Kentucky Hosts Missouri in SEC Opener
No. 18/17 Kentucky begins the Southeastern Conference portion of its schedule on Wednesday night when the Cats host Missouri at Rupp Arena.
Since falling at Notre Dame on Dec. 11, Kentucky has had two outstanding performances. On Dec. 18, Kentucky pounded North Carolina 98-69 in Las Vegas behind 26 points and eight assists from Sahvir Wheeler. Then, on Dec. 22, Oscar Tshiebwe scored 14 points and grabbed a Rupp Arena record 28 rebounds as the Cats rolled past Western Kentucky 95-60.
Kentucky has had great balance on offense all season. Five Cats are currently averaging double figures in scoring.
Tshiebwe leads the way, scoring 16.1 points and grabbing 15.5 boards per game. TyTy Washington Jr. is second on the team, averaging 13.9 points per outing. Kellan Grady (11.2 ppg), Wheeler (11.0) and Keion Brooks Jr. (10.9) are also double-figure scorers for UK.
While those players are all major contributors, UK head coach John Calipari is still tinkering with his rotation, which he says is not set at this point in the season.
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| Kentucky vs. Missouri | ||
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Wed., Dec. 29 – 7:00 p.m. ET |
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TV: SEC Network |
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| UK | Stats | MU |
| 9-2 | Record | 6-6 |
| 0-0 | Conference Record | 0-0 |
| 83.3 | PPG | 67.5 |
| 62.0 | Opp PPG | 69.7 |
| .495 | FG% | .411 |
| .391 | Opp FG% | .454 |
| 44.5 | RPG | 37.2 |
| .333 | 3PT FG% | .247 |
| .272 | Opp 3PT FG% | .388 |
| 17.6 | APG | 11.0 |
| 6.6 | SPG | 7.4 |
| 5.3 | BPG | 4.0 |
“No. I don’t, and I think we’re one of those teams—like, without Lance (Ware) in the North Carolina game in that first half, we’re probably down, and maybe it’s a different game,” Calipari said. “So, Lance has a role. But there are times we want to throw a guy in that’s going to get lobs and dunks and blocks. Well, that wouldn’t be Lance, so maybe it’s Daimion (Collins). I would say there are times that we’re trying to bring Bryce (Hopkins) along so he can be that car crash, so he can get to the free-throw line, give us one more physical body out there.”
Missouri is 6-6 on the season. The Tigers have lost two of their last three games. Most recently, Missouri lost to Illinois 88-63 in St. Louis. The Tigers beat Utah in Columbia on Dec. 18 after being blown out by Kansas, 102-65, on Dec. 11.
Junior forward Kobe Brown leads Missouri in scoring, rebounding and assists, averaging 14.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Junior guard Amari Davis is the only other Missouri player averaging in double figures, scoring 10.4 points per game.
The Tigers are likely to be without head coach Cuonzo Martin, who tested positive for COVID-19. Assistant coach Cornell Mann is expected to lead Missouri on Wednesday. However, Calipari knows the Tigers will be tough.
“Their team always plays hard. Plays physical. They rebound,” Calipari said. “They’re plus in the rebounding column. They shoot the ball. They go get rebounds. They drive it. They’re physically playing through bumps. It’s the kind of team that gives us trouble. So, it’s going to be a hard game for us.”
Oscar Tshiebwe Breaks Rupp Arena Rebounding Record as Cats Roll Past Western Kentucky
As teammate Kellan Grady strung together long jumpers, Oscar Tshiebwe outrebounded Western Kentucky all by himself on a record-breaking night that supplanted Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal.
Grady made six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 23 points, Tshiebwe grabbed a Rupp Arena-record 28 rebounds and No. 20/18 Kentucky used an 18-2 second-half run to blow out the Hilltoppers 95-60 on Wednesday.
“Coach wanted me to shoot, my teammates (were) pressing me to shoot the ball and make shots,” said Grady, who struggled from outside just a few games ago. “And ultimately, I believed in myself as well.”
TyTy Washington Jr. added 20 points and Jacob Toppin scored 12 as the Wildcats (9-2) routed their second consecutive substitute opponent. The in-state Hilltoppers (8-5) were added Monday after the postponement of Kentucky’s scheduled matchup against archrival Louisville because of positive COVID-19 tests within the Cardinals’ program. The Wildcats thumped North Carolina 98-69 last week in Las Vegas after Ohio State had to pull out of the game.
Kentucky coach John Calipari wasn’t shy with his praise.
“I’ve got a very, very smart basketball team,” said Calipari, whose team totaled 27 assists. “And, this is crazy, I’ve got some older guys that understand how to be engaged, how to be laser focused. They know because they play. I got some young guys that are still learning, but I’ve got a veteran group.”
Josh Anderson scored 18 points and Camron Justice had 13 for WKU, which was coming off an 82-72 victory over Louisville.
