Collin Chandler held up his end of the Three-Headed GOAT vs. Missouri

It had been a rough March so far for Collin Chandler. The sophomore guard scored just five points total in Kentucky’s losses to Texas A&M and Florida. He started to break through in Kentucky’s win over LSU in the first round of the SEC Tournament, but was just 1-5 from beyond the arc.

Today, Chandler finally found his shot, going 5-6 from the field, 2-3 from three-point range. His three-pointer with 6:55 to go pushed Kentucky’s lead to six. Missouri would come back to take the lead at the 2:34 mark, but it was good to see Chandler hit a big shot again. Denzel Aberdeen and Otega Oweh, the rest of the three-headed GOAT, fought off the Tigers, combining for Kentucky’s final 18 points. Oweh, Aberdeen, and Chandler were the only Cats to finish in double figures, responsible for 52 of Kentucky’s 78 points.

“Yeah, someone might call it a struggle offensively,” Chandler said afterward. “I think it’s been a great learning time this last week and a half for me. There are a few moments in the season where I feel like you’re learning a lot. So with scouting changing, I think it’s forced me or allowed me to get more creative and find different ways to impact the game.”

Chandler’s threes were big, but in the first half, he reminded everyone just how dangerous he can be in transition. He had a steal and a dunk in the first two minutes to give Kentucky a 5-3 lead. He had another dunk off a fastbreak three minutes later to push the lead to seven. He could have thrown down more, but picked up two quick fouls and sat most of the rest of the half.

“Early in the game, I was trying to get out in transition. Later in the game, it was finding my moments, finding my spots where I could impact the game in a positive way without forcing anything, doing what we do as a team.”

A fan called into this morning’s radio show with a theory that Chandler plays better in games in which he doesn’t wear an undershirt. We don’t have an official breakdown, but Chandler did wear an undershirt in Kentucky’s first game in Nashville and the loss at Texas A&M. Today, it was jersey only, which could have contributed to his performance. When asked, Chandler feigned ignorance.

“I don’t know about the whole undershirt thing,” he said, smiling.

Even if it’s not intentional, we better not see that undershirt tomorrow vs. Florida.

More postgame coverage is on the way on the KSR YouTube Channel. Subscribe today to see press conferences, interviews, Rapid Reaction, and more.