INDIANAPOLIS — Sahvir Wheeler apparently saw what was coming in the team’s NCAA Tournament opener Thursday night.
“I think the biggest challenge, obviously, is getting past the first game,” he said on the eve of Kentucky’s game against Saint Peter’s, which the Cats lost, 85-79 in overtime. “As Coach Cal says, the first game is the hardest.”
Saint Peter’s, which was playing in its first NCAA Tournament game since 2011, made sure of that.
The game also made something “Coach Cal” (aka John Calipari) had said seem prescient.
Earlier in the week, the UK coach had said that referees in NCAA Tournament games would not allow as much physical play as happens in the regular season.
Despite a 35-21 advantage in free throws attempted and Oscar Tshiebwe equaling his career high of 30 points, Saint Peter’s pulled off the stunning upset.
It was the first time Kentucky lost its opening NCAA Tournament game since 2008. UK’s season ended with a 26-8 record.
Kentucky missed five of its first six free throws in overtime. The one make — by Davion Mintz — put UK ahead 76-75 with 2:05 left.
But Saint Peter’s sandwiched two free throws and a layup around a Wheeler turnover (lob pass for Tshiebwe that sailed high) to lead 79-76 with 62 seconds left.
After Saint Peter’s blocked a layup attempt by Keion Brooks, the Peacocks took an 81-76 lead.
The first half showed St. Peter’s was not going anywhere. The Peacocks had more baskets (15-11) and more 3-pointers (five to two) than Kentucky in the opening 20 minutes.
The score was tied at 37-37 at halftime despite the Peacocks basically playing without KC Ndefo for all but two minutes. He came into the game ranked 13th among Division I players with an average of 2.73 rejections per game.
Free throws kept Kentucky close. The Cats made 13 of 15 in the first half, while Saint Peter’s made 2 of 3.
Kellan Grady shot and made the most for Kentucky. He made 5 of 6. His previous season highs for a game were five shot and three made.
Grady repeatedly got to the line because he was fouled on drives to the basket.
He turned to driving after missing his first two 3-point shots. He finished the half 0 of 3 from long range.
The five made free throws accounted for Grady’s points.
Daryl Banks (27 points) starred for Saint Peter’s. With UK leading 31-27 — which equaled the Cats’ largest first-half lead — Banks made back-to-back 3-pointers. For the half, he made four of the Peacocks’ five 3s and led all scorers with 16 points.
Tshiebwe led Kentucky with 12 points and seemed on his way to another double-double with six rebounds.
Ironically, a plausible foul on Saint Peter’s not called possibly prevented Kentucky from leading at halftime.
As Wheeler drove for a possible go-ahead score in the final seconds of the half, he appeared to get bumped. But no foul was called.
Tshiebwe clinched the double-double early in the second half.
But Kentucky clinching advancement to Saturday’s second round remained problematic.
With UK ahead 45-40 (its largest lead at that point), Grady passed up a shot. The result a few seconds later was a shot clock violation.
That led Calipari to replace Grady with Mintz.
Tshiebwe and Wheeler kept Kentucky ahead.
Wheeler’s driving layup while being fouled with 6:23 left put Kentucky ahead at 61-60.
But UK needed two Tshiebwe free throws with 4:57 left to get a lead — 66-62 — that couldn’t be erased in one possession.
After Saint Peter’s missed a 3, Wheeler drove for another score to put Kentucky ahead 68-62.
That marked UK’s largest lead and prompted a Saint Peter’s timeout with 4:06 left. The Peacocks did not wait for the under-four television timeout.
Although Saint Peter’s turned the ball over on its next possession, momentum shifted away from Kentucky.
Wheeler and Grady committed turnovers on UK’s next two possessions.
Doug Edert’s 3-pointer capped a 7-0 run that put Saint Peter’s ahead 69-68 with 1:23 left.
Grady, who had missed his first seven shots (six from 3-point range), missed again. But Tshiewbe’s rebound resulted in another chance. Grady swished his next shot to put UK ahead 71-69.
A floater by Edert tied it 21.6 seconds left.
When TyTy Washington missed a contested mid-range shot in the final seconds, it was on to overtime.
