C’est super! Oscar Tshiebwe-Lance Ware combo leads Kentucky past Florida
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Game day: No. 5 Kentucky 78, Florida 57
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s game between Kentucky and Florida in Rupp Arena.
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For Oscar Tshiebwe this season, his 27 points and 19 rebounds were a ho-hum contribution to Kentucky’s 78-57 victory over Florida on Saturday in Rupp Arena.
After the game, John Calipari suggested Tshiebwe can be more productive once coach and player surmount a language barrier.
“He’s a funny kid,” the UK coach said of Tshiebwe. “When he doesn’t want to concentrate or he doesn’t have mental discipline, (UK’s big man says), I don’t understand the language.”
Calipari said he’s not buying it. “It’s all BS,” he said with a smile. “He understands everything.”
Tshiebwe acknowledged saying he did not always understand coaching advice/goading/instruction.
“I told him to go learn French, so I can be able to understand,” Tshiebwe said before adding that progress has been made. “One thing is he talks to me slow-slow-slow.
“I’m still learning (English).”
In the preseason, Tshiebwe — playfully? — said he wanted to teach Calipari how to speak and understand French. Apparently, progress has been anything but tres bien (very good).
“Three months, two words,” Tshiebwe said. “I think it’ll take a couple years to learn French.”
The two words of French that Calipari knows?
“Slow down,” Tshiebwe said with a smile.
Calipari and the Big Blue Nation could say merci for the victory over Florida.
Kentucky went big — or is that “bigs?” — by playing Tshiebwe and backup Lance Ware against Florida’s relatively undersized team.
Size mattered as Ware contributed four points and seven rebounds.
Overall, the tandem helped UK enjoy a 41-25 rebound advantage. This led to the Wildcats outscoring Florida 20-7 in second-chance points.
For Tshiebwe, a seventh straight double-double — and his 19th of the season — seemed routine.
Of Tshiebwe’s chances to be named National Player of the Year, teammate Sahvir Wheeler said, “That’s self-explanatory.
“I wish there was a Person of the Year (award). I think that’s more telling.”
Ware loomed large late in the first half of a game that saw several shifts in momentum.
After making eight of its first 10 shots, UK zoomed to a 20-6 lead. Then UK missed its next seven shots as Florida closed within 22-21 on Florida big man Colin Castleton’s screen-and-roll layup with 6:43 left.
After a timeout, Kentucky played Tshiebwe and Ware at the same time.
Size mattered as Tshiebwe scored on a layup, putback and dunk inside the next three minutes.
“Lance was the reason we had a gap,” Calipari said of UK’s 33-28 halftime lead.
Besides the points and rebounds, Ware “protected Keion,” the UK coach said. Keion Brooks had scored double-digit points in five straight games. He only had two points and one rebound in 25-plus minutes Saturday, but Ware helped make sure that subpar performance did not translate into defeat.
“Lance made a statement loud and clear,” Calipari said. “You better keep playing me.”
As for Tshiebwe, “Oscar did what he does,” the UK coach said.
Ware was involved in the second of two plays in the game that sparked booing.
In the first half, Florida’s Brandon McKissic dove into a lower leg belonging to TyTy Washington. After getting up, the UK player limped off the court and through the tunnel to the locker room.
Calipari said an X-ray showed no break. Washington’s status is day-to-day, the UK coach said.
Late in the second half, Ware seemed to sling Florida’s Myreon Jones to the court as they battled for a loose ball. This prompted Florida’s Phlandrous Fleming to approach Ware and give him a watch-it bump.
Afterward, other players from both teams acted as peacemakers, Calipari said.
“Lance responded great,” the UK coach said. “He just laughed.”
Although the second incident happened in front of the Kentucky bench, Calipari said he would have to watch tape to judge the propriety of the plays
“When I watch them on tape, I’ll comment to the league about them,” Calipari said. “If I think there’s a foul, they have to explain why they weren’t called.”
The combination of Tshiebwe and Ware seemed new. But the two have practiced as a tandem.
“Nobody can stop us …,” Tshiebwe said. “If somebody boxes me out, he is getting the rebound. If he’s getting boxed out, I’m getting the rebound.”
Next game
No. 5 Kentucky at No. 19 Tennessee
When: 9 p.m. Tuesday
TV: ESPN
This story was originally published February 12, 2022 at 9:10 PM.
