< Previous10 @KentuckyMBBYou can enjoy FREE * grocery delivery, 2X Fuel Points and more for as low as $59/year. *$35 order minimum. Restrictions apply. Subject to availability. Delivery time not guaranteed. Official Grocery Partner of UK AthleticsWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m.14 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row #OscarWorthy Part II Senior Oscar Tshiebwe is once again in the thick of the conversation for the nation's best player after sweeping every major Na- tional Player of the Year honor a season ago. Tshiebwe currently leads the Cats in points per game (16.6), rebounds per game (13.7) and field-goal percentage (.590). He's second in steals per game (1.5) and blocks per game (1.0). In league play, Tshiebwe is averaging 17.4 points and 15.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 58.5% from the floor. He has six double-doubles. Tshiebwe put together a performance for the ages in a come-from-behind win over Georgia on Jan. 17. He poured in a ca- reer-high 37 points and added 24 rebounds. More about that historic performance: • The last Wildcat with a 35-point, 20-re- bound game was Mike Phillips, who had 35-20 vs. LSU on Feb. 2, 1976 • It was the the fifth 35-20 game in UK history, also Phillips (listed above), Dan Issel (36-29 vs. LSU on Feb. 22, 1969), Cotton Nash (34-20 vs. Tulane on Jan. 11, 1964) and Bill Spivey (40-34 vs. Xavier on Feb. 13, 1951) • Per ESPN, Tshiebwe’s 24 rebounds were the most for a Division I player with a 35-point game in the last 25 seasons • Per ESPN, Tshiebwe's 24 rebounds were the most in a 35-point performance in the last 25 seasons. UNC's Brice Johnson had 23 in 2016, Oklahoma's Blake Griffin had 23 in 2009 and Texas' Kevin Durant had 23 in 2007 • Tshiebwe (24) and teammate Jacob Toppin (11) combined for more rebounds (35) than Georgia's entire team (31) • He became just the third player in program history to have multiple games of at least 24 rebounds, joining Dan Issel and Cotton Nash as the only others to do so • It was the fourth 30-point game of his career • The 37-point game tied Malik Monk vs. Georgia (1/31/17) for most points in an SEC game and the third-most point in any con- test in the Calipari era • Tshiebwe's 37-point, 24-rebound game against Georgia was the fifth such contest of his UK career (at least 22 points and at least 18 rebounds). He now has five of the eight games of 22 or more points and at least 18 rebounds by an SEC player in the last 10 seasons. No other player has more than one and the feat had not been accom- plished since South Carolina's Sindarius Thornwell did so against Alabama on Feb. 7, 2017 • Tshiebwe also has tallied four 20-point, 15-rebound games so far this season after seven a season ago. He has 11 of the 53 20-point, 15-rebound contests by SEC play- ers in the last 10 seasons • Tshiebwe has amassed six games of at least 20 rebounds in two seasons with the Cats. All UK players combined have to- taled five other 20-rebound games since the 1973-74 season Similar Stories ... In 14 years as head coach of the Wild- cats, John Calipari has won a national title, claimed six Southeastern Conference regu- lar-season crowns, six league tournament titles and won more NCAA tournament games than any other coach during this span. He's also led teams plagued by slow starts to memorable late-season runs: • The 2020 squad suffered a home loss to Evansville in November, lost back-to- back games in Las Vegas prior to Christ- mas and fell to 16-5 on Feb. 1 with a loss at Auburn. The Wildcats would then rattle off eight straight wins and nine of their last 10 to win the SEC regular-season by a com- fortable margin of three games. COVID-19's rise in the United States canceled the SEC and NCAA Tournaments • In 2018, the Wildcats lost four in a row from Feb. 3-14, marking the first four-game losing streak during Calipari's UK tenure. That team went on to win nine of its next 10 games and captured the SEC Tournament title • The 2017 squad lost three of four games from Jan. 24-Feb. 4 before rattling off 14 straight victories. Within that run, the Wildcats won the SEC Tournament title and marched all the way to the Elite Eight be- fore a buzzer-beater by eventual champion North Carolina ended their tournament run • In 2014, the freshman class was her- alded as the best ever and preseason expec- tations had fans dreaming of a 40-0 season. However, that team dropped nine reg- ular-season games before putting together one of the most magical NCAA Tournament runs in program history. The Cats overcame double-digit deficits in all but one game and were led by late-game heroics from Aaron Harrison all the way to the NCAA Champi- onship gameMOP IT LIKE IT ' S HOTMOP IT LIKE IT ' S HOTInside The Numbers 18 @KentuckyMBB KENTUCKY (14-7, 5-3) AT OLE MISS (9-12, 1-7) Series Breakdown Overall - UK, 109-14 at Oxford - UK, 29-11 Calipari vs. OM - 17-5 Davis vs. UK - 1-3 Current UK streak - W1 John Calipari Kermit Davis Overall Record: 824-248* Overall Record: 542-336 Record at UK: 379-108 Record at OM: 73-73 Overall Seasons: 31st Overall Seasons: 28th at Kentucky: 14th at Ole Miss: 5th * on court record UK Statistic OM 75.3 Points Per Game 67.1 38.9 Rebounds PG 36.8 16.3 Assists PG 12.6 4.2 Blocks PG 4.8 6.9 Steals PG 7.1 11.6 Turnovers PG 13.2 .459 FG Pct. .428 .362 3-Pt. FG Pct. .302 .681 FT. Pct. .679 1.4 Assist-to-TO Ratio 1.0 THE MATCHUPTALE OF THE TAPE • John Calipari will pass Harry Raben- horst (178) for the sixth-most SEC regu- lar-season wins in league history • Be the third in a row away from home this season • Improve the Wildcats to 312-60 all-time under Calipari against unranked Associ- ated Press Top 25 foes A UK WIN WOULD... 49 SEC regular-season titles in program history 31 SEC Tournament championships 13.7 Tshiebwe nation-leading rebounds per game 11 Wallace's total games with 2 or more steals BY THE NUMBERSNext >