Loss at Arkansas shows even ‘Steady Eddie’ is not immune to an off night for Kentucky
Kellan Grady had scored double-digit points in nine of the last 10 games. Hence Kentucky Coach John Calipari gave him the nickname “Steady Eddie.”
But UK’s 75-73 loss at Arkansas on Saturday showed that Grady is not immune to an off night. He took only three shots and made just one in a quiet three-point performance. It was his second-lowest point total of the season. He did not score in 20 minutes against Ohio.
The one shot Grady made did come at a pivotal moment. He hit a three with 2:19 left to give Kentucky a 70-69 lead.
“He did not work till the very last three,” Calipari said. “I kept saying, when Oscar (Tshiebwe) gets it (in the post), why are you standing?”
The big corner three was an exception to this pattern, Calipari said. “I probably said it in every huddle (and) 10 times (overall). He and Davion (Mintz) both. They just stood on the perimeter. … You’ve got to work harder.”
Arkansas’ length in the backcourt required movement to get free, Calipari said.
Still, with Kentucky trailing 74-70, Calipari called for Grady to shoot a three-pointer from the corner in front of the UK bench.
The shot was blocked. This led to Calipari second-guessing the play call.
Tshiebwe was philosophical about Grady’s off game.
“Sometimes you’re going to struggle,” Tshiebwe said. “He did what he could to help us. We’ve just got to get ready for the (NCAA) tournament.”
‘Monster’
Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman saluted Tshiebwe, who equaled a career high of 30 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.
“Monster …,” Musselman said. “He’s virtually an impossible guy to guard one-on-one.”
The Arkansas coach called Tshiebwe “probably the best duck-in guy” in establishing low-post position.
“He’s probably the best ‘big’ that we have coached against in establishing post position. … He’s really hard to stop when he catches the ball one inch from the (basket) because he’s got incredible touch.
“So, offensively and rebounding-wise, he’s as good as anybody that we’ve faced, for sure.”
Bowled over?
UK likes to say that opponents see games against Kentucky as a Super Bowl. Which leads to a question: Is it difficult to try to match that zeal again and again?
“I’m a competitor, so those games are always fun to me,” Sahvir Wheeler said.
He suggested losing in a hotly contested game can be rewarding.
“I love winning, winning by 30 is great,” he said. “But I also like the close games when it’s back and forth like that.
“Most of the time, we are on the winning side. But today just wasn’t our day.”
An Arkansas first
JD Notae became the first Arkansas player to score at least 30 points and get credit for at least eight assists since the school joined in the SEC in the 1991-92 season.
“Just taking what the defense gives me,” he said. “… Just get to my spots and just trust in the work that we put in each and every day and just go out there and play with confidence.”
Jacob Toppin has been UK’s defensive stopper. But he could not contain Notae.
“Normally, Jacob is that guy,” Calipari said. “He had that look on his face today. I don’t know why.”
Four straight
Kentucky was seeking a fourth straight victory at Arkansas, The previous three victories came in 2016, 2018 and 2020.
In SEC play, the only teams to win four straight at Arkansas remain Kentucky (2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009) and Ole Miss (2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Incidentally, former UK player John Pelphrey was the Arkansas coach for those first three home losses in the Ole Miss streak.
Title-bound?
“We certainly have talked to our team about the fact that Kentucky and Auburn and Tennessee are all teams that could make a Final Four …,” Musselman said. “Kentucky is a team that can win a national championship based on their talent, based on Coach Calipari’s experience coaching in big games and his Xs and Os.”
Versus ranked
Arkansas improved its record against ranked opponents to 4-0. No other SEC team is undefeated against ranked opponents.
Arkansas’ previous victories against ranked opponents came at then-No. 12 LSU 65-58 and home against then-No. 1 Auburn 80-76 in overtime and then-No. 16 Tennessee 58-48.
Kentucky’s record against ranked opponents moved to 3-5.
Final stretch
Going into the weekend, Arkansas had won 12 of its last 13 games. In that stretch, the Razorbacks had improved their NET ranking from No. 93 to No. 23.
Arguably no SEC team has a more challenging final five games of the regular season than Arkansas.
Before playing No. 6 Kentucky, Arkansas beat No. 17 Tennessee and won at Florida. The Razorbacks finish the regular season this coming week against LSU, which received votes in the AP Top 25 poll released Monday, and at Tennessee.
This story was originally published February 26, 2022 at 7:12 PM.
