Good morning my college basketball fans. Where were you when Kentucky Wildcats forward Oscar Tshiebwe single-handedly out-rebounded an entire D1 basketball team? If you were anywhere but Rupp Arena, you failed to witness in person one of the SEC’s all-time great performances.
Tshiebwe, a 6’9″ junior from the Democratic Republic of Congo, set a Rupp Arena record with 28 rebounds in Kentucky’s Wednesday night win over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, 95-60. His 28 boards, compared to WKU’s 27 total, made him the first SEC player in the last 25 years to out-rebound an entire team.
A decent outing for a UK program that scrambled to find a mid-week opponent after its game against Louisville was canceled due to COVID-19.
Oscar Tshiebwe: 28 rebounds
Western Kentucky: 27 rebounds@Oscartshiebwe34 is the only SEC player over the last 25 seasons to outrebound an entire opposing team 😳 pic.twitter.com/fIlpSLt9fZ— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) December 23, 2021
But this is nothing new. Tshiebwe’s dominance on the glass is a nightly occurrence. He now has nine double-doubles on the season and his 28 rebounds on Wednesday night marked the third time this season that the Wildcat big man has pulled down 20 or more boards in a game. As one would guess, Tshiebwe is leading the NCAA in rebounds per game (15.5) and steadily playing his way into Wooden Award consideration.
How far can Tshiebwe lead the No. 20-ranked Wildcats? Far, according to Tipico Sportsbook, where Kentucky has +3000 odds to win the national championship, +600 Final Four odds and +270 odds to win the SEC. All three are reasonable if you believe in the talent of this group.
Tshiebwe will look to continue his glass-cleaning ways when Kentucky opens up conference play at home against Missouri.
