Oscar Tshiebwe set a new Kentucky record for rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game

Oscar Tshiebwe set another record.

This time, Kentucky’s two-time All-American etched his name into the Kentucky Basketball history book for his 25-rebound effort in the first-round win over Providence in Greensboro–the most by a Wildcat in a single game in the Big Dance. Jerry Bird held the record at 24 rebounds in Kentucky’s 89-77 win over Iowa in the 1956 NCAA Tournament.

Against Providence, Tshiebwe had 11 offensive rebounds and 14 defensive rebounds for a double-digit rebounding game on both ends of the court against his old teammate Bryce Hopkins and the Friars. His rebounding helped Kentucky score 18 second-chance points to Providence’s two in the game, a big reason Kentucky is moving on.

Not just a Kentucky milestone, it was the NCAA Tournament’s highest-rebounding game since 1977.

Reactions to Tshiebwe on the glass

In the postgame press conference after the game, Tshiebwe’s current teammate, Jacob Toppin, picked up the box score from the game and said aloud, “Oscar had 25 rebounds. That’s insane.”

CJ Fredrick added in his radio interview, “That’s crazy.”

John Calipari wondered, “Like, I don’t know how many times that’s been done in the NCAA Tournament. Do you guys know?” When someone told him 1977, he replied, “That can’t be right. You know, that’s how old — when I watched The Waltons, that’s how old that is, so it’s about that old. I would tell you that he did something that hadn’t been done for 50 years. And he is the greatest kid.”

Tshiebwe’s night was a talking point in the Providence press conference, too. His opponent, Ed Croswell, said, “I mean, he just gets the ball, man. He is a world-class rebounder. You know, you have to box that guy out. Two, three people. You know, he really displayed his dominance on the board today.”

Ed Cooley said Tshiebwe has “it.”

“Sometimes you just have an ‘it,’ ala Dennis Rodman, Ben Wallace. Those guys just have an ‘it; for it. Some guys have an “it” to score. Some people have an “it” to pass. He has an incredible ‘it’; an elite ‘it’ to rebound.”