Kentucky’s schedule switch also required adjusting to 7-foot-5 WKU center Jamarion Sharp — college basketball’s tallest player — which it did behind Grady’s outside shooting and Tshiebwe’s dominance on the boards.
Grady went 6 of 9 from long range and 7 of 10 overall for his best performance since transferring from Davidson. Tshiebwe scored 14 points and topped his previous Kentucky-player Rupp Arena mark of 20 boards against Robert Morris midway through the second half. His 21st rebound tied O’Neal’s record with LSU against the Wildcats on Feb. 15, 1990, with the 22nd following soon after and then some.
Tshiebwe flirted with 30 before being pulled with 2:06 remaining as the Wildcats owned the glass 50-27. He acknowledged several rounds of cheers before sitting down for the final minutes.
“That’s amazing, to get 28 rebounds in a game,” the nation’s rebounding leader said. “It is a blessing and I just want to give all the glory to God because I don’t think I can do that on my own. It is something great, you work harder and everything is going to be so easy.”
WKU pulled to 37-33 early in the second half before Grady scored 11 points during the decisive run that broke open the game. Kentucky made 38 of 68 from the field (55.9%) and held the ‘Toppers to 32.8% shooting in the first meeting between the schools since its 2012 NCAA championship run.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to say the other team was better,” WKU coach Rick Stansbury said. “And they were better in every area. Again, I don’t have any answers for everything they did. But I just know when they play like that, they were the best team in America today.”
• Tshiebwe’s 28 rebounds tied for the sixth-most rebounds in UK history and the most in more than 45 years, when Mike Phillips corralled 28 caroms in an overtime game vs. Tennessee on Jan. 10, 1976. They were the most for a Wildcat in a regulation-length game in more than 52 years, when Dan Issel grabbed 29 rebounds vs. LSU on Feb. 22, 1969. According to STATS, his 28 rebounds are the most in Division I college basketball since Kendall Gray from Delaware State recorded 30 at Coppin State on March 5, 2015, and they tied for the fourth-most rebounds in Division I college basketball dating back to the 1996-97 season
• Kentucky limited Western Kentucky to 60 points. UK is 195-9 under Calipari when holding the opponent to 63 points or fewer, including 7-0 this season
• The Wildcats led by as many as 35 points. UK is 295-12 in the John Calipari era when leading by at least 10 points at any time in the contest
• Kentucky scored 95 points in consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 29, 2016, and Jan. 3 and 7, 2017, when the Wildcats scored at least 95 against Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Arkansas, respectively
• UK has scored 58 points in the second half in consecutive games, also doing so Saturday vs. North Carolina
• The Wildcats made 38 of 68 shots (55.9%), the fifth time this season they have shot 50% or better and the second consecutive game. They are 5-0 this season when making 50% or better from the floor and 9-0 when outshooting their opponent
• With Kellan Grady making 6 of 9 from long range, UK was 9 of 20 from 3. Nine treys are the second most this season for the Wildcats (12 vs. Robert Morris)
• UK is 17 of 35 from 3 over the last two games after shooting 2 for 19 at Notre Dame
• Of Kentucky’s 38 field goals, 27 were assisted. It was the Wildcats’ second straight game with at least 20 assists and the fourth overall. The 27 assists are the fifth most in the Calipari era and most since recording 33 vs. Arizona State on Nov. 28, 2016
• Led by Oscar Tshiebwe’s 28 rebounds, UK outrebounded WKU 50-27. The nation’s No. 1 rebounding margin team has outrebounded their opponent by at least plus-14 in all nine wins this season
• With Grady and TyTy Washington Jr. each reaching the 20-point barrier, there has been a different player to reach the 20-point mark over the last three games (Washington and Grady tonight, Wheeler vs. North Carolina and Tshiebwe at Notre Dame)
Kentucky Dominates SEC Weekly Awards
Oscar Tshiebwe and TyTy Washington Jr. were named SEC Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively on Monday.
Tshiebwe had a record-breaking day with 28 rebounds and 14 points, while Washington scored 20 points and reached the plateau for the third time this season in the 95-60 win over Western Kentucky.
Kentucky swept the SEC Weekly honors for the first time this season. It is the first time two UK players have earned weekly honors since Immanuel Quickley and Tyrese Maxey were named Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively, on Jan. 13, 2020.
The Wildcats have now earned four honors this season. Sahvir Wheeler won SEC Player of the Week a week ago following his 26-point effort against North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic. This is the second time this season Washington has claimed the Freshman of the Week honor. He was also recognized on Nov. 22 after averaging a team-high 18.0 points per game in wins over Mount St. Mary’s and Ohio.
Kentucky has dominated the weekly SEC awards with John Calipari at the helm. UK has won more weekly SEC honors (114) than any other school during the Calipari era, including 87 SEC Freshman of the Week honors and 27 SEC Player of the Week awards.
