As teammate Kellan Grady strung together long jumpers, Oscar Tshiebwe outrebounded Western Kentucky all by himself on a record-breaking night that supplanted Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal.
Grady made six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 23 points, Tshiebwe grabbed a Rupp Arena-record 28 rebounds and No. 20 Kentucky used an 18-2 second-half run to blow out the Hilltoppers 95-60 on Wednesday.
”Coach wanted me to shoot, my teammates (were) pressing me to shoot the ball and make shots,” said Grady, who struggled from outside just a few games ago. ”And ultimately, I believed in myself as well.”
TyTy Washington Jr. added 20 points and Jacob Toppin scored 12 as the Wildcats (9-2) routed their second consecutive substitute opponent. The in-state Hilltoppers (8-5) were added Monday after the postponement of Kentucky's scheduled matchup against archrival Louisville because of positive COVID-19 tests within the Cardinals' program. The Wildcats thumped North Carolina 98-69 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Kentucky coach John Calipari wasn't shy with his praise.
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.
On This Day In UK Basketball History
- On March 19, 1966, Pat Riley joined the 1,000-point club. He did it in 54 games.
- On March 19, 1966, in one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, top-ranked UK, featuring “Rupp’s Runts,” loses in the NCAA Championship game, 72-65, to Texas Western.
- On March 19, 1989, in the wake of an NCAA investigation, Eddie Sutton resigns as UK basketball coach.