Seth Davis calls for change in Kentucky's backcourt after Tennessee win

Kentucky went to Knoxville and beat No. 5 Tennessee without its starting point guard Sahvir Wheeler and Daimion Collins, who were both out due to injury. As a result, the Cats had to try some new lineups, and finally — finally! — found one that worked. The quintet of Cason Wallace, Antonio Reeves, CJ Fredrick, Jacob Toppin, and Oscar Tshiebwe found a groove on offense, propelling the Cats to the upset win.

Analytics guru Evan Miyakawa broke down the numbers in support of the lineup yesterday. Prior to Saturday, the group had only played together for 20 possessions; add in the 25 possessions vs. the Vols, and they have the best numbers of any lineup this season.

Updated look at Kentucky's most used lineups after yesterday's win. Their A+ lineup of Wallace, Reeves, Fredrick, Toppin, and Oscar went from 20 to 45 possessions in one game and continues to dominate. pic.twitter.com/wFs8EauyMl

— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) January 15, 2023

Count Seth Davis among those who believe the lineup is the key to Kentucky turning things around. In a college basketball notebook this morning, Davis said Calipari needs to stick with the lineup — even if it means keeping Sahvir Wheeler out of the starting lineup.

“Kentucky’s win at Tennessee was the biggest surprise of the weekend, and while there are lots of reasons why the Wildcats played better on Saturday than they had all season, the one that stood out the most was the fact that Sahvir Wheeler missed the game with a shoulder injury. Wheeler is as quick in transition as any point guard in America, but his undependable shooting, combined with his volatile decision-making, can make him a liability in a halfcourt game. Senior forward Jacob Toppin and freshman guard Cason Wallace, who were recovering from injuries, combined for 11 assists in the win, while 6-5 senior guard Antonio Reeves chipped in 18 points off the bench.

“It seems clear to me that Kentucky’s best lineup is those three plus Oscar Tshiebwe and C.J. Fredrick (who also recently returned from a three-game absence caused by a broken finger). Wheeler’s shoulder injury shouldn’t keep him out for long, which means that John Calipari is going to have to decide whether to re-insert Wheeler as his starting point guard, or stick with the lineup that gave the program its biggest win in a long time. Calipari tends to be overly deferential to players in this situation (Harrison twins, anyone?), but in this case, it’s like one of those football teams where the starting quarterback gets hurt, and his backup comes and leads the team to victory. Do you go back to the starter, or do you stay with the hot hand? In this case, the choice seems obvious, but I’m not confident Calipari is willing to make it.“

Seth Davis, The Athletic

According to Kentucky’s postgame notes from Saturday, Wheeler is considered day-to-day with the left shoulder injury, which he suffered in practice on Friday. No word on whether or not he’ll play in tomorrow’s game vs. Georgia.

More national praise for Kentucky

The AP and Coaches Polls won’t come out until lunch, but you won’t find Kentucky on any of the other power rankings or national media Top 25s this morning. That said, the Cats’ upset of Tennessee is still garnering praise. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello named it his “Win of the Week.”

Kentucky entered the weekend in disarray. Coming off a 26-point defeat to Alabama and a stunning home loss to South Carolina, the Wildcats were missing key players to injury, had a coach linked to another job and were dealing with reports of upheaval behind the scenes within the athletic department. And then they went into Knoxville and beat one of the hottest teams in the country on their home court.

Tennessee jumped out to an 8-0 lead early, and it looked like more of the same from Kentucky. But an injury to Sahvir Wheeler forced John Calipari to tweak his lineup, which allowed Antonio Reeves and CJ Fredrick to thrive. More importantly, the Wildcats played with some passion and energy defensively. Oscar Tshiebwe was integral in keeping the Vols off the offensive glass, Jacob Toppin had some moments — and Tennessee ended up with its worst offensive performance since last February.

Jeff Borzello, ESPN

CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone also named Kentucky one of his Winners of the Week, mentioning Calipari’s decision to take away the players’ iPhones and iPads the night before the Tennessee game.

UK still has a long way to go to sniff its lofty preseason expectations, but the Wildcats have a manageable stretch of games coming up, and Saturday’s performance showed this squad has plenty of fight left in the tank. Who’d have thought cutting down on the screen time would be such a magical fix? (We’ll see on that, of course, but winning on the road against this Tennessee team is a great step in the right direction.)

Kyle Boone, CBS Sports

Boone still gave the Cats a “C-“ for the week due to the bad loss to South Carolina.

A road win over No. 5 Tennessee keeps Kentucky from flunking the week. UK’s home loss to South Carolina the game prior is still inexplicable and borderline inexcusable for a team as talented as the ‘Cats.

Kyle Boone, CBS Sports