If Sahvir Wheeler and CJ Fredrick cannot play then Calipari may go with some funky lineups

Freshman Ugonna Onyenso might get a chance to play at Mississippi State. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Kentucky might still be in a good spot in coach John Calipari’s estimation based on what he said after Saturday’s loss at Georgia but Wednesday night’s game at Mississippi State certainly seems to fall into the must-win category if UK wants to make the NCAA Tournament.

The Cats are 16-9 and just 7-5 in Southeastern Conference play and face a team that has won five straight games after its win at Arkansas on Saturday.

However, Kentucky could be short handed again at State. Guards CJ Fredrick and Sahvir Wheeler did not play at Georgia. Fredrick suffered a rib injury when he crashed into a cameraman against Florida. He finished that game and then played against Arkansas when he went 0-for-4 from the field in 21 minutes. Wheeler injured his ankle in practice last week and did not play against Arkansas or Georgia.

During his weekly call-in radio show Monday night, Calipari said the two “didn’t practice today” and said “we’ll see tomorrow” how they are before making a decision about Wednesday night’s game.

Fredrick has been plagued with injuries since transferring to UK from Iowa. He  missed all of last season with a torn hamstring and then dislocated the middle finger on his shooting hand this season and missed more games. He had finally removed the splint from his hand when he was hurt again against Florida. He is averaging only 7.1 points per game in SEC play and shooting just 30 percent from 3-point range.

Wheeler lost his starting job when he missed the Tennessee game with a shoulder injury.

Antonio Reeves played 40 minutes in the loss at Georgia. After a hot shooting first half, he cooled the second half while going the distance for the first time at UK.

“I feel like my legs were kind of getting tired,” Reeves said after the Georgia game where he scored 20 points. “Playing 40 minutes is tough for anybody, to be honest. I think that me being out there too much, it took a toll on my legs.”

If Fredrick and Wheeler don’t play against Mississippi State, Calipari indicated on his radio show that he might go with a one-guard lineup which could make for some odd lineups that would seem to lack a lot of scoring punch.

“We could play with one guard. We could play Jacob (Toppin) at the three,” Calipari said.

Doing that apparently would mean Chris Livingston would remain on the court as a three to give Reeves a break and leave either Cason Wallace or Adou Thiero running the point. It would also mean more playing time for either Daimion Collins, Lance Ware or Ugonna Onyenso. Collins has been playing sparingly but Ware has not played since the Ole Miss win on Jan. 31 and Onyenso last played for one minute against Texas A&M on Jan. 21.

So if Wheeler and Fredrick are both out again, Kentucky might have to rely on defense to win a low-scoring game at Mississippi State due to some funky lineups and not a lot of outside firepower.