Oscar Tshiebwe deserved better

As the buzzer sounded and Kentucky’s nightmare officially became a reality, Oscar Tshiebwe finally crumbled. Try as he might, the giant who kept the Cats alive vs. Saint Peter’s with 30 points and 16 rebounds couldn’t save them from an epically bad performance from their shooters. TyTy Washington, Kellan Grady, and Davion Mintz combined for 6-26 from the floor, 3-12 from three. Even though he was covered up by Saint Peter’s players throughout the night, Oscar put the team on his back and became Kentucky’s only offense. In the second half, he scored 14 of Kentucky’s 34 points. In overtime, he had four of the team’s eight. Sadly, it was not enough to save the Cats from the stunning 85-79 upset.

As the teams lined up for the handshake line, Oscar doubled over with emotion. Lance Ware came over to console him.

Oscar Tshiebwe is sobbing on Kentucky’s sideline. I hate this, but most of all for him. pic.twitter.com/Iv3C5iWryc

— Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) March 18, 2022

“It is sad because I’ve been wanting this moment for a long time,” Oscar said afterward. “I’m a junior and this is three years in college and this is my first March Madness. I even told my teammates, this is not going to be easy for us. If we don’t — if we are not willing to fight, any team in March Madness, they make it for a reason. So we’ve got to be locked in. We’ve got to be ready to go.

“So I think everybody tried and did the best they could. I did the best I could. It just happens sometimes like that. But one thing I’m going to say, we are just going to stay together and just trust the process. Losing and winning is part of the game. And I don’t know, just to stay together.”

Oscar undecided on future

This doesn’t have to be the end of Oscar’s story in Lexington. When asked if he will return to Kentucky for another season — aided by what would likely be a gazillion dollars of NIL money — he shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know yet. I don’t know. That’s a decision I’m going to talk with Coach [about]. I don’t know yet.”

John Calipari also said he will sit down with Oscar in the coming days to talk about his future. So far, he hasn’t had a chance to reflect on what the big man has meant to this team and program.

“I just saw 30 [points] and 16 [rebounds], and they had five guys playing him. He’s done something that hadn’t been done in a long time, and he made everybody better.”

And he deserved better than this.