KSR Today: Kentucky Senior Night Stunner and a Pair of Point Guard Injuries

Senior Night against Vanderbilt was supposed to provide a feel good win for the Cats that clinched the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament. Instead, it ended with long-term questions about the Kentucky backcourt and a buzzer-beating loss.

After Vanderbilt kept Kentucky at arm’s length for most of the second half, the Cats used an 8-0 run to claw back and retake the lead on an Oscar Tshiebwe post-up with 1:10 on the clock. Vanderbilt’s Jordan Wright drove to the rim for the equalizer. When Antonio Reeves‘ midrange fell off the front of the rim, most anticipated a timeout from Jerry Stackhouse.

Instead, the Commodores kept the ball in Wright’s hands. He used a spin move to put Chris Livingston on his heels and knocked down a fadeaway jump shot with 2.7 seconds left. Reeves got a good look with his feet set from three, but like so many other shots that night, it was short, giving Vanderbilt a 68-66 win, its first at Rupp Arena since 2007.

ICE. COLD. ON THE ROAD. 🥶@VandyMBB x #SECMBB pic.twitter.com/3YeWgIRmFf

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) March 2, 2023

Wright led all scorers with 23 points and Tyrin Lawrence added 21. Oscar Tshiebwe did everything for UK with 21 points and 20 rebounds in his final game at Rupp Arena. Unfortunately, he had very little help due to circumstances out of his control that have the BBN wondering what the future holds for the Wildcats.

Two Point Guard Injuries

Sahvir Wheeler‘s extended absence continued, but not because of his ankle injury. John Calipari said Wheeler underwent a minor procedure on Wednesday and the recovery forced him to miss Senior Day ceremonies.

Wheeler’s absence felt even more impactful in the second half against Vanderbilt. Cason Wallace turned his ankle while leaping into a pull-up jumper. Even though it did not look nasty, he limped off the floor in pain and did not return, forcing Reeves into the primary ball-handling role for most of the second half.

John Calipari said after the game that it may be a few weeks before Wheeler is healthy enough to play, putting his season at Kentucky in jeopardy. Cason Wallace’s prognosis is much more optimistic.

“First of all, Cason, they X-rayed, he’s fine. He’s not swelled. So, we’ll see. I’m hoping he’ll be okay for Saturday but I don’t know. And if not, we’ve got to figure out how we do it against pressure.”

Kentucky Senior Night

Without Wheeler able to make the trip to Rupp Arena, Ellen Calipari wore his jersey and stood in his place. Unfortunately, an unusual volume of downtown Lexington traffic forced many Kentucky fans to miss it. If you could not see the salute to the seniors, we got you covered.

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Subpar Shooting Night

Vanderbilt has now won seven of eight games thanks to their top 30 offense. Kentucky actually did not drown under a barrage of shots. Simply put, the Cats couldn’t score. Time and time again they had opportunities to extend the lead or cut into it, but could not knock down open shots. The Wildcats shot 32.2% from the field and made only 3 of 19 three-point attempts (15.8%). “When you shoot the way we shot today, you’re going to lose a lot of games,” Calipari said Wednesday night.

Turning Point for Vanderbilt

Kentucky led for almost the entire first half. They played from behind for almost the entire second half. The script was flipped two minutes before halftime.

“The last minute of the half, you could tell I went crazy,” John Calipari said after the game. “I’ve done this 40 years and I know how momentum shifts work because of lack of concentration, lack of execution and all of a sudden we go from up to down four (points). What? What just happened? If you look at those plays, we’ll show our team, that shifted everything.”

Alabama is SEC Regular Season Champs

Auburn had the Crimson Tide on their heels. The Tigers led by as much as 17 points in the basketball version of the Iron Bowl before the No. 2 team in the country came storming back. Auburn held on to get Wendell Green a potential game-winning shot. It looked just like Jordan Wright’s, except his didn’t fall. The Tigers ran out of gas in overtime of the 90-85 Alabama victory.

As Alabama solidified its place atop the conference, Kentucky almost locked up an SEC Tournament No. 3 seed in a loss. LSU led by as many as 19 points in the first half against Missouri. Then LSU started playing like a 2-win SEC team. Mizzou erased the double-digit deficit with an 11-2 run out of the halftime locker room, then did not allow an LSU bucket over the final 2:30 minutes of the game to pull away with a 81-76 win.

The Tigers are now a home win over Ole Miss away from securing the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament. Figuring out the tiebreakers isn’t easy, but it now feels like either the 4 or 5 seed is Kentucky’s most likely destination.

Kentucky Women’s Basketball Stays Alive

Kyra Elzy’s Cats still have plenty of fight left in them. Kentucky got in a scrap with Florida when a Gator turned a basketball into a dodgeball and launched it at Ajae Petty. Four players on each team were ejected, yet the short-handed Cats were undeterred.

Robyn Benton scored 10 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter to help Kentucky pull away with a 72-57 victory. It was the Cats’ first win in over 30 days, and it improved Elzy’s SEC Tournament record to 6-1. The Wildcats will face No. 6 seed Alabama at approximately 8:30 pm EST tonight in Greenville on the SEC Network.

KSR is going to the NFL Combine

The 11 Personnel crew is making the drive up I-65 to the NFL Scouting Combine just in time for the on-field workouts to begin at Lucas Oil Stadium. We’ll speak to Carrington Valentine today, followed by Will Levis Friday morning. The quarterbacks will throw Saturday afternoon. Live shows are coming to the KSR YouTube Channel Thursday and Friday afternoon, and we’ll be sharing some behind the scenes insights on KSBoard. Join us all weekend long.