Calipari says Wallace, two other UK players not practicing yet ahead of SEC Tournament
Kentucky men’s basketball can enter the postseason with ample breathing room, and that’s something that didn’t always look like it would be the case.
The Wildcats (21-10 overall, 12-6 SEC) have secured a top-four finish in the SEC regular-season standings and are projected to be safely into the NCAA Tournament field.
UK even maintained its No. 23 ranking in this week’s AP poll despite suffering a Senior Night loss at home to Vanderbilt. Of course, that defeat was quickly followed by an impressive road win at Arkansas on Saturday, a game that Kentucky played without a true point guard.
On Monday night, Kentucky head coach John Calipari sat down with Tom Leach for his weekly radio show to discuss the Arkansas game, UK’s health ahead of the SEC Tournament and more.
Calipari gives Cason Wallace injury update
Front of mind for every Kentucky fan is the availability and health status of freshman guard Cason Wallace, who left last week’s home loss to Vanderbilt with a left leg injury.
Wallace didn’t play for the Wildcats during Saturday’s road triumph at Arkansas, which marked only the second time this season that Wallace missed a game.
After Saturday’s game, Calipari said he had “no idea” about Wallace’s potential availability for the SEC Tournament.
On Monday night, Calipari said Wallace was one of three UK players (along with CJ Fredrick and Sahvir Wheeler) who didn’t practice on Monday.
Fredrick recently returned to the UK lineup in limited minutes following a rib injury. Wheeler is expected to miss several weeks for Kentucky after undergoing a medical procedure last week.
Calipari said Kentucky would also practice Tuesday and Wednesday, which would be better indicators of which players will be available for Kentucky’s SEC Tournament opener on Friday night.
Wheeler missed the final eight games of the regular season for Kentucky, initially with a right ankle injury before his medical procedure.
Reeves maintains eligibility, honored as Sixth Man of the Year
There was some surprise on Senior Night last week when senior guard Antonio Reeves started on the bench for Kentucky in the home finale against Vanderbilt.
On Monday night, Calipari said Reeves would have been ineligible for the SEC’s Sixth Man of the Year award if he started both of UK’s final regular-season games against Vandy and Arkansas.
So, Reeves came off the bench against the Commodores and started against the Razorbacks, a straightforward decision in hindsight given that Cason Wallace didn’t play in the Arkansas game.
This decision was rewarded Monday when Reeves was named the SEC’s Co-Sixth Man of the Year in a vote of league coaches, along with Alabama’s Jahvon Quinerly.
Reeves is the fourth different Wildcat to earn the honor, along with Darius Miller (2012), Kyle Wiltjer (2013) and Devin Booker (2015).
Reeves scored a career-best 37 points in Saturday’s win at Arkansas.
Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe was honored as an All-SEC first-team selection Monday. Wallace and Livingston were named to the league’s All-Freshman Team. Alabama’s Brandon Miller was voted SEC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Texas A&M’s Buzz Williams and Vanderbilt’s Jerry Stackhouse shared the Coach of the Year honor.
Kentucky in the SEC Tournament
Kentucky is the No. 3 seed for this week’s SEC Tournament in Nashville.
As the No. 3 seed, Kentucky received a double-bye and will not begin tournament play until Friday night.
UK will begin postseason play in the final tournament quarterfinal on Friday against one of three possible opponents: No. 14 seed LSU, No. 11 seed Georgia or No. 6 seed Vanderbilt.
LSU will play Georgia in a first-round game Wednesday night, with the winner playing Vanderbilt in a second-round game Thursday night.
UK hasn’t played in the SEC Tournament championship game in five years. It’s tied for the longest such drought in program history.
There are at least some good vibes for the Cats this week though: UK is 21-4 all-time in SEC Tournament games played in Nashville.
It’s also looking increasingly likely that Kentucky will be the lone representative from the commonwealth in the men’s NCAA Tournament.
Only UK, Louisville, Northern Kentucky and Western Kentucky remain alive for NCAA Tournament participation.
U of L, NKU and WKU would have to win their respective conference tournaments to reach the Big Dance.
