Oscar Tshiebwe: Not having TyTy Washington was 'big thing' for Kentucky
Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe knows that the Wildcats were playing at a disadvantage in Saturday’s loss at Auburn, given a first-half injury that sidelined TyTy Washington for the rest of the contest.
Washington, who is averaging 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists in his freshman season at Kentucky — all while maintaining a 50.5 field-goal percentage — played just nine minutes in Saturday’s 80-71 loss, scoring four points on 2-of-4 shooting before the Wildcats were dealt a tough hand. Washington appeared to land awkwardly on Tshiebwe’s foot, forcing his ankle to twist uncomfortably, and needed the help of two trainers to walk off the court. He entered the locker room shortly thereafter and was declared out for the rest of the game.
“Missing TyTy was a big, big thing for us,” Tshiebwe said. “I think that really hurt us a little bit. I think we had a chance to still win the game even without him. We just gave up some easy buckets.”
Kentucky certainly had a chance to win the game without Washington; the Wildcats closed out the first half nicely, entering the locker room at halftime with a four-point lead, despite Washington not appearing in the entire latter half of the half. Tshiebwe finished with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, adding 14 rebounds, two steals and four blocks to his total — but he was far from satisfied with Auburn’s nine-point victory.
In fact, Tshiebwe wants another shot at Auburn, which will most likely find itself in the No. 1 spot of the next AP Poll on Monday. Why?
“Because I don’t think they’re better than us,” he said. “I think we’re going to beat them. I want to play them again.”
Kellan Grady sends message to Big Blue Nation following Auburn loss
Kentucky guard Kellan Grady isn’t concerned about the Wildcats’ 2021-22 season, despite falling 80-71 to Auburn on Saturday.
No. 2 Auburn (18-1, 10-0) may have just solidified the program’s first-ever AP No. 1 ranking with the win, as Bruce Pearl and the Tigers overcame a four-point halftime deficit en route to victory. No. 12 Kentucky (15-4, 5-2), on the other hand, was completely unable to stop Auburn’s offense in the second half, as the Tigers poured in 51 points and the Wildcats once again looked like a tale of two teams: there was the Kentucky team from last Saturday, which poured in 107 points and set several program records in an offensive clinic against Tennessee, and there was the Kentucky team from this Saturday, which flustered. None of that inconsistency seems to bother Grady, though, who believes the Wildcats’ future is bright.
“You don’t win a championship in January,” Grady said after the loss. “This obviously would have been a statement win, like the one vs. Tennessee. Disappointing but we’ve got to move on and see how we can get better.”
Grady turned in a couple season highs in the loss to Auburn. He played all 40 minutes on Saturday, a tally he had not reached in the 2021-22 season, and he dropped 17 points on 5-of-9 from the field, while adding two rebounds, one assist and two steals. Grady received extended minutes in part because the Wildcats were short with injuries; star guard TyTy Washington suffered an ankle injury in the first half, when he landed awkwardly on Oscar Tshiebwe, and he was declared out for the remainder of the game.
The fact that Kentucky kept it close without Washington, according to Grady, just “shows how good of a team we are.”
“Although we didn’t play well enough to win, I think we showed we’ve got a collective fight and grit,” Grady continued. “It’s about learning. Like I said, we want to be our best in March.”