KSR's takeaways from Kentucky's blowout win over Western Kentucky

It wasn’t against Louisville, but it was still an impressive blowout win for the Kentucky Wildcats against Western Kentucky on Wednesday, coming out on top by a final score of 95-60.

How did the victory come to fruition? Check out some of KSR’s top takeaways:

Oscar Tshiebwe sets the Rupp Arena rebounding record

Another day, another shattered record for Oscar Tshiebwe — and this was a big one.

Finishing with 28 rebounds in the win, the Kentucky center broke the Rupp Arena record for most boards in a single game. The previous record was held by none other than Shaquille O’Neal, who had 21 boards back on 2/15/1990.

For those keeping track at home, Western Kentucky finished with 27 rebounds as a team. One player outrebounded an entire Division I team in 34 minutes.

He didn’t just dominate on the glass, either. Tshiebwe also added 14 points (6-12 FG, 2-2 FT), three steals and a block in the blowout win.

Kellan Grady explodes from deep

For the first time this season, Kellan Grady has back-to-back double-figure scoring performances, this time finishing with a team-high 23 points on 7-10 shooting and 6-9 from three.

After putting up 18 points on 6-8 shooting and 5-7 from three against North Carolina, Grady continued his stretch of hot shooting, taking aggressive shots from deep and knocking them down with efficiency.

It was Grady’s fifth game with at least three makes from three, third with at least four makes and second with at least five makes.

A quiet 20-point performance for TyTy Washington

Coming in with a wrist injury on his right shooting hand, TyTy Washington was available and willing to play, but his effectiveness was up in the air. He’d help run the show, but how aggressive would he be with his shot? How limited would he be?

Washington didn’t skip a beat, finishing with 20 points on 9-13 shooting and 2-5 from three to go with six assists and two rebounds in 35 minutes.

Sahvir Wheeler wasn’t a world-beater, finishing with six points, eight assists and four turnovers. He struggled with foul trouble, as well, which limited him to 24 minutes on the night. With Grady and Washington playing the way they did, though, Kentucky didn’t need a superstar performance out of Wheeler.

Washington continues to quietly put together a phenomenal freshman campaign at Kentucky. He’s now averaging 13.9 points on 49.2% shooting and 38% from three to go with 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest.

That’ll do.

Jacob Toppin is a human highlight reel

It started with a ridiculous putback slam. Then he cut down the lane for a couple of monster slams in traffic. And then he had his 360-degree spin at the rim for a nifty finish off the glass.

Every game it’s something new, a unique role of human highlight reel he has seemingly embraced. It was a role that allowed him to finish with a smooth 12 points on 5-9 shooting and 2-3 from the line. He also proved he can be more than an athlete, finishing with six assists, three rebounds and one steal in the win.

Kentucky doesn’t need Toppin to be a star, but if he can continue to do what he did tonight off the bench, the Wildcats are in good shape going into SEC play.

Jamarion Sharp flirts with a triple-double

Western Kentucky had some individual standouts, but 7-foot-5 center Jamarion Sharp was a clear difference-maker for the Hilltoppers, flirting with a triple-double in the loss.

Limited to 24 minutes due to injury, Sharp still managed to add eight points (3-4 FG, 2-3 FT), six rebounds and seven blocks, swatting shot after shot down low.

In a 35-point loss, Sharp’s all-around performance should still be pointed out. He came into tonight’s game leading the country in blocked shots, and he’ll continue to hold that top spot moving forward.

A halftime show that made no sense

Now to get something off my chest that has nothing to do with the game. To celebrate the holiday season, the UK Athletics entertainment crew played a game of musical chairs around a Christmas tree at halftime, where contestants were instructed to rush to the basket and score a layup each time the music stopped. One after the other, contestants were knocked out until a final ‘winner’ was declared.

The first loser earned a $200 gift card from Malone’s. Pretty sweet, right? Loser No. 2 then took home a jersey of his choice from a former UK player in the NBA. Awesome stuff, he gladly kept it. The third loser? A punishment of wearing a Grinch costume in the stands the entire second half. Huh?

Then we get to the final two, riveting stuff. Second place is a girl who receives an exclusive Tubby Smith bobblehead and tickets to Kentucky’s game vs. High Point next week. Given the choice to steal one of the other prizes, she keeps hers — hard to argue with the decision.

And then we get to the winner. Clearly a must-have gift ahead of Christmas, right? No, the dude has the honor of wearing a Buddy the Elf costume the rest of the second half and had to sing Santa Claus is Coming To Town when he was put on the jumbotron later in the game. 1st and 3rd place receive punishments, while 2nd, 4th and 5th get awesome gifts.

None of it made sense. None. Clear as mud.

Kentucky raises $4,622,057 for tornado relief

The first part of the halftime show was a nightmare, but it finished strong with an announcement that UK Athletics helped raise a total of $4.6 million for tornado relief.

Tonight’s game alone added $100,000 to that total, a phenomenal achievement for a game that was scheduled just 48 hours ago.

A feel-good moment for an area of the state that desperately needed one around the holidays. Tip of the cap to UK Athletics for making it happen.