Kentucky lacks chemistry. Why the Wildcats are confident they can find it.

Sitting behind the microphone Wednesday night following an 89-75 loss to Missouri, Kentucky men's basketball forward Oscar Tshiebwe didn't hesitate when asked about the team's chemistry — or lack thereof.

Twelve games into the 2022-23 season, Tshiebwe said the Wildcats' cohesiveness isn't where it should be.

Not even close.

“I think we've got a lot of work we've got to do, because we understand that the coaches have done a great job for us,” said Tshiebwe, who had another dominant performance in the loss, leading Kentucky with 23 points and grabbing a game-high 19 rebounds. “We were expecting to win. We just got killed in a lot of one-on-one (matchups) and 3-point shooting. Me myself, I've got to step up. … I've got to do better.”

Wednesday was just the third time UK lost its opening SEC game in John Calipari's 14-year tenure. After dropping to 8-4 this season, Calipari said improvement is required beyond just Tshiebwe's critical self-assessment.

“I think we've got good players,” Calipari said, “but some guys aren't playing great.”

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