Oscar Tshiebwe carries Kentucky past Florida: 4 things to know and postgame cheers

The Kentucky Wildcats completed their season sweep of the Florida Gators on Saturday afternoon by winning in Gainesville 71-63.

The Cats got off to a quick start as Kentucky brought their A game in the first half. Kentucky led by as much as 16 and went into the break with a 38-26 lead.

Of course the offense was good, but the defensive effort was nice to see after the last few games.

After the break, the offense stayed hot and UK showed their potential—potential to be the best team in the country. They did struggle to close out the game a bit, but this team clearly has the ability to make a very deep NCAA Tournament run if they have better injury luck.

Next up, March Madness is here. The Cats will play Friday in the SEC Tournament.

Injury bug strikes again

Another day, another Kentucky basketball injury. Daimion Collins was inactive for this one with a shoulder injury. This was on the heels of John Calipari saying he planned on giving him more minutes.

Injuries are obviously not new for this Kentucky team as multiple players have missed multiple games. The Cats badly need to get healthy before the tournament begins. It’s nice that Sahvir Wheeler and TyTy Washington are back, but Collins and Bryce Hopkins can be important pieces of the bench.

3 seed for SEC Tournament

A loss today would’ve meant a four seed in the SEC Tournament, but the Cats’ win solidified them as the three seed. It could obviously be better. We all know UK isn’t the third-best team in the SEC, but three is better than four.

What’s funny is UK will be a higher seed in their conference tournament than the NCAA Tournament. Regardless, the Cats look ready to go for March. It’s time to buckle down, win the SEC, clinch a one seed, and win number 9.

Big O domination continues

Oscar Tshiebwe, your National Player of the Year frontrunner, put up 27 points and 19 rebounds first time around against the Gators, and he dominated again.

Once again, Tshiebwe continues to put up video game numbers. Collin Castleton, despite the size advantage, is simply unable to stop him. The big man scored at will and crashed the glass like his life depended on it, Big O clearly took to heart Calipari’s statement that he got bullied against Ole Miss.

Oscar may or may not be back next season, but we need to appreciate his greatness while we have it.

Grady shows some aggressiveness

We all love Kellan Grady, but we all have the same gripe: “BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!”

He was aggressive in this one. And it wasn’t in the manner we’re used to seeing. Grady attacked the basket when the Gators locked him down at the three-point line. He hit multiple floaters on his way to a solid outing.

Grady’s sniping ability is obviously his best asset to UK, but it isn’t his only asset. It’s nice to see “Granddad” assert himself.

All in all, UK got a huge road win and have kept themselves in the conversation for a one seed. Now, go win the SEC Tournament…Go Cats!