Sahvir Wheeler played off floor in loss to Notre Dame

Saturday night was not a good one for Kentucky point guard Sahvir Wheeler. In fact, it was easily his worst outing of the season through eight games. The Georgia transfer did not play a single second in the final 4:45 of the second half, watching from the bench as UK did its best to stay in the game.

Wheeler finished with just three points and two assists–both season-lows–on a 0-5 shooting clip from the floor in addition to two turnovers. Notre Dame, which ultimately won by a score of 66-62, did not even pretend to defend Wheeler when he was outside the three-point arc. The Fighting Irish dared the 22 percent outside shooter to knock down shots–and he did not.

To put it simply, Wheeler was played off the court against Notre Dame. His inability to initiate the offense effectively became apparent early in the night. The Fighting Irish gave him all the space he could ask for, but he had no idea how to advantage of it. Four of his five missed shots were jumpers from outside of the paint. Each time one went up, the Big Blue Nation groaned as the Notre Dame faithful licked its chops.

“Sahvir, we’ve gotta figure out now if this is how he gets played, what’s our answer?” UK head coach John Calipari said after the game. “And we were doing some stuff that I think will work for him. But some of this is you’re responsible for you. And so we’ll figure it out.”

Wheeler has always been at this best when he’s driving downhill with a full head of steam. He’s a career 25 percent three-point shooter and it doesn’t look to improve any time soon. Playmaking and getting to the rim is where he thrives. Notre Dame made it a point to take away both of those options for Wheeler, and all the Irish had to do was sag off a few feet.

“I think we did a great job of meeting him at 15-feet and he never got anything,” Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said postgame. “Our transition defense was fabulous tonight. And so now you’re playing underneath everything and you’re making him shoot instead of breaking us down.”

Notre Dame’s game plan worked to perfection, and Wheeler (along with Calipari) couldn’t find a way to break it down.