For the game against Western Kentucky on Wednesday night, John Calipari said he wanted Kentucky to “verify” its dominating victory over North Carolina last weekend.
Kentucky graded out — Grady-ed out? — as mission accomplished.
With Kellan Grady surpassing his star turn against North Carolina, Kentucky breezed to a 95-60 victory over Western Kentucky. UK followed its second-most lopsided victory over North Carolina with its biggest rout of Western Kentucky.
Grady made six of nine three-point shots en route to a season-high 23 points. That followed the transfer from Davidson making five of seven three-point shots and scoring 18 points against UNC.
His back-to-back displays of shot-making faded from memory that Grady had made only six of 23 three-points in the four games leading to UK’s trip to Las Vegas.
Grady was not the only star.
Oscar Tshiebwe set a Rupp Arena record for rebounds with 28. The previous record was 20. For the moment, UK’s record remains 34 shared by Bob Burrow (against Temple on Dec. 10, 1955) and Bill Spivey (against Xavier on Feb. 13, 1951).
Tshiebwe also scored 14 points to post his ninth double-double in 10 games. That came despite playing against Western Kentucky’s 7-foot-5 center, Jamarion Sharp. No doubt it helped that Sharp went down with an apparent injury at the 13:20 mark of the second half.
But by then, Kentucky was well on its way to a ninth victory in 11 games.
After never trailing in beating Louisville last weekend, Western Kentucky trailed for 18:25 of the opening half’s 20 minutes.
Consistent defense and offensive execution contributed to Kentucky’s 37-28 halftime lead.
Western Kentucky barely made a third of its shots (11 of 32). The Hilltoppers made only one of nine three-point shots.
On offense, Kentucky attacked by getting the ball into the middle of WKU’s 2-3 zone.
Sharp wasted no time showing he came into the game leading the nation in blocks (4.83 on average). UK’s first possession resulted in Keion Brooks getting the ball in the foul line area. He turned to shoot, but Sharp matter-of-factly blocked the shot.
Both teams dealt with early foul trouble. Brooks picked up his second foul with 16:44 left.
Twenty-eight seconds later, WKU leading scorer Jairus Hamilton (16.5 points per game) picked up his second foul.
While Sharp blocked seven shots in the half, Kentucky took the lead for good on a TyTy Washington baseline jumper with 18:30 left. The 6-5 lead expanded to as much as 35-19 when Grady made back-to-back three-point shots. That made him three for four from beyond the arc.
This prompted a WKU timeout with 4:35 left.
Whatever Stansbury said must have worked. The Hilltoppers outscored UK 9-2 the rest of the half.
After four UK possessions resulted in two turnovers, a missed shot and Grady missing the front end of a one-and-one, Calipari called timeout with 2:37 left.
For the most part, Western Kentucky kept Sahvir Wheeler in check. The reigning SEC Player of the Week made one shot and scored two points in the half.
Halftime saw Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear come to center court and speak to the crowd about tornado relief. His introduction drew a few boos. But the crowd cheered when he said of the state’s resilience, “We will not break.”
The way the second half began gave the Kentucky team a chance to break. Wheeler picked up his third foul 12 seconds into the half. Sixty-two seconds later, Brooks fouled a three-point shooter for his third foul.
Western Kentucky closed within 37-33.
Grady — who else this night? — came to the rescue. He contributed 11 points to a 21-2 run that settled things with Kentucky ahead 58-35.
Next game
Missouri at No. 20 Kentucky
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 29
