KSR Today: Granddad Grady saves the day, Chris Mack says goodbye
Good morning, and pass the caffeine, please. If the 9 p.m. tip wasn’t bad enough, the Cats kept us up extra late last night with a stressful 82-74 overtime win vs. Mississippi State. Kentucky was up 13 points at halftime and 16 at the 16:50 mark in the second half, but the Bulldogs refused to go away, mounting a 24-9 run to tie the score at 62 with 4:12 remaining.
Oscar Tshiebwe and Sahvir Wheeler both hit big shots in the final four minutes, but Iverson Molinar‘s two free throws forced overtime. From there, Kellan Grady took over. Granddad Grady scored eight of Kentucky’s ten points in overtime, including two huge threes to extend the lead to six with 1:13 remaining. Crisis averted.
Grady made only 2-8 from three in regulation — missing one right at the buzzer — but once overtime began, his clutch gene was activated. Seeing those big shots go down will only add to his confidence going forward, he said.
“It’s a rewarding feeling. We either went at me for a shot or for a scoring opportunity or we went at me to then post Oscar [Tshiebwe]. So just knowing that Coach Cal, the staff, and our team trusts me to be in those situations, whether it’s a passer or a shot-maker, gives you a little added confidence before you let it go. Just having that awareness that there’s that type of trust, I think today I showed that that trust is worthy.”
Once the win was secure, the creative minds behind the @KentuckyMBB social media accounts hit “post” on a hilarious video of Grady leaning into his “Granddad” role with Mitch Barnhart.
More of this content, please.
Another historic game for Oscar
The other main storyline was Oscar Tshiebwe, who finished with 21 points and 22 rebounds. It was the first 20-point, 20-rebound game at Kentucky in 46 years, dating back to January 1976 when Mike Phillips had 26 points and 28 rebounds in a win vs. Tennessee.
“They can stop me sometimes from scoring, but rebounding belongs to me,” Oscar said afterward. “You can’t stop me.”
Both Oscar and Jacob Toppin gave us a scare in the second half when they limped off the court with what appeared to be ankle injuries, but they eventually returned to action. Oscar said there’s nothing to worry about.
“I had a little bit of a twist. I went to re-tape and that’s why I left the court a little bit. Jacob (Toppin) had the same thing, but we good.”
For what it’s worth, Oscar thinks TyTy Washington will be good to go vs. Kansas as well. Wouldn’t that be nice? Lots of other stuff to cover from the game, including big minutes from Dontaie Allen (he must really hate Starkville) and no minutes for Shaedon Sharpe. We’ll be rolling out leftovers all morning, but here’s a rundown of our postgame coverage for a quick catch-up:
- Final Score Post
- Notable Stats, Analytics
- Injury Update
- John Calipari’s 800th career win
- Calipari quotes
- Kellan Grady hit big shots when Kentucky needed it the most
- Oscar Tshiebwe on his 21-point, 22-rebound performance
- Dontaie Allen puts on another quality performance against Mississippi State
- KSR’s Top Takeaways
Highlights
Box Score, Season Stats
Press Conferences
Updated SEC Standings
It was a wild night in the SEC. Thankfully, Kentucky ended up on the winning side of its game, but elsewhere in the league, Alabama was not so lucky. The Crimson Tide — who boasts wins over Gonzaga, Houston, Tennessee, Florida, and LSU — lost to Georgia, who was riding an eight-game losing streak. No. 1 Auburn narrowly avoided upset at Missouri thanks to some late-game heroics by KD Johnson. Have fun with that target on your back, Tigers.
Here are the conference standings. As you can see, Kentucky is firmly in second place.
