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KSR Today: Kentucky gets its first road win in Music City

On3 imageby:Tyler Thompson•01/12/22•

MrsTylerKSR

On3 image
Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics

Good morning, BBN. It’s a new day, you’re halfway through the week, and the Kentucky Basketball team now has a true road win.

Last night, Kentucky rolled the Vanderbilt Commodores 78-66 in Nashville to improve to 13-3 on the season, 3-1 in SEC play. The Cats were actually up by 28 with just over six minutes remaining but the ‘Dores ended the game on a 16-0 run. That was annoying but doesn’t overshadow the really fun parts of the win, of which there were plenty.

Big Oscar is on a big roll

We have to start with Oscar Tshiebwe, who finished with a career-high 30 points and 13 rebounds. Over the last two games, Oscar has 59 points and 30 rebounds — against SEC opponents (albeit two of the weaker ones). He’s the first Kentucky player with a 30-point, 10-rebound game since Patrick Patterson in 2008. He’s also the first Wildcat to score at least 29 points in consecutive SEC games since Kenny Walker did it vs. Vanderbilt and Ole Miss in 1985. Oscar is very, very good and, as I outlined last night, deserves to be in the conversation for National Player of the Year. Right, Jay Bilas?

Oscar is No. 3 on that ESPN Top 25 players list, by the way, behind Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis and Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn. He’s already No. 1 in the BBN’s heart, especially when you factor in comments like these:

TyTy Washington runs the show

Kentucky was without Sahvir Wheeler for the second game in a row as he recovers from a neck strain suffered at LSU. TyTy Washington once again ran point and kept the Cats steady in a weird road environment. He finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, which doesn’t quite match the record-breaking 17-assist performance from Saturday but is impressive nonetheless.

Wheeler remains day-to-day but actively cheered his teammates on from the bench:

Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics
Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics

Contributions from Brooks, Mintz, and Hopkins

Oscar and TyTy were the stars of the win — and Kentucky struggled when they went to the bench — but the supporting cast stepped up too. Keion Brooks finished with nine points, five rebounds, and two assists. Those numbers may not sound flashy, but Keion’s hustle was a welcome sight. Davion Mintz also had nine points, all threes. He’s averaging 14.5 points per game over Kentucky’s last four contests.

After a shaky first half, Bryce Hopkins stepped up in the second, pulling down five rebounds and chipping in two points. Calipari elected to give him and Daimion Collins the lion’s share of the backup minutes as part of his efforts to solidify a plan should Oscar find himself on the bench in foul trouble. Lance Ware and Dontaie Allen did not play last night, but Calipari told reporters they would have gotten in had the Cats not let Vanderbilt go on the big run in the final five minutes.

Next up: No. 22 Tennessee at home at 1 p.m. on Saturday. That was a lot of words. Here are some non-words to make up for it.

Highlights

Final Box Score

Season Stats

Updated SEC Standings

TEAMCONFERENCEGAMES BACKOVERALL
Auburn4-0–15-1
Texas A&M3-00.514-2
Kentucky3-1113-3
LSU2-11.514-1
Tennessee2-2211-4
Alabama2-2211-5
Mississippi State1-1210-4
Missouri1-127-7
South Carolina1-22.510-5
Ole Miss1-22.59-6
Vanderbilt1-22.59-6
Florida0-239-5
Georgia0-235-10
Arkansas0-33.510-5

Calipari, Brooks, Tshiebwe after the game

So much postgame coverage

Shadeon Sharpe watch

Still not playing, still doing stuff like this in warm-ups:

TyTy Washington’s victory dance, Vanderbilt edition

Washington does the Griddy after each Kentucky victory. Here’s the Music City edition:

A wild night in College Basketball

While you were watching Kentucky beat Vanderbilt, No. 1 Baylor went down. The undefeated Bears lost to No. 19 Texas Tech 65-62 at home. On Saturday, the Red Raiders knocked off then-No. 6 Kansas 75-67. There are no unbeaten teams left in Division I. No. 5 USC also lost to Stanford, 75-69.

In the SEC, No. 4 Auburn beat No. 24 Alabama 81-77 in an absolute thriller in Tuscaloosa. That’s now 12 straight victories for the Tigers, who host Kentucky a week from Saturday. Bruce Pearl showed off some…moves in the Coleman Coliseum visitor’s locker room:

Back in Auburn, fans were so excited they rolled the oaks in Toomers’ Corner. Are they a basketball school now?

John Calipari’s Radio Show is tonight

Didn’t get enough Cal talk last night after the game? You’re in luck because due to the travel schedule, his radio show was moved to tonight. Tune in to 630 WLAP or UKAthletics.com at 6 p.m. to hear Cal’s thoughts on the win over Vandy, Saturday’s game vs. Tennessee, and some form of an update on Sahvir Wheeler.

College Basketball on TV today

We’ve covered Auburn vs. Alabama. Elsewhere in the SEC, No. 22 Tennessee warmed up for Saturday’s date vs. Kentucky with a 66-46 win over South Carolina. Texas A&M beat Ole Miss 67-51 to improve to 14-2. Reminder: the Cats play the Aggies in College Station one week from today.

Three SEC games tonight, including No. 12 LSU at Florida. Here’s the TV schedule:

  • 6:30 PM (FS1): No. 14 Villanova vs. No. 17 Xavier
  • 7:00 PM (ACCN): No. 8 Duke vs. Wake Forest
  • 7:00 PM (BTN): Minnesota vs. No. 10 Michigan State
  • 7:00 PM (ESPN2): No. 12 LSU vs. Florida
  • 7:00 PM (SECN): Georgia vs. Mississippi State
  • 9:00 PM (SECN): Missouri vs. Arkansas

That’ll do it. Matt and Ryan will share their thoughts on the game in an hour, but if you can’t wait, Shannon the Dude and Billy Rutledge are about to get things rolling on the KSR Preshow.

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2025-01-26