‘The lane opened up like the Red Sea’ for Wheeler in UK’s rout of North Carolina
Sahvir Wheeler’s father flew from Houston to Las Vegas to watch Kentucky play North Carolina on Saturday night.
When he arrived at Harry Reid International Airport, he called his son to say they should watch the video of Tennessee defeating UNC 89-72 on Nov. 21. Tennessee drove repeatedly for baskets in outscoring the Tar Heels 54-22 in the paint.
The father wanted his son and UK to do the same, and they did just that.
Kentucky outscored North Carolina 54-36 in the paint en route to a 98-69 victory in the CBS Sports Classic. That was the second-largest victory margin for UK over the Tar Heels, surpassed only by an 83-44 blowout on Jan. 9, 1950.
Wheeler came within one point of a career high in scoring 26 points. Ten of his 12 baskets came on drives to the basket, which was a startling contrast to a week earlier when Notre Dame’s defense conceded perimeter shots while focused on limiting his driving.
Wheeler suggested making two mid-range jumpers in the first half led North Carolina to go over screens rather than play behind the screener.
“Now, the lane opened up like the Red Sea,” said Wheeler, who also had eight assists and four steals.
While Kentucky seemingly made amends for the loss at Notre Dame, Wheeler denied he sought a personal redemption.
“Everybody is going to have a bad game,” he said. “I’m a confident kid. … I play for the big lights. That’s why I came here: to play against the best, to be challenged every day in practice.
“This opportunity, I was really looking forward to it.”
UK Coach John Calipari said purposeful drives by Wheeler and other players were part of an ongoing process of defining a team approach.
‘We were going back to some of my old-school dribble-drive stuff,” he said.
Calipari suggested Wheeler was a key.
“It’s not based on how you’re playing, Sahvir,” he said he told the point guard transfer from Georgia. “Lead us. If you’re not playing great, lead us, and get everybody involved. If you’re not making shots and you’re a little confused, lead us. Lead. And that’s what he did today.”
Kellan Grady made five of seven three-point shots and scored 18 points. That nearly matched the six threes (in 23 attempts) he had made in the last four games combined.
Even with Oscar Tshiebwe going to the bench after his second foul with 12:37 left, Kentucky trailed for only 14 seconds of the first half.
A 26-15 first-half rebound advantage with Tshiebwe contributing “only” seven suggested Kentucky came to play.
Of teammates contributing to a 44-26 rebound advantage in the game, Tshiebwe said, “that really makes my job easy, and it really helps the team. I told them, I want to grab 20 rebounds if you guys are not going for it.”
Kentucky took the lead for good less than two minutes into the game when Tshiebwe drove for a score while being fouled. That put UK ahead 3-2 with 18:11 left.
The lead grew to as much as 23-8 inside the first 10 minutes and crested at 35-17 with 4:22 left. Fittingly, a driving layup by Wheeler gave Kentucky its 18-point lead.
North Carolina closed within 38-27 with 1:12 left in the first half. That marked the smallest UK lead in more than nine minutes.
As UNC fans got louder, Wheeler answered with a mid-range jumper from the right side.
Nothing changed early in the second half.
Wheeler drove three times for layups barely three minutes into the half. That meant eight of his 10 baskets were on drives.
The third of the second half put UK ahead 51-35. When Wheeler’s pass set up a Tshiebwe layup, the lead was 53-35, which matched the Cats’ largest lead to that point.
Not willing to wait for a television timeout, North Carolina Coach Hubert Davis called time with 16:17 left.
Kentucky exorcised another Notre Dame demon midway through the second half. Remember Grady’s three-pointer that spun out in the final minute last Saturday?
When Davion Mintz missed the second of two free throws with 12:29 left, Wheeler grabbed the rebound and passed to Grady at the top of the key and Grady fired away. This time his three-pointer spun around the rim and fell through to put Kentucky ahead 65-43.
Another second-chance opportunity created by a rebound of a missed free throw put UK ahead 78-48 with 8:54 left.
This time Tshiebwe grabbed the rebound and scored the points on a dunk.
“I’m glad it was North Carolina,” Calipari said of the Tar Heels substituting for Ohio State in this CBS Sports Classic. “We needed to go against a good team to figure out what we are.”
Looking ahead, Tshiebwe spoke optimistically.
“If we come out like this every single night (and) every single day, it’s going to be tough for people we go against,” he said. “They’re going to have nightmares.”
Next game
Louisville at No. 21 Kentucky
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday
Records: Louisville 7-4; UK 8-2
TV: ESPN
This story was originally published December 18, 2021 at 10:04 PM.
