In a dramatic matchup that ended in defeat, No. 19/17 Kentucky suffered a crushing 89-75 loss to Missouri in the Southeastern Conference opener on Wednesday night. Despite a standout performance by Oscar Tshiebwe, who recorded a double-double with 23 points and 19 rebounds, the Wildcats were unable to overcome their struggles on the court. Tshiebwe, the reigning National Player of the Year, notched his sixth double-double of the season and the 46th of his college career, with four of those instances being 22 points and 18 rebounds or more. This feat has only been achieved seven times in the last decade, four of which were by Tshiebwe himself.
Freshman Cason Wallace added 19 points for Kentucky, but foul trouble plagued him throughout the evening. Sahvir Wheeler contributed 12 points and eight assists to the Wildcats’ effort.
The first half proved to be a struggle for Kentucky (8-4, 0-1 SEC) as they shot just 40% from the field and 16.7% from behind the arc. This allowed Missouri (12-1, 1-0) to build a lead that reached as high as 14 points. The Tigers led 42-30 at halftime.
In the second half, Kentucky attempted to make a comeback, launching a 10-2 run, culminating in a dunk by Lance Ware, to cut Missouri’s lead to 56-47 with 12:31 left in the game. However, the Wildcats were unable to get any closer.
The Cats grabbed an early lead with a three-pointer by Wallace just 1:22 into the game, but Missouri quickly responded with a 13-2 run, taking control of the game and never looking back. Kobe Brown led the Tigers with a game-high 30 points.
Kentucky will face off against archrival Louisville at Rupp Arena on Saturday at noon ET. The game will be televised on CBS.