Kentucky basketball makes history with win over Kansas
The No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats flexed their muscles before a nationally televised audience on Saturday, throttling the No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks 82-60 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. The pummeling of the Jayhawks was Kentucky’s largest road win against a top 5 team in school history, according to On3’s Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio.
Keion Brooks poured in 27 points for Kentucky in the big win, which drew rave reviews from many members of the national media, such as college basketball experts Jeff Goodman and Jon Rothstein.
It was an announcement to the college basketball world that the Wildcats are legitimate national title contenders. Timing is everything in March Madness, but if Kentucky can find a way to play the way they did against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament, they’ll be tough to beat.
Wildcats’ center Oscar Tshiebwe continues to play like the National Player of the Year. At this point, it’s hard to imagine anyone catching him. Ranked as a top 25 overall prospect in the 2019 cycle according to the On3 Consensus, the freakish center continues to dominate in the 2021-2022 season. He continues to show why so many scouts and coaches were enamored with his limitless potential coming out of high school.
The 6-foot-10 center once again stuffed the stat sheet on Saturday against the Kansas Jayhawks, pouring in 17 points and corralling 14 rebounds, six more boards than any other player on the court.
He currently leads the country in: double doubles, rebounds per game, offensive rebounds per game, and defensive rebound percentage. That’s just a small dose of the incredible stats he’s put up this season.
Oscar Tshiebwe dominates glass against Kansas
In a moment that exemplified how hard Kentucky played against Kansas, Tshiebwe picked up two offensive rebounds around multiple Jayhawk defenders under the basket. Tshiebwe’s effort pushed Kentucky’s lead to 24 points, as the Wildcats improved to 16-4 on the season while handing Kansas their third loss.
Check out the rebounding effort by Tshiebwe below.
The Wildcats shot a full 10 percent better from the field than Kansas did, and outrebounded the Jayhawks by 12. The largest lead of the game for Kentucky was 24 points after Tshiebwe’s huge possession.
Bill Self on Kentucky
After a game filled with frustration from Self, even the Kansas coach couldn’t help but be impressed with Kentucky’s play in their marquee matchup. Coming into the game, Kansas had only lost two games all season, and were ranked No. 4 in the nation ahead of Kentucky at No. 12.
“That was a great basketball team we played tonight,” Self said after the game. “That team that we played tonight could win it all.”
Although there is plenty of time to correct what happened to the Jayhawks before the NCAA Tournament, Saturday’s game will be pointed to as a resume game for both schools. The loss was only the 16th time Self has lost at Allen Fieldhouse, making his career record at home with Kansas 286-16.
On3’s Austin Brezina also contributed to this story.