KSR's takeaways from Kentucky's impressive win over Georgia

Kentucky got back in the win column with an impressive 15-point victory over Georgia at home, taking down the Bulldogs by a final score of 92-77.

The Wildcats finished the game shooting 57.1 percent overall, 40 percent from three and 85.7 percent from the line, a standout offensive performance just four days after going cold at LSU.

How did it all come together? And what does it mean for the Wildcats as they look ahead to their matchup at Vanderbilt on Tuesday?

TyTy Washington makes up for playmaking with Sahvir Wheeler out

Sahvir Wheeler’s value on the floor is clear at this point. With the junior point guard out, Kentucky’s offense sputters, specifically in terms of dribble separation and shot creation. That was made clear at LSU, with those struggles magnified when TyTy Washington went down with cramps midway through the second half.

With Wheeler out vs. Georgia, UK’s offense struggled to get rolling and team defense was poor to open the game. When Washington finally settled in, though, he more than made up for the absence, finishing with 17 points (8-13 FG), 17 assists, five rebounds, two steals and just two turnovers.

As a distributor, Washington was nearly perfect, finding easy and open looks for his teammates on the perimeter and inside. It was a record-breaking performance, topping the previous single-game high set by John Wall (16 vs. Hartford in 2009).

He was just as brilliant as a scorer, finishing with ease at the rim and knocking down mid-range jumpers from start to finish. The freshman guard makes it all look easy, plain and simple.

Silent assassin.

Oscar Tshiebwe scores a career-high 29 points

Washington’s assists had to go to someone, right? That player was Oscar Tshiebwe, who finished with a career-high 29 points on 13-21 shooting and 3-4 from the line to go with 17 rebounds, two blocks, one assist and one steal in 38 minutes.

As he’s been all season long, the 6-foot-9 center was unstoppable in the post and continued to get his mid-range jumper to fall. With Georgia limited on size, Tshiebwe took advantage once again on both ends with an absurd 29-point, 17-rebound performance.

His game log continues to be absurd for the Wildcats:

• 17 points and 20 rebounds vs. Duke
• 14 points and 20 rebounds vs. Robert Morris
• 24 points and 16 rebounds vs. Mount St. Mary’s
• 0 points and 10 rebounds vs. Ohio
• 12 points and 14 rebounds vs. Albany
• 12 points and 16 rebounds vs. North Florida
• 20 points and 16 rebounds vs. Central Michigan
• 23 points and 11 rebounds vs. Southern U
• 25 points and 7 rebounds at Notre Dame
• 16 points and 12 rebounds vs. North Carolina
• 14 points and 28 rebounds vs. Western Kentucky
• 13 points and 20 rebounds vs. Missouri
• 8 points and 13 rebounds at LSU
• 29 points and 17 rebounds vs. Georgia

It’s clear he’s in the conversation for National Player of the Year at this point.

Davion Mintz finally explodes

Mintz appears to have turned the corner, scoring in double figures for a third consecutive game for the Wildcats. This time, it was a season-high 19 points for the sixth-year senior, knocking down seven of ten attempts overall and five of seven from three.

He finished with 16 points at LSU and 10 points against High Point.

“Finally, right? It felt amazing,” Mintz said. “It had to pay off, I’ve been working my tail off. Every day, every night getting extra shots. I’m just working tirelessly.”

Leading up to his three-game 10-plus-point scoring stretch, Mintz finished in double figures just twice in nine games. Now, the shots are falling for the standout guard — not a minute too soon.

Bizarre makeshift lineups

With Wheeler out, John Calipari rolled out a starting lineup of TyTy Washington, Kellan Grady, Jacob Toppin, Keion Brooks Jr. and Oscar Tshiebwe. From there, we saw various stints of Bryce Hopkins at the three, joining a combination of Brooks or Toppin and Tshiebwe on the floor.

Lineups that included any combination of three guards — Washington, Grady and Davion Mintz being the core options — were non-existent in the first half. Dontaie Allen played one minute in the first half with zero shooting attempts, his only time on the floor.

After the game, Calipari said he actually liked what he saw with Toppin and Brooks on the floor together with Tshiebwe, but expected more on defense.

“I would’ve expected us to be better defensively, more active,” Calipari said.

Coming out of the break, Calipari went with a three-guard lineup of Washington, Mintz and Grady to go with Brooks and Tshiebwe on the floor. Kentucky jumped out to a quick start and never looked back, shooting 62.9 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three in the second half.

Kentucky plays at its best with spacing and shot-makers on the floor, a night-and-day difference that was evident again this evening. You had it in the second half, didn’t in the first.