This Week in Kentucky Basketball: Bounce Back Opportunity

The Southeastern Conference schedule is very unforgiving. As the league has gotten better and better over the years it also leaves very few holes in the schedule. With TyTy Washington banged up, the Kentucky Basketball team must turnaround from an emotional loss on Saturday at Auburn to host a very good Mississippi State team Tuesday night. However, for the optimistic fans among us, the quick turnaround provides an opportunity to bounce back from a loss.

A lot of the media attention will center around the marquee Big 12/SEC Challenge game at Kansas on Saturday. The Wildcats cannot look ahead though. Tuesday’s game against the Bulldogs is the far more significant one this week. Kentucky must get back in the win column and earn the right to play on the biggest stage once again for the second consecutive Saturday.

On today’s edition of this week in Kentucky Basketball we will breakdown the potential ramifications of playing without TyTy Washington. Also, we will take an early look at the Bulldogs and Jayhawks before getting an update on the SEC as a whole. Finally, we will highlight the games to watch nationally this week.

Top Kentucky Basketball Storyline: TyTy Washington’s Health

Oscar Tshiebwe is a potential All-American due to his dominance on the glass and improved offensive game. Sahvir Wheeler has the keys to the offense and is as valuable as anyone. However, it is starting to become clear that TyTy Washington is the best basketball player on Kentucky’s team this season. The freshman has proven to an elite playmaker, is an efficient scorer, and is underrated as a defender. It will not be easy to beat good teams like Mississippi State and Kansas if he is unable to go.

The play that ultimately injured Washington was a perfect example of what he brings to the table for this Kentucky Basketball team. Against a team as good as Auburn defensively, sometimes you just need a guy who can get a bucket. Washington made an excellent move and finished a little runner in the lane before coming down awkwardly on a teammate’s foot. His shot-making ability is sorely missed anytime he is not out there.

We’ve seen what missing a guard can mean for the Wildcats. Though the offense didn’t miss a beat against Georgia or Vanderbilt, it does force Coach Calipari into some less than ideal lineups. You simply cannot make it through 40 minutes without going to the “three forwards” lineup that fans do not like. There is a certain five-star freshman that could alleviate some of those depth concerns, but until that happens the ‘Cats are left without a lot of options in the backcourt. Suffice it to say, TyTy Washington’s availability is the number one story between now and 9:00 p.m. Tuesday night.

This Week in Kentucky Basketball: Mississippi State Bulldogs & Kansas Jayhawks

On Tuesday evening, the Mississippi State Bulldogs come to Rupp Arena sporting a 13-5, 5-2 record. They avenged an earlier loss to Ole Miss on Saturday and have impressive home wins over Arkansas and Alabama as well. Redshirt junior center Tolu Smith is expected to miss some time which is a big blow to Coach Ben Howland’s team. However, that just means more usage for North Carolina transfer Garrison Brooks down low. Iverson Molinar, the SEC’s third leading scorer, will be called upon to do even more as well.

Their physical style of play has led to the Bulldogs being excellent from two-point range and at the foul line. Mississippi State averages over 20 free throw attempts per game, but are losing over five attempts with Smith out. They will likely pack it in even more defensively now and try to keep teams out of the paint. Opponents score nearly 40% of their points from beyond the arc against the Bulldogs. Kentucky will need to be ready to shoot it in at home tomorrow night.

We will get a chance to see Kansas play Texas Tech this evening for a preview of Saturday’s opponent. The trip to Allen Fieldhouse for the Big 12/SEC Challenge will put the Wildcats on the national stage for the second consecutive Saturday. Kansas is currently 16-2, 5-1 in the Big 12 after rattling off five straight wins. They lost in Lubbock to Texas Tech 75-67 back on January 8th.

Kansas has one of the best offenses in the country, currently coming it at number three in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency metric. Ochai Agbaji is playing like an All-American averaging 20.4 points per game including an insane 45.8% mark from three-point range. The Jayhawks shoot it very well from deep as a team and have an excellent interior presence in David McCormack.

