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The Kentucky Wildcats were back in Rupp Arena on Tuesday night for a matchup against Mount St. Mary’s looking to improve to 2-1 on the season.
It was a quick start for Oscar Tshiebwe as he scored 10 of the first 16 points for the Cats who held a 16-13 lead with just under 12 minutes left in the first half.
MSM was able to hang around in this one as they went into the under 8 media timeout trailing 25-20.
This one remained close to the 4-minute mark as a layup by MSM cut the lead to 29-25 forcing Calipari to take a timeout.
However, down the stretch of the first half the Cats started to take over the game as they went into the locker room with a 38-27 lead.
The second half got off to a great start for the Cats as they scored back-to-back buckets to make it 42-27 and forcing MSM to call timeout just 43 seconds into the half.
Kentucky’s run went on to be an 18-0 run before it ended after a MSM three to make it a 51-30 game.
The Cats’ impressive play continued as they went into the under 12 media timeout with a 68-37 lead.
After that timeout, the offense went a little cold as they managed to just put up 4 points heading into the under 4 media timeout but held a 72-48 lead.
The offense remained cold the rest of the way, but it was the Cats that came away with the 80-55 win.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the game:
Running it back with these 5️⃣
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) November 16, 2021
⚪️ @KeionB_12
⚪️ @KellanGrady31
⚪️ @Oscartshiebwe34
⚪️ @tytywashington3
⚪️ @sahvir_ pic.twitter.com/RccnsCShXR
It seems college basketball coaches stopped wearing suits and as someone at this game in sweatpants I support it.
— Drew Franklin (@DrewFranklinKSR) November 17, 2021
Calipari has talked a lot about needing to work on Kentucky's post-up game. First possession, they get the ball to Oscar Tshiebwe in the post, who converts for a bucket.
— Jon Hale (@JonHale_CJ) November 17, 2021
Look out if Oscar Tshiebwe hits that jumper consistently. Calipari has been talking about how well Oscar shoots the ball.
— Shawn Smith (@gbbcountry) November 17, 2021
Thank God we have Oscar
— The Kentucky Logo (@TheKentuckyLogo) November 17, 2021
Two games straight a UK student hits the halfcourt shot? What are the odds?!
— Tod Lanter (@tod_lanterIII) November 17, 2021
TWO GAMES IN A ROW!!
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) November 17, 2021
Dylan King makes the half court shot to win $10,000!@Rupp_Arena x @centralbankKY pic.twitter.com/1bpwB2ZU9b
Keion Brooks has had three monster boards this evening, all completely due to effort and hustle. He controls his ceiling.
— Tres Terrell (@TerrellTres) November 17, 2021
TyTy Washington Jr. showing more flashes of that 5-star talent tonight. Nice hesitation move and finish there. Hits his first 3 of the season. 4-for-4 and 9 points so far.
— Ben Roberts (@BenRobertsHL) November 17, 2021
Calipari’s insistence on playing three bigs when we have 4 really good guards will never make sense to me
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) November 17, 2021
TyTy Washington
— TheCatsPause247 (@TheCatsPause247) November 17, 2021
The criticism of the defense is a little harsh imo. They've given up 27 points, 37% shooting, and have forced six TOs. Cal's teams don't force a lot of turnovers usually, we know that.
— Justin Rowland (@RowlandRIVALS) November 17, 2021
HALF: UK 38 | Mt. Saint. Mary’s 27
— Cats Coverage (@CatsCoverage_) November 17, 2021
Kentucky on an extended 13-0 run going back to the first half.
— TheCatsPause247 (@TheCatsPause247) November 17, 2021
That's another double-double for Oscar Tshiebwe: 16 points and 10 rebounds. More than 16 minutes left in the game.
— Ben Roberts (@BenRobertsHL) November 17, 2021
Oscar Tshiebwe is now the only player since Julius Randle to record a double-double in points and rebounds in their first three games to start the season. Randle went on to do it 7 straight games.
— Cats Coverage (@CatsCoverage_) November 17, 2021
This is terrific basketball
— BIG BLUE NATION #BBN (@UKBasketbalI) November 17, 2021
Oscar Tshiebwe and Sahvir Wheeler are just fun to watch.
— Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) November 17, 2021
Very assertive tonight. https://t.co/qUfx6G1fR4
— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) November 17, 2021
I have already decided. Oscar is my all time favorite player.
— Colton Covington (@C_Cov_) November 17, 2021
Sahvir Wheeler’s last 1.5 games: 20 assists, 1 turnover.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) November 17, 2021
Rebounds this season...
— Justin Rowland (@RowlandRIVALS) November 17, 2021
Oscar T - 55
Everybody else - 66
Raise your hand if you’re nervous for the person who bet $220K on Kentucky -24.5. ♀️
— Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) November 17, 2021
Overall solid performance from Kentucky on the hardwood, but 10 3pt attempts and 4 free throws does not seem like nearly enough.
— Adam Luckett (@AdamLuckettKSR) November 17, 2021
Big O. A menace.
— Aaron Gershon (@agershon99) November 17, 2021
How about walk-on Zan Payne making a degenerate gambler $200K with his late heroics? Cats by 25.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) November 17, 2021
JUST covered.
Kentucky didn’t win its 2nd game until January last year. So yeah, I’m hype.
— All Things Kentucky (@BBNWonka) November 17, 2021
Final box score pic.twitter.com/fQHktrH0Zq
— Big Blue Express (@bigbluexpress) November 17, 2021
Kentucky (2-1) is above .500 for the first time since Nov. 25, 2020.
— TheCatsPause247 (@TheCatsPause247) November 17, 2021
Zan Payne is the hero for the person who bet $220,000 on UK. What a performance.
— Derek Terry (@DerekSTerry) November 17, 2021
*Thoughts while watching Sahvir’s postgame interview*
— Terry Brown (Taylor’s Version)™️ (@TBrown_80) November 17, 2021
Coach Cal has brought A LOT of good kids to Lexington. #BBN
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