That was weird, huh? It’s difficult to articulate the feeling surrounding Kentucky’s road trip to South Carolina. In the middle of a three-game losing streak, the Wildcats were desperate for a W, but you couldn’t feel that desperation. You didn’t feel much at all.
Colonial Life Arena was half-full, and that might be generous. Instead of a late-February SEC game, it felt more like a neutral-site game during a B-list Feast Week event. No offense to Kevin Fitzgerald and Perry Clark, but they didn’t exactly inject more energy into the atmosphere. The play on the court reflected the feeling in the air. Instead of attacking the rim, both teams were content jacking up threes, combining to shoot 8-32 threes with only 16 total points in the paint prior to halftime.
Fortunately, there were a few more fireworks after intermission, and a few that nearly blew up in the Cats’ face.
Kentucky maintained a two-possession lead until Elijah Strong got into a zone. The South Carolina forward scored seven straight points to tie the game with eight minutes to play. The Cats responded and extended the lead to seven, but it wouldn’t last. A South Carolina three-pointer cut the deficit to two when Mark Pope called a timeout. That timeout proved to be the late-game catalyst the Cats needed.
A set got Malachi Moreno a bucket. On the following possession, Kentucky got Collin Chandler an open three, and despite his early shooting struggles, Captain Clutch once again delivered right on time. It was the dagger that put the Gamecocks away and secured a Wildcat win when Kentucky couldn’t afford to lose.
Denzel Aberdeen Gave Kentucky What It Needed
During that first half slobberknocker, the Kentucky point guard was a shining ray of optimism, drilling all three of his three-point opportunities. Not only did Denzel Aberdeen score a team-high 19 points, but he also found open cutters to the basket and dished out five assists, along with four rebounds.
“He carried us tonight, which we needed,” Mark Pope said after the win. “Like, we needed him to do it. And he rose up and got the job done.”
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Mo D Staved South Carolina Away
Once South Carolina tied the game, Kentucky’s scrappy forward stepped up and attacked the rim, scoring five straight points. Ten of his 12 points were in the second half, and he finished with a team-high +16 in plus-minus. In a lifeless environment, Mo Dioubate brought fight to the floor, giving the Wildcats the energy they needed to close out the Gamecocks.
“We fought through adversity tonight,” Dioubate said postgame. “Although we started very slow today, first half and second half, we stuck together. In the first half, we let up a lot of threes. That wasn’t in the gameplan. We had a lot of adversity, but we fought through it.”
Streak Ends for Otega Oweh
Otega Oweh had been Superman for Kentucky. As the Cats struggled, he put the team on his back, tying his career-high with 28 points against Georgia, then breaking it with 29 points at Auburn. There must’ve been some Kryptonite hiding at Colonial Life Arena.
Oweh was just 3-13 from the field. He had four fouls, with a couple of them near mid-court, and turned the ball over three times. Oweh had scored in double figures in 30 straight games, the longest streak at UK since Malik Monk in 2017. He had a chance to keep the streak alive with a dunk in the final minute, but was blocked by the rim, an apt encapsulation of his performance. Hopefully, it’s the last time we see Oweh struggle to put it together in a Kentucky uniform.
More from the Kentucky Win over South Carolina
Takeaways from a Sloppy Win at South Carolina
Mark Pope says Kentucky battled emotional fatigue to avoid another loss
Kentucky has a new turnover problem
What Carolina did to slow down Oweh
Highlights from the Victory
Denzel Aberdeen carried Kentucky to victory against the Gamecocks
Pope, Jelavic, and Dioubate discuss the Win
Mo D gave Kentucky a Much Needed Spark
Drew and Billy Break it all Down on the KSR Postgame Show
Recapping a Sneaky Wildcat Win
College Basketball on TV
It was an unusually light slate on Super Tuesday, but that won’t be the case for this Wednesday night of college basketball. Big East fireworks will fly, and there’s a big game in the SEC at Bud Walton Arena.
6:00 | Wake Forest at Boston College | ACCN
7:00 | No. 15 St. John’s at No. 6 UConn | Peacock/NBCSN
7:00 | No. 7 Florida at Texas | ESPN2
7:00 | Maryland at No. 12 Nebraska | BTN
7:00 | Georgia at No. 25 Vanderbilt | SECN
7:00 | Butler at Villanova | FS1
7:30 | Xavier at Providence | truTV
8:00 | Pitt at Stanford | ACCN
9:00 | Texas A&M at No. 20 Arkansas | ESPN2
9:00 | Miss. State at No. 17 Alabama | ESPNU
9:00 | LSU at Ole Miss | SECN
9:00 | Ohio State at Iowa | BTN
9:00 | Kansas State at Colorado | FS1
11:00 | Wisconsin at Oregon | BTN
Sports are Hard on Jeopardy
Jeopardy contestants have such a wide scope of knowledge that it baffles the mind, unless it involves sports. Every once in a while, a sports category produces a question that 99% of casual sports fans could answer, but these contestants are in the 1%. On Monday, a former Kentucky Wildcat was the subject of a hilarious Jeopardy whiff.
Survivor 50 Premieres
It’s been 25 years since Survivor changed the game by sending cast-offs to a faraway land to compete in a reality TV show. We didn’t even know what reality TV was at the time. It revolutionized the industry (for better or worse), and even though it’s not for everybody, you can count me among the millions of fans who are hyped for this star-studded 50th season of Survivor.
This game features players from throughout the series’ history. Colby first appeared in Australia in season 2, while Savannah returned to the island just a few weeks after winning the previous season. If I were a gambling man, I’d sprinkle on Christian as a wild card to advance far in this historic season that will feature cameos from folks like Mr. Beast and Zac Brown. Yes, I’m one of a few KSR Survivor nerds, and I can’t wait to see it all unfold, starting tonight at 8:00 PM ET on CBS.