| TEAM | CONFERENCE | GAMES BACK | OVERALL |
| Auburn | 8-0 | – | 19-1 |
| Kentucky | 6-2 | 2 | 16-4 |
| Texas A&M | 4-2 | 3 | 15-4 |
| Arkansas | 4-3 | 3.5 | 14-5 |
| Tennessee | 4-3 | 3.5 | 13-5 |
| Mississippi State | 4-3 | 3.5 | 13-6 |
| Alabama | 4-4 | 4 | 13-7 |
| LSU | 3-4 | 4.5 | 15-4 |
| Florida | 3-4 | 4.5 | 12-7 |
| South Carolina | 2-4 | 5 | 11-7 |
| Vanderbilt | 2-4 | 5 | 10-8 |
| Ole Miss | 2-5 | 5.5 | 10-9 |
| Missouri | 2-5 | 5.5 | 8-11 |
| Georgia | 1-6 | 6.5 | 6-14 |
Kentucky WBB snaps losing streak
Down in Auburn, the Kentucky Women’s Basketball team picked up a win it desperately needed. The Cats beat the Tigers 67-55 to snap a four-game losing streak. They did it without Dre’Una Edwards for the third game in a row (suspension) and Robyn Benton (ankle). Rhyne Howard had 29 points and 8 rebounds, making her first three shots and playing all but one minute of the game. Grant Grubbs has the rest of what you need to know in the recap and more on the way. Tomorrow, Kentucky WBB travels to Vanderbilt for an 8 p.m. ET showdown.
Bye, Bye, Chris Mack
The Chris Mack Era in Louisville is coming to an end. Last night, Seth Davis broke the news that Mack and Louisville are finalizing a separation agreement that will be voted on today at a joint meeting of the Board of Trustees and the UofL Athletic Association. Even before Davis’ report, the writing was on the wall. The Cards have lost five of their last six and No. 9 Duke is coming to town on Saturday. Assistant coach Mike Pegues will serve as interim coach while the search for a replacement takes place. Some of the names being thrown out include Bruce Pearl, Kenny Payne, Nate Oats, and Will Wade (lol).
The meeting to make it official starts at 4 p.m. but Mack and interim AD Josh Heird were scheduled to speak to the team at Minardi Hall a half-hour ago. We’ve got the popcorn popping.
Sydney McLaughlin on the cover of The Knot
Sydney McLaughlin isn’t just a two-time Olympic gold medalist that holds the current world record in the 400m hurdles. She’s also a bride-to-be. The former Kentucky track star got engaged to NFL wide receiver Andre Levrone Jr. in August 2021. She opened up on their relationship and upcoming nuptials in the Spring 2022 issue of The Knot.
If you missed it yesterday, McLaughlin came in second to Wan’Dale Robinson in the Herald-Leader’s Sports Figure of the Year voting. There’s a very good argument she should have been No. 1.
Speaking of fierce female Wildcats, shoutout to former KSR writer turned BBN Tonight superstar Maggie Davis for pointing out how dominant Kentucky’s women have been as of late.
You go, girls (Maggie included).
Anyone ever been to Lawrence, Kansas?
Now that the Mississippi State game is behind us, it’s time to focus on Kansas. I’ll be making my first trip to Lawrence this weekend to cover the game and knock The Phog off my bucket list. Who’s joining me? Also, if you’re familiar with the area, give me some recs. I like steak, large salads, and West Coast IPAs. Also, scenic 4-mile running trails. Not necessarily in that order.
College Basketball on TV
We covered last night’s results in the SEC. Nationally, No. 7 UCLA picked up a definitive 75-59 win over No. 3 Arizona, Paolo Banchero had to save No. 9 Duke from a loss to Clemson, and No. 24 Illinois beat No. 10 Michigan State without Kofi Cockburn and Andre Curbelo. It was a big night of hoops.
Here is tonight’s slate:
- 6:00 PM (ESPN2): Florida vs. No. 18 Tennessee
- 6:30 PM (CBSSN): No. 17 Providence vs. No. 21 Xavier
- 7:00 PM (ESPNU): Vanderbilt vs. South Carolina
- 7:00 PM (SECN): Arkansas vs. Ole Miss
- 8:00 PM (ESPN+): No. 23 Iowa State vs. Oklahoma State
- 8:30 PM (FS1): No. 22 Marquette vs. Seton Hall
- 8:30 PM (CBSSN): VCU vs. No. 25 Davidson – Go other Wildcats!
- 9:00 PM (SECN): Texas A&M vs. No. 19 LSU
That should be enough to get you started. Refill your coffee. Matt Jones and the crew will be on your radio or streaming devices one hour from now, or you can get a head start with Billy Rutledge and Shannon the Dude on the KSR Preshow.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard