Lance Ware brought needed energy to Kentucky, but didn't play down the stretch

Only one Kentucky men’s basketball player finished with a positive plus-minus on Saturday night: junior forward Lance Ware. In his 14 minutes played, Ware finished with a +8 in that category. The player he was ultimately benched for in the second half, senior forward Jacob Toppin, finished with a team-worst -16.

Yes, it was only a one-game sample size, but it was wholly indicative of how the Wildcats stumbled down the stretch against No. 16 UCLA. Kentucky head coach John Calipari elected to roll with a struggling Toppin in the final 13 minutes instead of Ware, who was one of two Wildcats (the other being freshman Chris Livingston) that injected any semblance of energy into his team.

The only time Kentucky made a legitimate run at the Bruins in Madison Square Garden was when Ware was on the floor. When he first entered the game at the 6:28 mark of the first half, UK trailed by 13 (the largest deficit of the entire night). He would play the remainder of the half as Kentucky was able to trim into the UCLA lead, trailing by just eight at the half.

Ware’s impact on the game was even more damning in the second half — on both ends of the court. He received the start out of the intermission, suiting up alongside Oscar Tshiebwe at the “4”. The 6-foot-9 backup big man was suddenly a key piece for the ‘Cats after being nowhere to be found in the rotation the last few weeks. With Ware’s help, Kentucky was right back in the action, tying the score multiple times during his time on the floor.

After not playing next to each other all season long, the Ware/Tshiebwe frontcourt pairing was keeping Kentucky in the game.

“With me and Oscar both in the game, it’s hard for teams to rebound the ball,” Ware said postgame. “If that’s going to be a thing, probably find some offensive sets that way we can still get some baskets. I like it though, it was cool being out there with Oscar.”

Feels weird to say because the basketball has been so horrendous, but Lance Ware is working at the four alongside Oscar.

— Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) December 18, 2022

However, Ware picked up a foul (his only one of the game) at the 12:19 mark of the second half. Calipari replaced him with Toppin for the rest of the night. At the time, Kentucky was down just five. When the final buzzer sounded, UK lost by 10 with Toppin shooting 2-6 from the field during that stretch.

“I thought we needed a basket or two to get up to do something,” Calipari explained afterward.

Ware’s night came to a close with him posting two points, five rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 14 minutes of action.