KSR's top takeaways from Kentucky's 86-76 road win at South Carolina
Make that five straight wins — three being on the road — for Kentucky, as the Wildcats managed to take down the South Carolina Gamecocks by a final score of 86-76 in Columbia. It was a win that pushed UK’s record to 20-4 on the year and 9-2 in conference play, holding firm at No. 2 in the SEC.
How did the victory come together? And what does it mean for the Wildcats as they look ahead to their matchup against Florida on Saturday?
Jacob Toppin starts strong, but suffers ankle injury
When South Carolina cut Kentucky’s lead to just four with four minutes remaining in the first half, Jacob Toppin scored eight straight points for the Wildcats in the first half to push the team’s lead to 11 points with 2:21 to go. Just two possessions later, the junior forward turned his ankle and was helped off the floor and back to the locker room. He was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game.
His injury marked yet another ankle issue for the Wildcats this season, Toppin’s second of the year to go with the likes of TyTy Washington, Oscar Tshiebwe and Sahvir Wheeler at various points.
Toppin finished with 10 points (4-5 FG) and three rebounds in six first-half minutes for the Wildcats.
What is his status moving forward? John Calipari was unable to provide an update after the game, but Keion Brooks Jr. said Toppin appears to be “fine.”
“I got back to the locker room after the game, it seems like he’s good, he’s in good spirits,” Brooks said. “He’s gonna be fine. Just need him to take some time to get well because we really need him.”
Keion Brooks Jr. is playing the best basketball of his career
After two and a half seasons in Lexington, Keion Brooks Jr. has finally broken through as a Wildcat. He opened his junior campaign with eight double-digit scoring performances in the team’s first 18 games. Since then, though, Brooks is averaging 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting 53 percent from the field (31/59) during Kentucky’s five-game winning streak.
This evening, Brooks finished with 15 points on 6-9 shooting and 3-4 from the line to go with a season-high nine rebounds and five assists in 32 minutes. He played within himself offensively, was engaged defensively and attacked the glass on both ends. While he’s had more productive shooting nights — he scored a career-high 27 points at Kansas — it may have been Brooks’ best all-around performance of the year.
It’s no shock that Brooks is playing the best basketball of his career during a five-game winning streak for the Wildcats. His continued growth is a game-changer for this team as it looks ahead to postseason play.
A casual 18 and 14 for Oscar Tshiebwe
Kentucky’s double-double machine jumped out to a slow start in Columbia, finishing with just six points and two rebounds in 11 first-half minutes. It appeared his streak of double-doubles would end at five games.
Thing is, Oscar Tshiebwe is not human. As made clear from day one, the 6-foot-9 center is a machine, and he proved that yet again in the second half. In 19 second-half minutes against the Gamecocks, Tshiebwe racked up 12 points and 12 rebounds to finish with a game-high 18 points (9-12 FG), 14 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the win.
His 18-14-3-2 performance marks his 18th — yes, 18th — double-double on the year and moves his season averages to 15.9 points and 15.1 rebounds per contest. That, my friends, is #OscarWorthy.
Sahvir Wheeler with an up-and-down performance
On one end, Sahvir Wheeler finished with four points, 11 assists, four rebounds and one steal in 37 minutes. On the other, he failed to make a shot for a third consecutive game, with the junior guard now 0-17 in that span. He also added five turnovers, his most since January 19 when he finished with eight at Texas A&M.
At his best, he’s a brilliant playmaker and tenacious defender. When he struggles, though, things get sloppy and quick runs are common for the opposition.
When you have a player of Wheeler’s caliber — he’s now averaging 7.23 assists per game, good for No. 1 among Power 5 players — you have to take a little bad with a lot of good.
“He impacts the game,” Calipari said after the win. “The good news is, if he’s struggling or he needs to come out, we’re fine. How many point guards impact the game the way he does? Not many in this country.”
Six Wildcats finish in double figures
What makes this Kentucky team so dangerous? It doesn’t have to rely on one or two players to carry the offensive workload on any given night. You can’t just shut down UK’s stars and expect to win.
Instead, Kentucky’s entire core rotation is capable of going off, with tonight being a prime example. Of the team’s starters, four of five players finished in double figures, with Oscar Tshiebwe scoring 18, Brooks adding 15, TyTy Washington finishing with 14 and Kellan Grady putting up 12. From there, UK’s two top bench pieces, Jacob Toppin and Davion Mintz, each added 10 points, giving the Wildcats six double-digit scorers.
It’s an all-around scoring attack that makes Kentucky absolutely lethal offensively, as shown by tonight’s 86-point performance, with the team shooting 56.7 percent overall and 40 percent from three.
Kentucky outrebounded for a third consecutive game
Entering the game ranked No. 2 in rebound margin and No. 8 in total rebounds per game, Kentucky has firmly established itself as one of the top rebounding teams in all of college basketball. Still, though, the Wildcats were outrebounded in each of their last two games, losing the battle on the glass 47-44 at Alabama and 37-30 vs. Vanderbilt.
That streak unfortunately continued in Columbia, with South Carolina outrebounding Kentucky 41-40 in the loss. More specifically, the Gamecocks dominated on the offensive glass, finishing with 22 offensive boards compared to just eight for the Wildcats.
Fortunately for UK, though, USC scored just 17 points on second-chance opportunities compared to 13 for the Wildcats. South Carolina won on the glass, but it didn’t capitalize.
Let’s just leave this right here…
Following Kentucky’s win at South Carolina, the Wildcats have officially moved up to one-seed territory in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology update over at ESPN.
Kentucky joins Gonzaga, Auburn and Purdue at the top of the college basketball world.
Elsewhere, UK is now rated No. 3 overall in the latest KenPom rankings, boasting the No. 4 offense and No. 13 defense in the nation. The Wildcats are also ranked No. 4 in the NET and BPI.
I like my team.
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