Point guard Sahvir Wheeler, center, has had to be content to lead cheers the last two games. (Vicky Graff Photo)
TyTy Washington and Sahvir Wheeler haven’t played in nearly a week and the status of both players remained unclear Friday. The team’s backcourt duo has missed the past two games because of injuries and both remained day-to-day as the sixth-ranked Wildcats prepared for the final three games of the regular season, starting with this afternoon’s showdown at No. 16 Arkansas.
“I have not seen either kid,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said Friday morning. “I’ll know before we start that they’re going to go practice and then we’ll practice. And if they don’t practice. We’ll practice and get ready for the game.
“I mean, you know, when it’s day-to-day, I’m not going to force the kid to play. Now there may be a point where I say, ‘You know what, I’m not going to let you play today. You just need more rest. Let’s go.”
Playing without either player, the Wildcats defeated Alabama and LSU, respectively. Kentucky (23-5, 12-3 Southeastern Conference), rallied from double figures in both games to remain a game behind league-leading Auburn with three games remaining in the regular season.
The two victories, veteran guard Kellan Grady said, were a learning experience and showed the team’s depth and versatility.
“We showed that we can find ways to be productive and win without those guys,” he said. “When we’re able to get them back, that would just add to our team and make us even better. Most of the season we’ve had those two guys and we’ve been evidently a very, very good team.
“In the last two games, we had to show some toughness and some real resilience, especially coming from behind in both of those games, and find different ways to score points. And collectively, I think we’ve done a really good job stepping up. So we’re excited about having our full unit together again.”
Arkansas (22-6, 11-4) will present another challenge for Kentucky, which dropped a 76-63 loss to Tennessee in its previous road contest on Feb. 15 in Knoxville. The Razorbacks have won 12 of their past 13 games, including an 82-74 victory over Florida Tuesday night. Arkansas also defeated Auburn 76-73 in overtime that bounced the Tigers from the top ranking.
A loud crowd, Grady said, won’t be a surprise to the Wildcats.
“We’re pretty accustomed to it at this point on the road,” he said. “That’s been the story of Kentucky basketball traveling in the SEC for years now. We got a glimpse of the Auburn game and we’ve seen some tape. We expect it to be an electric environment and a sold-out crowd with a ton of students and a lot of enthusiasm. The good thing is, we’re prepared for that. We’ve faced that. We’ve got some good experience with that. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Calipari agreed and said the Razorbacks “will scramble up the game, but they never really seem to be out of control.”
“They’re disciplined in what they’re doing,” he said. “They’re running motion and curl cuts and, you know, speed cuts and backdoors and all the stuff that they’re doing. But there’s some organization to it yet. Whether it’s offensive defense, they’ll scramble up the game a little bit. They play really hard. They don’t go let go of the rope at any point in any game.”
Gametracker: Kentucky at Arkansas, 2 p.m. Saturday. TV/Radio: CBS, UK Radio Network.
* * *
Keith Taylor is sports editor for Kentucky Today. Reach him at Keith.taylor@kentuckytodaycom and via Twitter at keithtaylor21.
