Not even a full month ago, for the first time in his Kentucky career, Oscar Tshiebwe looked human — anything but like a machine.
In back-to-back outings against Florida (a tight win on Feb. 4) and Arkansas (a tough loss on Feb. 7), the reigning national player of the year looked like a shell of himself. Tshiebwe, who had become known as a walking double-double, combined for just 11 points across those two outings. Florida’s seven-foot big man, Colin Castleton, was especially unforgiving against Tshiebwe.
It was strange to see a robotic-like player such as Tshiebwe struggle so heavily after playing so well for so long.