freshman was the main reason UK erased the deficit. He assisted on the bucket that gave the Wildcats their first lead with 4:24 remaining. Then he buried a runner with less than a second left to break a tie, avoid overtime and lift Kentucky to a 91-89 victory inside Humphrey Coliseum.
"A lot of that comes from my teammates giving me confidence," Sheppard said. "The whole game, they're telling me in the huddles, 'Just keep playing. Keep attacking. Lead us.' That's huge. They just kept putting confidence in me the whole game."
Calling what Sheppard did an "all-time great performance for one of the sport's biggest brands" is not hyperbole. At Mississippi State, the projected one-and-done lottery pick (if he wants to be) took 14 shots, made 11 of them and finished with 32 points, seven assists, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 35 minutes off the bench. Those numbers allowed Sheppard to become the first Wildcat to score at least 30 points, grab at least five rebounds and dish at least five assists in the same game since Derek Anderson did it in January 1996 for a team that finished 34-2 and won the national championship under Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.
Also on that team: Jeff Sheppard.
That's Reed's father.
"Growing up, as a little kid, I always wanted to play at Kentucky," Sheppard said. "So being out there, and being able to hit a game-winning shot for Kentucky, was really cool. It was really special for me."
The come-from-behind victory improved Kentucky to 8-7 in the first two quadrants with an additional loss to Wilmington falling in Q3. The Wildcats are up to 20th in Wednesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings -- one spot behind BYU, which is now 9-8 in the first two quadrants with zero additional losses after Tuesday night's win at Kansas. The Cougars and Wildcats jumping into the top 20 of the Top 25 And 1 caused Washington State, South Carolina, Florida and Saint Mary's to be pushed down, no fault of their own. Oklahoma and Nebraska are still rounding things out.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 35 points and 15 rebounds in Sunday's 84-76 win at Michigan. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Michigan State. | -- | 8-3 |
| 2 |  | Cam Spencer finished with 25 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 78-054 win over Villanova. The Huskies' next game is Sunday against Seton Hall. | -- | 8-3 |
| 3 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 22 points and three steals in Tuesday's 67-59 win over Cincinnati. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma. | -- | 6-3 |
| 4 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 24 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 86-51 win over Texas A&M. The Vols' next game is Wednesday against Auburn. | -- | 11-0 |
| 5 |  | Tamin Lipsey finished with 14 points and six assists in Saturday's 71-64 win over West Virginia. The Cyclones' next game is Wednesday against Oklahoma. | -- | 9-1 |
| 6 |  | Kam Jones finished with 34 points and two steals in Sunday's 88-64 win over Xavier. The Golden Eagles' next game is Wednesday against Providence. | -- | 9-2 |
| 7 |  | RJ Davis finished with 42 points and four steals in Monday's 75-71 win over Miami. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday against NC State. | -- | 6-5 |
| 8 |  | Caleb Love finished with 30 points and five assists in Saturday's 91-75 win over Washington. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday at Arizona State. | 1 | 4-5 |
| 9 |  | Baylor Scheierman was 4 of 16 from the field in Sunday's 80-66 loss to St. John's. The Bluejays' next game is Wednesday against Seton Hall. | 1 | 7-4 |
| 10 |  | Nick Timberlake was 1 of 9 from the field in Tuesday's 76-68 loss to BYU. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at Baylor. | 2 | 8-2 |
| 11 |  | Ja'Kobe Walter finished with 16 points and four rebounds in Monday's 62-54 win at TCU. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Kansas. | -- | 7-3 |
| 12 |  | Chad Baker-Mazara finished with 25 points and four assists in Saturday's 97-76 win at Georgia. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at Tennessee. | -- | 10-1 |
| 13 |  | DaRon Holmes II finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 80-66 win over Davidson. The Flyers' next game is Friday at Loyola Chicago. | -- | 10-2 |
| 14 |  | Great Osobor finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 77-73 win at Fresno State. The Aggies' next game is Friday against Air Force. | -- | 10-1 |
| 15 |  | Duke allowed the Demon Deacons to shoot 60.4% from the field in Saturday's 83-79 loss at Wake Forest. The Blue Devils' next game is Wednesday against Louisville. | -- | 9-2 |
| 16 |  | Jaedon LeDee finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 72-64 win over San Jose State. The Aztecs' next game is Tuesday at UNLV. | -- | 7-2 |
| 17 |  | Coleman Hawkins finished with 30 points and five steals in Saturday's 95-85 win over Iowa. The Illini's next game is Wednesday against Minnesota. | -- | 7-3 |
| 18 |  | Alabama allowed the Wildcats to shoot 63.1% from the field in Saturday's 117-95 loss at Kentucky. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday at Ole Miss. | -- | 8-2 |
| 19 |  | Dallin Hall finished with 18 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 76-68 win at Kansas. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against TCU. | NR | 8-2 |
| 20 |  | Reed Sheppard finished with 32 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 91-89 win at Mississippi State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Arkansas. | 1 | 10-1 |
| 21 |  | Jaylen Wells was 3 of 12 from the field in Saturday's 73-61 loss at Arizona State. The Cougars' next game is Thursday against USC. | 2 | 9-2 |
| 22 |  | B.J. Mack finished with 17 points and two assists in Saturday's 72-59 win at Ole Miss. The Gamecocks' next game is Wednesday at Texas A&M. | 2 | 8-3 |
| 23 |  | WIll Richard finished with 21 points and three assists in Saturday's 77-64 win over Vanderbilt. The Gators' next game is Wednesday against Missouri. | 1 | 11-0 |
| 24 |  | Mitchell Saxen finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 88-62 win over San Diego. The Gaels' next game is Thursday at Pepperdine. | 1 | 9-2 |
| 25 |  | Rivaldo Soares finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 84-82 win at Oklahoma State. The Sooners' next game is Wednesday at Iowa State. | -- | 10-0 |
| 26 |  | Juwan Gary finished with 22 points and eight rebounds in Sunday's 73-55 win over Minnesota. The Huskers' next game is Thursday at Ohio State. | -- | 7-2 |
In: BYU | Out: Wisconsin
