Finally healthy, Kentucky proved it has national title hopes

Kentucky Men’s Basketball has already run into two big “what-if?” situations this season, and they both revolved around the same concept: what if TyTy Washington/Sahvir Wheeler were healthy?

Coming into Saturday night, Kentucky had already played two SEC road games that evoked Super Bowl-level energies from the home crowds. LSU named its basketball coach after a former head coach when UK came to town while Auburn fans camped out the night before just to watch the ‘Cats. Both scenarios played out similarly — Kentucky’s early momentum was spoiled by untimely injuries that eventually led to losses down the stretch.

Against LSU, it was Wheeler who went down just four minutes into the game, never to return against the Tigers as UK fell 65-60. The 80-71 loss to Auburn a couple of weeks later was not much different, with Washington going down at the 8:20 mark of the first half and the ‘Cats leading by nine. Down key ball handlers in high-pressure situations, Kentucky understandably lacked its usual offensive punch.

In spite of the absences though, that unique factor did provide some optimism for the Big Blue Nation. Just wait until EVERYONE is healthy! With a full roster, it felt like Kentucky could match up against any team in the country.

On Saturday night at Allen Fieldhouse, that’s exactly what the ‘Cats proved.

Kentucky stepped on the gas from the opening tip, jumping out to a double-digit lead before 10 minutes could run off the clock. But instead of Washington coming down awkwardly on his ankle or Wheeler running into a blindside screen, health was finally in UK’s favor. The whole gang was thriving as a unit.

Very few teams nationally have shown the ceiling that Kentucky possesses. Wildcats have looked awesome for a good six weeks now, outside of games where their two best guards suddenly get hurt. Healthy Kentucky is as good as anyone.

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) January 30, 2022

Kansas never stood a chance against a full-strength Kentucky squad — the Jayhawks trailed by 20 at the break before losing by 18 at the final buzzer.

“They asked me after what was the difference and I said ‘our guards were healthy. We had healthy guards!'” Calipari said postgame. “Now Keion (Brooks Jr.) played well, Jacob (Toppin) played well, Oscar (Tshiebwe) was a beast. But we were healthy at guard.”

The ironic part of this is that it wasn’t even the guard play that led to Kentucky steamrolling Kansas. Washington, who was still questionable leading into gameday with an ankle injury, played arguably his worst game since the season-opening loss to Duke. The star freshman guard went just 1-9 from the floor and 1-4 from distance for two points against KU. That being said, he still posted three rebounds, five assists, three steals, and one turnover.

Wheeler was solid, with most of his effectiveness coming through playmaking. He finished with seven points (3-7 shooting), three rebounds, eight assists, and three turnovers.

He and Washington combined for nine points on a 4-16 clip, but just having them on the floor at the same time opened up so many opportunities for Tshiebwe and Brooks, the latter of which dropped a career-high 27 points. Tshiebwe wasn’t too shabby, either, finishing with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Toppin added 11 points in his 11 minutes, too.

Brooks is realistically the “fifth-man” on this roster, too. If he can play at that level with both Washington and Wheeler getting him involved, this can become a regular outing for Kentucky. 27 points is a lot to ask on a game-by-game basis for Brooks, but it’s the idea that if UK’s fifth offensive option can take over an entire game, how far up actually is the ceiling for this team?

“You see today when we have a full roster and a team, it is dangerous for who we’re going against,” Tshiebwe said postgame. “Everybody can shoot the ball, I can shoot a little bit the mid-range too, I’ll keep working on it, but we just need to stay healthy and keep working together as we are.”

Kentucky’s players have done an increasingly better job of understanding what their role is this season and not diverting too far from that. Brooks is the mid-range threat, Grady is an elite 3-point shooter, Tshiebwe can score from anywhere inside the arc, Wheeler is the quickest player in the SEC, and Washington is a three-level scoring savant. The entire starting five is a “pick your poison” roulette, and that doesn’t even account for Davion Mintz, who is effectively the sixth starter, or Lance Ware and Jacob Toppin, who continue to thrive in their limited roles.

A well-balanced roster is what makes up national title contenders, and a fully healthy Kentucky Wildcats looks the part.