LEXINGTON, Ky. — Duquesne men's basketball, which Kentucky hosted Friday night at Rupp Arena, was expected to be the best team John Calipari's crew had faced since ... that team UK fans don't want to talk about.

Since that March day the Wildcats never want to remember, they've faced seven teams: four squads during an August trip to the Bahamas, a pair of Division II schools in preseason exhibitions (Missouri Western and Kentucky State) and then a lower-level Division I outfit in Monday's opener (Howard). The closest any of those seven came to topping UK?

The Bahamas National Select Team lost by only 24, 98-74, in Kentucky's final contest in the Bahamas.

Needless to say, the Dukes put up their dukes and took the fight to the No. 4 Wildcats — at times, anyway — before the hosts gained command and went on to win by 25, 77-52.

Sahvir Wheeler:Kentucky men's basketball guard makes season debut versus Duquesne

Duquesne scored the game's first three points before UK (2-0) went on a 7-0 run. The Dukes (1-1) responded with five straight points of their own to move back ahead 8-7. But that marked the final time the visitors were on top of the scoreboard Friday.

The Wildcats went into the break up 38-22. After the Dukes started the second half on a 4-0 run, however, Calipari called a timeout with 18:39 to play. His message eventually sank in, as the Wildcats outscored the Dukes 39-30 the rest of the way.

For the second time in as many outings, Antonio Reeves took top-scorer honors for Kentucky, finishing with 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. (He went 4-for-5 at the free-throw line.) Two other Wildcats ended in double-figures: CJ Fredrick had 14 points while Sahvir Wheeler had 11.

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Key takeaways from the Wildcats' win:

Key player

Despite the fact every Wildcat who took the floor Friday — eight in all — scored at least four points, UK's top player on the night is an easy choice.

Wheeler.

Making his season debut after missing the opener (and exhibition finale) with a knee injury, all Wheeler did Friday was come off the bench and post a double-double. He ended the night with 11 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in 27 minutes.

After checking in at the 14:45 mark, he recorded two assists in barely a minute. The back-to-back assists looked eerily similar: Wheeler driving to the basket, drawing a defender and then passing to an open teammate for an easy bucket.

With so much attention — rightly so — paid to freshman guard Cason Wallace in Wheeler's absence, Friday showcased why the senior was an All-SEC preseason first-team selection.

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Key stat

The Wildcats made 11 of their 19 on 3-pointers Friday. That's a 57.9% clip. If they can shoot anyway near that in future games, especially once National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe returns, Kentucky will be a handful for any foe.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball vs. Duquesne: Takeaways from Sahvir Wheeler debut