Around the Southeastern Conference

The Auburn Tigers now have a strong hold on the top spot in the SEC standings. Their 7-0 record puts them a full two games, plus the head-to-head tiebreaker, over Kentucky. Texas A&M and Mississippi State are both lurking there at 4-2 as well. Barring an injury or a pretty significant collapse in the coming month, Coach Bruce Pearl will likely win the regular season title.

Don’t look now, but the Arkansas Razorbacks have won four straight games to get above .500 in the SEC. Coach Eric Musselman and company won on the road at LSU and took down Texas A&M in overtime on Saturday. However, the Razorbacks have a brutal February schedule that send them back to the bottom half of the standings.

This week we have a standalone game tonight between Ole Miss and Florida. The Gators are at Tennessee on Wednesday along with a big game between LSU and Texas A&M. Saturday we get 10 games as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge all of which will be on the ESPN family of networks. Vanderbilt versus Georgia and Texas A&M versus South Carolina round out the weekend schedule.

Games to Watch Nationally

Monday, January 24th

#13 Texas Tech @ #5 Kansas (9:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN)

Arizona State @ #15 USC (11:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN)

Tuesday, January 25th

Clemson @ #9 Duke (7:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN2)

DePaul @ #14 Villanova (7:00 p.m. Eastern Time FS1)

#10 Michigan State @ #24 Illinois (7:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN)

Kansas State @ #4 Baylor (8:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN+)

#1 Auburn @ Missouri (8:30 p.m. Eastern Time SEC Network)

Georgetown @ #20 UConn (8:30 p.m. Eastern Time CBS Sports Network)

Mississippi State @ #12 Kentucky (9:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN)

#3 Arizona @ #7 UCLA (11:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN)

Wednesday, January 26th

Florida @ #18 Tennessee (6:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN2)

#17 Providence @ #21 Xavier (6:30 p.m. Eastern Time CBS Sports Network)

#23 Iowa State @ Oklahoma State (8:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN+)

#22 Marquette @ Seton Hall (8:30 p.m. Eastern Time FS1)

VCU @ #25 Davidson (8:30 p.m. Eastern Time CBS Sports Network)

Texas A&M @ #19 LSU (9:00 p.m. Eastern Time SEC Network)

Thursday, January 27th

#11 Wisconsin @ Nebraska (4:00 p.m. Eastern Time Big 10 Network)

#16 Ohio State @ Minnesota (8:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN)

#6 Purdue @ Iowa (9:00 p.m. Eastern Time FS1)

California @ #7 UCLA (9:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

Loyola Marymount @ #2 Gonzaga (11:00 p.m. Eastern Time CBS Sports Network)

Stanford @ #15 USC (11:00 p.m. Eastern Time FS1)

Saturday, January 29th

#9 Duke @ Louisville (Noon Eastern Time ESPN)

#19 LSU @ TCU (Noon Eastern Time ESPN2)

La Salle @ #25 Davidson (Noon Eastern Time USA Net)

Michigan @ #10 Michigan State (12:30 p.m. Eastern Time CBS)

Oklahoma @ #1 Auburn (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN)

Missouri @ #23 Iowa State (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPNU)

#21 Xavier @ Creighton (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time FS1)

Arizona State @ #3 Arizona (2:30 p.m. Eastern Time CBS)

#4 Baylor @ Alabama (4:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN)

St. John’s @ #14 Villanova (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time FOX)

#24 Illinois @ Northwestern (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time Big 10 Network)

Marquette @ #17 Providence (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time FS1)

#12 Kentucky @ #5 Kansas (6:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN)

Mississippi State @ #13 Texas Tech (6:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN2)

#20 UConn @ DePaul (6:30 p.m. Eastern Time FS1)

California @ #15 USC (7:00 p.m. Eastern Time Pac 12 Network)

#7 Houston @ UCF (8:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN2)

#18 Tennessee @ Texas (8:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN)

Portland @ #2 Gonzaga (9:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

Stanford @ #7 UCLA (9:30 p.m. Eastern Time Pac 12 Network)

Sunday, January 30th

#16 Ohio State @ #6 Purdue (Noon Eastern Time CBS)

Minnesota @ #11 Wisconsin (1:00 p.m. Eastern Time Big 10 Network)