Kentucky continued its romp through the GLOBL JAM on Thursday in Toronto with a 93-69 win over Team Canada as the Wildcats secured their place in Sunday's title game with a 2-0 start in the event. UK will conclude pool play Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET against Team Africa on CBS Sports Network before playing for the gold medal on Sunday at 8 p.m.
The Wildcats were again led by senior guard Antonio Reeves on Thursday as he poured in 23 points following a 24-point outing in the team's 81-73 win over Team Germany on Wednesday. UK received significant contributions from some of its young talent in Thursday's contest as well.
Freshman forward Justin Edwards finished with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists while Reed Sheppard added 14 points, four assists and four steals. Edwards and Sheppard are just two members of the program's No. 1 ranked recruiting class, which features seven players in total. Of those seven, all but center Aaron Bradshaw are available for the GLOBL JAM.
The event marks a nice early test for UK's young roster as the Wildcats face a series of Under-23 national teams.
Until recent weeks, Kentucky's roster had been in flux since the program's 2022-23 season ended with a 22-12 record and a second-round NCAA Tournament loss. The opening games of the GLOBL JAM highlighted how important it was for UK to keep Reeves on the roster and how significant the addition of Tre Mitchell could prove to be. A 6-foot-9 center, Mitchell played at UMass and Texas before landing at WVU last season. He opted to transfer following the unceremonious ending to Bob Huggins' tenure at West Virginia and committed to UK on June 26.
With Bradshaw and sophomore center Ugonna Onyenso unavailable for the GLOBL JAM due to injury, Mitchell has been a critical force on the inside. After scoring 20 points against Team Germany, he finished with eight points, six rebounds and five blocks against Team Canada.
How to watch Kentucky at GLOBL JAM
Dates: Wednesday-Sunday
Location: Mattamy Athletic Centre -- Toronto
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder]
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App
KENTUCKY'S SCHEDULE
- Wednesday: Kentucky 81, Team Germany 73
- Thursday: Kentucky 93, Team Canada 69
- Saturday: vs. Team Africa, 1:30 p.m.
- Sunday: vs. TBD in Gold Medal Game, 8 p.m.