Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Kentucky Wildcats Match Player Stats On Dec 22, 2021

In a game scheduled at the last minute, the Kentucky Wildcats did not wait long to take care of business.

The No. 20 Wildcats (9-2) dominated Western Kentucky 95-60 Wednesday in Lexington, Ky., in a game scheduled on Monday after the two teams both saw their original opponents -- Louisville and Austin Peay, respectively -- deal with COVID-19 positives.

The star of the game was Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe, who had one of the greatest rebounding games in program history.

He reached his career-high in boards by pulling in 28 rebounds to go with 14 points. That mark set the all-time Rupp Arena record for rebounds in a game, and was the most rebounds for any Kentucky player in a game since Mike Phillips also grabbed 28 in a 1976 game against Tennessee.

Kentucky jumped out to a 20-7 lead and never trailed again behind a stifling defense and the hot shooting of Kellan Grady and TyTy Washington Jr. Grady was 6 of 9 from 3-point range as part of his 23 points, and Washington finished with 20 points.

Josh Anderson led Western Kentucky (8-5) with 18 points. Jamarion Sharp added eight points, seven blocks and six rebounds.

Western Kentucky briefly gained momentum early in the second half, cutting the deficit to four points at 37-33 with 18:46 to play. But the Wildcats immediately responded with a 15-0 run.

Outside shooting was a big boon to Western Kentucky in its upset win over Louisville last Saturday, but it found none of the same success against Kentucky. The Hilltoppers missed their first eight outside shots of the game, and finished the game just 3 of 20 (15 percent) from beyond the arc.

--Field Level Media