After Kentucky’s 75-68 loss at Georgia on Saturday, UK head coach John Calipari sarcastically mentioned he was sure it would be noted the Cats were without injured players Sahvir Wheeler and CJ Fredrick.
“And then being short-handed,” said Calipari as part of his answer when asked what he thought was the biggest difference in the game. “I mean, I know that will be said publicly around the nation: ‘Well, they got two guys out.’ No it won’t, but that’s OK.”
It says here Kentucky should have won anyway. Georgia had lost six of its last seven games, including a 78-74 home loss to lowly Ole Miss four days before. The Bulldogs had slipped to 129th in the NCAA NET rankings. Sitting atop the NCAA Tournament bubble, UK could ill afford a loss to the Bulldogs.
Still, the Cats lost. They missed 13 of their first 14 shots. They trailed by 10 at halftime. After taking a 52-48 lead in the second half, they made key errors that led to a Georgia celebration inside Stegeman Coliseum.
Still, Calipari isn’t wrong. Being without Wheeler and Fredrick, Calipari had to play freshmen Cason Wallace and Adou Theiro at the point. The usually reliable Wallace picked up two fouls within the first four minutes and did not score until 52 seconds remained in the game. Theiro battled, but Saturday was a lot to ask of someone who had played in 10 games all season.
Cal was also forced to play Antonio Reeves a full 40 minutes. The Illinois State transfer scored 15 points in the first half. He was just 2-for-10 from the floor in the second, however. Did he tire? “Yes, I think I did,” Reeves admitted.
This wasn’t the first time the Cats have played without a full roster because of injuries. A list:
▪ Saturday was the fourth game Wheeler has missed this season. The senior point guard was sidelined for the season opener against Howard with a leg injury. He missed UK’s win at Tennessee with a shoulder injury. And he missed both the Arkansas and Georgia losses with a bad ankle.
— Saturday was also the fourth game Fredrick has missed. A dislocated finger at Missouri on Dec. 28 caused the Iowa transfer to miss games against Louisville and LSU at home and Alabama on the road. He suffered a rib injury against Florida, played through the pain against Arkansas, but sat Saturday to let the cracked rib heal.
— After a preseason knee injury, Oscar Tshiebwe, the national player of the year last season, missed the first two games of this season.
— Because of back spasms, Wallace played just eight minutes in the home loss to South Carolina. The freshman missed UK’s win at Ole Miss because of a lower extremity injury.
— Jacob Toppin missed the South Carolina game with a shoulder injury.
— Daimion Collins missed the season’s first two games after the death of his father. He sat out the win at Tennessee because of an injury to his left foot. He also been listed as DNP (did not play) by coaches’ decision in six games.
Such absences should not explain away this disappointing 16-9 Kentucky season. After all, the Cats won at No. 5 Tennessee back on Jan. 14 without Wheeler or Collins. Even at full strength, they haven’t been able to beat the better teams on their schedule — Michigan State, Gonzaga, UCLA and Alabama.
The injuries are a factor, however, something national types have noticed.
“I realize the Kentucky pile-on is inevitable (and justified),” CBS’ Seth Davis tweeted on Saturday, “but the Cats were missing two key players today in CJ Fredrick and Sahvir Wheeler. At full strength this is an NCAA Tournament team, but you gotta win to get in.”
After Saturday’s games, the NCAA NET computer dropped Kentucky from 39th to 45th in its rankings. Opponents like Mississippi State (Wednesday in Starkville) and Tennessee (Saturday in Rupp) won’t feel sorry for Calipari and his banged-up Cats. At this point in the season, no team is completely healthy.
You have to deal with it and find a way to overcome it. All that matters now is wins.
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