Kentucky basketball without two injured guards for SEC game at Mississippi State
READ MORE
Game day: Kentucky 71, Mississippi State 68
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Wednesday night’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Mississippi State at Starkville, Miss.
Expand All
For the second straight SEC road game, the Kentucky men’s basketball team was significantly shorthanded.
The Cats were without a pair of experienced backcourt players — CJ Fredrick and Sahvir Wheeler — for Wednesday night’s game at Mississippi State.
Neither player participated in pregame warmups Wednesday night in Starkville, Mississippi.
On UK’s pregame radio show, Kentucky head coach John Calipari said neither Fredrick, nor Wheeler, will play against Mississippi State.
Both players also missed Kentucky’s loss at Georgia on Saturday afternoon.
This is the third straight game that Wheeler is missing with an ankle injury. UK is 0-2 during this stretch so far, which dates back to last Tuesday’s home loss to Arkansas.
This is the second straight game that Fredrick is missing with a rib injury, which was initially suffered during a home win on Feb. 4 over Florida.
With limited backcourt depth, it’s expected that freshman Adou Thiero will again serve as Kentucky’s backup point guard against Mississippi State.
Thiero also served in this capacity during Kentucky’s road loss at Georgia: He played 15 minutes and recorded two points, two turnovers, one steal and one assist, but was often behind game speed at both ends of the court.
“I thought he’d play 10 or 12 minutes in the game,” Calipari said postgame. “Like we were playing basically without a point guard. But the second half, you know, I liked what I saw.”
“I’m happy he’s getting his opportunity,” Calipari added about Thiero during Wednesday night’s pregame radio show.
Game-by-game Kentucky starting lineups
Here’s a look at the starting lineups that UK has used for all 26 games in the 2022-23 season.
The Cats have used 10 different starting combinations.
Howard: Cason Wallace, CJ Fredrick, Chris Livingston, Jacob Toppin, Lance Ware.
Duquesne: Wallace, Fredrick, Livingston, Toppin, Ware.
Michigan State: Wallace, Fredrick, Livingston, Toppin, Ware.
South Carolina State: Sahvir Wheeler, Wallace, Fredrick, Toppin, Ware.
Gonzaga: Wheeler, Wallace, Fredrick, Toppin, Oscar Tshiebwe.
North Florida: Wheeler, Wallace, Antonio Reeves, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Bellarmine: Wheeler, Wallace, Reeves, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Michigan: Wheeler, Wallace, Reeves, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Yale: Wheeler, Wallace, Reeves, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
UCLA: Wheeler, Wallace, Reeves, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Florida A&M: Wheeler, Wallace, Livingston, Ware, Tshiebwe.
Missouri: Wheeler, Wallace, Livingston, Ware, Tshiebwe.
Louisville: Wheeler, Wallace, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
LSU: Wheeler, Wallace, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Alabama: Wheeler, Wallace, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
South Carolina: Wheeler, Wallace, Livingston, Collins, Tshiebwe.
Tennessee: Wallace, Fredrick, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Georgia: Wallace, Fredrick, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Texas A&M: Wallace, Fredrick, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Vanderbilt: Wallace, Fredrick, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Kansas: Wallace, Fredrick, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Ole Miss: Wheeler, Fredrick, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Florida: Wallace, Fredrick, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Arkansas: Wallace, Fredrick, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Georgia: Wallace, Reeves, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Mississippi State: Wallace, Reeves, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
Kentucky’s win-loss record by starting lineup
Here’s a look at Kentucky’s win-loss record this season by starting lineup for all 25 completed games this season.
Lineups are listed in order of total games played.
5-2: Wallace, Fredrick, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
4-1: Wheeler, Wallace, Reeves, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
2-1: Wallace, Fredrick, Livingston, Toppin, Ware.
2-1: Wheeler, Wallace, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
1-1: Wallace, Reeves, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
1-1: Wheeler, Wallace, Livingston, Ware, Tshiebwe.
1-0: Wheeler, Wallace, Fredrick, Toppin, Ware.
1-0: Wheeler, Fredrick, Livingston, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
0-1: Wheeler, Wallace, Fredrick, Toppin, Tshiebwe.
0-1: Wheeler, Wallace, Livingston, Collins, Tshiebwe.
This story was originally published February 15, 2023 at 8:06 PM.
