KSR Today: Oscar Tshiebwe is a spectacle; Rhyne Howard Day is upon us

Good morning, folks! Before we dive into everything that happened during Saturday’s loss down in Fayetteville, we need to talk about what’s going on later today.

Starting around 3:40 p.m. EST, Rhyne Howard Day will officially get underway at Memorial Coliseum. For those somehow unfamiliar with the future Wildcat Hall of Famer, she’s about to play her final home game in a Kentucky Women’s Basketball uniform when UK hosts Auburn at 4:00 p.m. EST. Howard is winding down an all-time great career, one that has her name written all over the history books. She’ll leave Kentucky as the school’s second all-time leading scorer for a male or female, a two-time SEC Player of the Year, and a multi-time All-American. Howard is widely expected to get picked among the first two selections in the upcoming WNBA Draft.

So today is a day for celebration. Kentucky is going all out with the Rhyne Howard love, too. Today isn’t Senior Day, it’s Rhyne Howard Day. Considering UK has a trio of other seniors on the roster (Blair Green, Jazmine Massengill, and Robyn Benton), you can read into that as much or as little as you’d like. It is my understanding that all three are expected to come back and use the additional year of eligibility due to COVID-19. So Sunday is going to be all about Rhyne Howard.

Everyone who shows up will receive a special edition Rhyne Howard paper crown along with a commemorative poster. Tickets are still available at just $10, which you can purchase right here. In addition to cheering on Howard one last time at home, Kentucky is gunning for its sixth straight win and a chance to lock up a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Grant Grubbs has a full preview of the matchup against Auburn, which you can read here.

Proof of the 👑#BBN #CrownHer https://t.co/gbkfOOJnZo pic.twitter.com/49pHEpITXe

— Evan Crane (@EvanCraneKY) February 23, 2022

We expect to see you there.

Kentucky’s slow start results in another Super Bowl loss

Kentucky sure has played in its fair share of “Super Bowl” games throughout this season alone. Saturday down in Fayetteville was just the latest example of that, as No. 18 Arkansas hosted its biggest basketball game of the season with No. 6 Kentucky in town. Unfortunately for the ‘Cats, an uninspiring trend poked its head out once again as the team worked to incorporate TyTy Washington and Sahvir Wheeler back into the lineup after missing the last two games for UK. In the end, Kentucky fell 75-73.

Let’s talk about it a little bit more.

For starters, this was the fourth consecutive game where Kentucky fell into a double-digit first-half deficit. While the ‘Cats did come back to win a pair of those four, the two that came on the road ultimately resulted in losses. Chalk it up to the lack of continuity in the backcourt, but having to fight out of these early holes has proven to take a lot of energy that would be better suited for the end of the game. Granted, Kentucky managed to overcome a 15-2 gap in the opening minutes against Arkansas and make it a very tight game in the second half, but a potential national contender can’t regularly go down by double-figures before 10 minutes can run off the clock.

Back to Washington and Wheeler, the point guard duo looked a bit rusty early on, but eventually hit a bit of a groove as the second half rolled along. The two combined for 24 points and eight assists, although on a rough shooting clip of 8-25. The more glaring issue was the total lack of involvement from Davion Mintz and Kellan Grady, who both took a step back after playing mostly on the ball the last couple of games. Mintz and Grady combined for just three points on 1-5 collective shooting. Additionally, Jacob Toppin did not look like the potential star fans have seen as of late. The high-flying junior finished with a mere two points in 12 minutes of play.

But for everything that didn’t go in Kentucky’s favor, it didn’t have to worry about Oscar Tshiebwe playing like a machine. The National Player of the Year candidate boosted his case once again, playing arguably his best outing of the season against Arkansas. The 6-foot-9 center dropped 30 points, 18 rebounds, and three blocks on 13-21 shooting as he was borderline unstoppable in the paint against the Razorback frontcourt. The majority of Tshiebwe’s production came right at the rim, too. Arkansas knew it had no answer for him, either, and elected to make someone else beat them. Unfortunately for UK, no one else aside from Tshiebwe (and a few good moments from Keion Brooks Jr.) stepped up to lead the charge.

Enjoy what’s Big O is doing while he’s here. It’s something we might never see again. Now let’s dive into the postgame links and interviews.

Postgame links

• Oscar Tshiebwe’s 30 points not enough, Kentucky falls to Arkansas 75-73
• KSR’s top takeaways from Kentucky’s 75-73 loss at Arkansas
• Arkansas rides best players to huge home victory over Kentucky
• At least TyTy Washington and Sahvir Wheeler got to knock the rust off
• Oscar Tshiebwe makes another case for National Player of the Year award
• John Calipari explains three costly possessions down the stretch
• Kentucky might have perimeter defense issues after another big performance
• Another slow start plagues Kentucky down the stretch
• Kentucky’s SEC Tournament scenarios following loss to Arkansas
• Postgame notes and stats from Kentucky’s 75-73 loss at Arkansas
• Sources Say: Kentucky comes up short at Arkansas, SEC race up in the air

John Calipari

Oscar Tshiebwe

Sahvir Wheeler

Arkansas fan moons Big O

The headline here is exactly how it reads: an Arkansas fan decided to expose his bare ass in order to prevent Oscar Tshiebwe from making a free throw — and it worked.

Bud Walton….it'll get ya.

😆 🤣 #Kentucky #Arkansas pic.twitter.com/ZP6nbNZ03v

— Jason Ritch (@BigJRitch) February 26, 2022

You could start howling at that thing.

Abby Steiner is Kentucky’s next GOAT

The Kentucky Track and Field program continues to pump out some of the world’s best athletes.

The latest is former soccer star turned elite sprinter, senior Abby Steiner. The Wildcat superstar destroyed the American indoor 200-meter record on Saturday as she won her third Southeastern Conference gold in a row in the event as a result. Steiner produced a time of 22.09, which is the second-fastest in the indoor 200m ever, just behind Jamaican Merlene Ottey’s 21.87 indoor world record.

It’s every weekend now that Steiner is setting some sort of record.

Bat Cats looking for series sweep

The Kentucky bats have produced 27 runs through its first two wins of the weekend series against Western Michigan, including a tight 13-12 victory over the Broncos on Saturday afternoon. The undefeated ‘Cats will look to sweep WMU later on Sunday when the team takes the diamond at Kentucky Proud Park once again.

If you missed recaps from the first two victories, Eric Decker has covered right here for Friday and here for Saturday. Sunday’s first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. EST.