At least Cason Wallace and Oscar Tshiebwe showed up for Kentucky

To put it nicely: the Kentucky men’s basketball team did not show up against the Missouri Tigers.

The Wildcats went down by double digits midway through the opening half, trailed by 12 points at halftime, and experienced the largest deficit of the season at 21. When it was all said and done, Kentucky lost on the road 89-75 in what was the team’s first SEC game of the 2022-23 season. Missouri won the turnover battle, dominated points off the bench, outran Kentucky at its own game, and shot more efficiently from the line.

From the opening tip to the final buzzer, Mizzou lit up the ‘Cats.

But if there were a couple of silver linings for the Big Blue Nation, they would be the performances of freshman point guard Cason Wallace and senior center Oscar Tshiebwe. Those two combined for 42 of Kentucky’s 75 points and were the sole sources of offense for John Calipari’s squad throughout the majority of the evening. Wallace dropped in 19 points on 7-16 overall shooting to go along with two steals in 32 minutes. The five-star rookie knocked down five (on 13 attempts) of his team’s eight total shots from behind the arc.

Meanwhile, Tshiebwe was nearly unstoppable on offense, posting 23 points, 19 rebounds (nine of them on the offensive glass), and two steals of his own, playing all 40 minutes for the ‘Cats. The reigning national player of the year was an efficient 6-8 from the floor, earning most of his points at the charity stripe. Tshiebwe went 11-17 from the free-throw line with the rest of his teammates shooting just 4-7.

Most among the fan base would wager the duo of Wallace and Tshiebwe is Kentucky’s most talented combination, especially over the last few weeks. They are the most consistent and reliable offensive options for Calipari and can be relied upon to score points when UK needs them the most. Wallace attacks off the dribble while Tshiebwe feasts in the paint.

They certainly weren’t perfect on Wednesday night, but they were Kentucky’s best players and played like it. And yet, the ‘Cats lost by 14 and were never truly in the game. There is clearly a multitude of pressing issues consuming this group right now, but not being able to win with your two best players shining is at the top of the list. It would also help if they received some help from their teammates.

“I’ve got to grab my team, we got to get together and we got to figure this out. We got special talent we just gotta come together as a team,” Tshiebwe said postgame.

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