KSR's top takeaways from Kentucky's blowout win over Florida

Kentucky has secured its sixth straight win, including five straight in the SEC, taking down the Florida Gators by a final score of 78-57. It was a victory that pushed UK’s record to 21-4 on the year and 10-2 in conference play, sitting tight 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 at Tennessee on Tuesday?

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TyTy Washington suffers left leg injury

The injury bug bit the Wildcats yet again, as TyTy Washington suffered a lower left leg injury with 12:50 to go in the second half. Florida’s Brandon McKissic dove for a loose ball and rolled into the freshman guard’s leg, with Washington hopping off the floor and back to the locker room in clear pain.

Initial reactions admittedly weren’t positive. Washington was visibly upset and frustrated as he fought his way off the floor. Video replays appeared to show a knee injury, potentially a significant one.

When the dust settled on the win, though, John Calipari shared good news, announcing that Washington likely avoided a serious injury. Initial x-rays seemed to indicate as much, at least.

“It’s his left lower leg,” Calipari said. “I went in to see him and said, ‘Are you alright?’ I said, ‘Don’t tell me you’re like Jacob [Toppin] and going to be carried out on a stretcher.’ He laughed. Whether he’ll be able to play, it’ll be day-to-day but it’s his lower leg. … There was an X-ray. So yeah, if it looked like something was there, I’d be like, ‘wow.’ He still might be out a week or two. He got hit hard.”

Prior to the injury, Washington scored 10 points on 4-13 shooting and 2-7 from three to go with six assists, five rebounds and a steal in 26 minutes.

Oscar Tshiebwe is the runaway favorite for NPOY

“Oscar Tshiebwe, I think he’s the leading candidate for National Player of the Year,” ESPN’s Jay Bilas said on College GameDay Saturday morning.

Just a few hours later, Kentucky’s star center came out and led the Wildcats with 27 points on 11-18 shooting and 5-6 from the line to go with 19 rebounds, three steals and two assists in the win. It marked his 19th double-double on the year and his tenth consecutive game with at least ten rebounds. That’s the most by a Kentucky player since Dan Issel accomplished the feat twice in 1967-68.

On the year, Tshiebwe is now averaging a team-high 16.4 points, 15.3 rebounds and 1.96 steals per game while shooting 60.2 percent from the field and 70 percent from the line. Not too shabby.

The 6-foot-9 center has been named to the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Team, Lute Olson Watch List and the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Watch List, making him a contender for the prestigious awards by definition. If you watch the games, though, it’s impossible to find a player making a greater impact for his team in all of college basketball.

It’s clear Tshiebwe is not only a contender, but the runaway favorite. He proved that again in Kentucky’s win over Florida.

Sahvir Wheeler makes a clear impact

Nine points, six assists and three rebounds is a fine stat line, but nothing otherworldly on the surface. In Sahvir Wheeler’s case, though, it’s clear that his on-court impact is invaluable for this Kentucky team. That was reflected in his final +/-, finishing with a team-high plus-30 in 27 minutes.

Wheeler made his first field goal since Kentucky’s win over Kansas two weeks ago, finishing with a 4-7 shooting clip overall and 1-2 from three. He also had zero turnovers, just the second time he’s accomplished that feat this season (zero vs. Robert Morris on November 12). His greatest impact, though, came as a pace-setter, controlling the game in transition and setting his teammates for open looks.

The difference with Wheeler on vs. off the floor was evident in the first half when the 5-foot-9 point guard earned two quick fouls, the second coming with 13:32 to go. Forced to sit the majority of the half — he came back in for ten seconds at the 8:28 mark — Kentucky’s 14-point lead shrunk to just one with 6:43 to go.

After returning to the lineup in the second half, Wheeler helped push Kentucky back to a double-digit lead less than three minutes in and coasted to the finish line for a 21-point win. He was a clear game-changer on both ends of the floor for the Wildcats.

How about Lance Ware?

Emerging as Kentucky’s enforcer off the bench, Lance Ware finished with a solid four points on 2-3 shooting and seven rebounds in the team’s blowout win. With a couple of nice buckets and even more strong boards, he filled in nicely for Tshiebwe when he needed a breather, and then even more so when Washington went down and Calipari rolled out a temporary two-big lineup.

His biggest highlight, though, came on a foul on the sideline that resulted in a minor scuffle between both teams. Florida’s Phlandrous Fleming Jr. went out of his way to make contact with Ware after the whistle, sparking a not-so-friendly back-and-forth with the Kentucky big man at the center of it all.

He’s a player that has made it clear he has your back when the situation calls for it, something his teammates certainly appreciate.

“Lance changed the game just with his energy,” Wheeler said after the game. “… Going against Oscar is tough, but we also have Lance, someone like that fierce competitor who’s physical and aggressive also coming at you like that. It’s pretty hard to deal with and he took his moments, and he made the best of it.”

Ware is never flashy, but he’s the perfect complementary piece to Tshiebwe in the frontcourt. After all, there’s a reason Calipari mentions his name almost every time a microphone is in front of his face.

Kentucky gets back to its dominant ways on the glass

After being outrebounded in three consecutive games at Alabama (47-44), vs. Vanderbilt (37-30) and at South Carolina (41-40), Kentucky returned to form on the glass vs. Florida, outrebounding the Gators 41-25 in the win.

A key reason for that plus-16 margin? You guessed it, Big O in the middle, who pulled down 19 boards by himself. More specifically, he secured ten offensive rebounds, doubling Florida’s production in that area (five offensive boards).

Kentucky entered the day ranked No. 1 in the country in rebounding margin at plus-10 (41.2 secured rebounds per game vs. 30.5 allowed rebounds per game). Today’s numbers certainly kept the Wildcats on top.

Colin Castleton is a solid player

Kentucky had one real thorn in its side from start to finish, and he goes by the name of Colin Castleton. The standout Florida forward finished with a team-high 18 points on 8-12 shooting to go with seven rebounds in 30 minutes.

Castleton was comfortable in the mid-range and converted on some tough baskets inside, finishing the day as Florida’s lone double-digit scorer. He did, however, add four turnovers and committed three fouls in the loss.

There was some slight chatter early in the year debating Castleton’s production vs. Tshiebwe’s among top big men in the SEC — Auburn’s Walker Kessler has since joined this conversation, as well — but Kentucky’s anchor in the middle again proved why he’s not only the best in the conference, but all of college basketball.