Calipari Updates Cason Wallace, Sahvir Wheeler's Injuries; Praises UK's 'Next Man Up' Mentality in Ole Miss Win

Injuries always find a way to make their presence felt, often times when you least expect them to. 

That was just the case for the Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday night in Oxford, as it was announced with less than an hour until tipoff that starting guard Cason Wallace would be unavailable for the conference tilt due to a knee injury. 

The loss of Wallace — 11.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists-per-game — is quite obvious, as the freshman has catapulted himself into the position of being the Wildcats' primary point guard. 

Wallace had started all 21 previous games for UK this season, so it took the team some getting used to against the Rebels. Coach John Calipari credited his group for having the "next man up" mentality, as the Wildcats fought their way to a 75-66 win over Ole Miss without Wallace. 

“He had a contusion,” Calipari said of the guard postgame. “There’s nothing structurally. Banged knees. He was good at practice yesterday, and we went to the shootaround and he kind of stepped funny and I told him, ‘Just stay out, man.’ He can’t hurt himself, but you don’t need to be playing guys that are 80 percent or 90 percent.”

Wallace was seen having some fun postgame, pretending to interview teammate Antonio Reeves, who had just scored 27 points in the victory: 

When Kentucky announced that Wallace would miss the game, it was labeled as precautionary. While Calipari provided no timetable, it's expected that Wallace will return this weekend, when the Wildcats host Florida inside Rupp Arena on Saturday night. 

Instead of Wallace manning the starting PG spot, it was the return of Sahvir Wheeler to the starting five. The veteran has gone through his fair share of struggles over the course of the year, so the opportunity to play starter minutes once again was familiar, yet imperative. 

He would play 33 minutes on Tuesday, collecting nine assists while turning the ball over just once. He added four points and four rebounds, earning a plus-minus of plus-12 in the game. It didn't come without a few minutes of panic, however. 

With just under four minutes to go in the first half, Wheeler stepped on the back of Ole Miss' TJ Caldwell's shoe on defense, rolling his ankle and hitting the floor. He would be helped up, taken to the bench and then to the locker room. 

Already down Wallace, Calipari had to turn to freshman Adou Thiero — who hadn't played since Jan. 17 against Georgia — to run the PG position. While Thiero brought much-needed energy in his playing time, the result after the Wheeler injury was a 7-0 run for the Rebels, getting them back into the game before halftime, where the score would be deadlocked at 32-32. 

Despite having a "busted up" and "swelled" ankle — per Calipari — Wheeler would return to play all 20 minutes in the second half, where he notched six of his assists. 

"Here's a kid that was coming off the bench, we needed him to start, his ankle was busted up, swelled, and he said 'i'm playing because I know you guys need me to win this game,'" Calipari said. "Here's a young man that's playing for Kentucky, for the state, for the basketball program, not playing for himself or he wouldn't have played." 

He went on to praise Wheeler's leadership, pointing back to the criticism that the Georgia transfer has faced over the course of the season. 

"Unbelievable. That's why I keep saying you can't listen to all the clutter. You got to let it go and just be who you are," he said.

When speaking to Goose Givens on UK's postgame radio, Wheeler touched on the ankle injury and his newfound mindset.

“I sprained it a little bit on the first half, rolled it on somebody else’s foot, but I’m gonna be alright. Gonna get treatment tomorrow, come up a game plan to get better, get it healthy," he said.

"Whatever is best for the team, whatever puts us in a winning position is what I’m gonna go with. My game doesn’t change whether I’m starting or whether I’m coming off the bench, I’m still going to be the same. I know the impact that I can have on a game at any given moment on both sides of the ball. Tonight when Cason went down, it was like you said, next man up and we were able to get that W." 

After missing Kentucky's win over then-fifth-ranked Tennessee in Knoxville, Wheeler did not reclaim his spot in the starting lineup that he had held over the past season and-a-half in Lexington. Calipari instead opted to roll with Wallace taking a big bulk of the minutes, leaving Wheeler to adjust to a new limited role off the bench. 

He would play in just 17 minutes combined against Georgia and Texas A&M, but broke through on the road against Vanderbilt last week, playing 22 minutes, scoring four points and adding five assists. After that performance, he touched on his new place in the team, praising his teammates.

"You gotta learn to live with that and learn to grow from it and be mature about it, because those guys deserve to play as much as anybody else," he told reporters. "Those guys are fighting in practice, working their tails off, paying attention to details, they deserve that."

On Tuesday night in Oxford, he acquired his 31st game at UK in which he's totaled six or more assists — the most by any player in the Calipari era, breaking a tie with Tyler Ulis. He is now averaging 5.7 assists this season, a top-20 mark in Division I. 

The combination of Wheeler's acceptance of his new role and the Wildcats' next man up mentality helped avoid disaster, as a loss to the Rebels would've done great harm to Kentucky's chances at making the NCAA Tournament. 

UK will likely carry a full roster into Rupp Arena on Saturday against the Gators, barring additional injuries. Tipoff on Saturday is set for 8:30 p.m. EST and will air on ESPN. 

More on the win over Ole Miss HERE.

Game notes from the victory can be found HERE.

WATCH: Antonio Reeves, Chris Livingston speak following Ole Miss win. 

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.

Sports Illustrated also offers insight, information and up to the minute details for gamblers. Check it out here.