Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s win over Ohio University
Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 77-59 win over Ohio University on Friday night at Rupp Arena:
1. Big difference without and with Oscar Tshiebwe
UK’s 6-foot-9 maniac rebounder picked up two quick fouls. Two very quick fouls. Just 1:05 into the game, Tshiebwe was on the bench and remained there for the remainder of the first half.
The result: UK led 40-38 at the half, but found itself in a dogfight to do so. Ohio led 11-4 out of the gate, 22-14 with 10:59 left in the first half and 30-28 when the Bobcats’ Ben Vander Plas nailed a three-pointer with 5:28 left. Kentucky needed a 6-0 run over the final 3:14 to carry a lead into the locker room.
No Oscar meant rebounding was a collective effort. Freshmen TyTy Washington and Bryce Hopkins each grabbed seven rebounds in the first half as UK had a surprising 25-12 advantage on the boards. That went well with Keion Brooks’ 12 points in the first half. Hopkins scored seven.
Second half, Oscar was back on the floor. He ended up with 10 rebounds in just 20 minutes of play. His overall presence made a difference, opening up the floor for Washington, who scored 20 points to go with his 11 rebounds. Brooks finished with 22 points for the game. Davion Mintz scored 12 points off the bench.
First half, with only a minute of Oscar, Kentucky outscored Ohio 40-38. Second half, with 19 minutes of Oscar, Kentucky outscored Ohio 37-21.
2. TyTy Washington was terrific
After the game, John Calipari said he told both Brooks and Washington to stop shooting threes. Take twos. If shots aren’t falling from outside the arc, then step inside the arc. That strategy worked for both, but especially Washington, the 6-3 freshman from Phoenix.
Washington was 1-for-6 from behind the three-point stripe, but 7-for-9 from inside three-point stripe. He scored on drives, floaters, mid-range shots. Better still, he had nine defensive rebounds to go with two off the offensive glass. He also contributed a team-high five assists.
“TyTy, he’s special, a special talent,” Mintz said. “He’s one of those guys, we’ve got to keep talking to him, making sure he’s comfortable. Tell him, ‘Just do you. Don’t worry about what’s going on. Do you and that’ll be good enough.’ For him, to get out there and especially against a really good team. Ohio is no slack. That was a good moment for him to keep building off of that game-by-game.”
3. A better, louder crowd at Rupp Arena
There were fewer empty seats in the arena on Friday night, especially compared to Kentucky’s two exhibition games and its previous two home games. The crowd was also louder. It needed to be considering the Cats needed the help. Ohio is a good team — the Bobcats were 3-0 coming into the game — plus there was the situation UK found itself in the first half.
The crowd was especially helpful in the second half when the Wildcats’ press obviously took its toll on the visitors. “I think we got into their legs,” Calipari said. “That’s what we were trying to do.”
“We came in here expecting to win, but we knew we’d have to make shots,” Ohio Coach Jeff Boals said. “We missed some short in the second half, which I think had to do with fatigue.”
Asked about the early attendance shortfall on Friday, Calipari pointed to COVID as the main culprit. Friday night, he had a new twist. If fans have already bought tickets but are not coming to the game — “And I don’t blame anyone for not coming because of COVID and the construction (at Rupp),” he said — then give the tickets away. Let someone else have them who is going to come to the game, fill the seat, and cheer like crazy.
“That’s what we need,” said the coach.
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 10:21 PM.
