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John Calipari strongly praises CJ Fredrick for gutting through injury vs. Arkansas

Fredrick gutted through injury to help the Wildcats score one of their most impressive wins of the season.

Kentucky v Tennessee Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images

What a win for the Kentucky Wildcats, who just scored what was easily one of their most impressive wins of the season.

And given what Kentucky had to overcome today, you could make an argument for this being the Cats’ most gutsy win.

After all, Kentucky was without top point guard Cason Wallace, as well as backup point guard Sahvir Wheeler, while CJ Fredrick played through a cracked rib that’s been plaguing him for the last month.

Against all odds, Kentucky pulled off an impressive 88-79 win led by Antonio Reeves’ career-high 37 points. Jacob Toppin chipped in 21 points. Oscar Tshiebwe scored 12 and pulled down 13 boards.

However, it was Fredrick who John Calipari made sure to single out during postgame interviews. With Kentucky thin at point guard, Fredrick logged 15 minutes and dished out four assists with no turnovers. He also scored two points and grabbed a steal.

With the win, Kentucky is the No. 3 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament and won’t play until Friday night. Here’s to hoping that extra time off helps Fredrick and the rest of the Wildcats get as healthy as they possibly can with the postseason now here.