Jacob Toppin injuring an ankle late in the first half might have raised the specter of yet another loss on the road in Southeastern Conference play Tuesday night. A third time after such losses at LSU and at Auburn surely would hold little charm for Kentucky.
UK’s Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside made sure that did not happen. In different ways, big man Oscar Tshiebwe and point guard Sahvir Wheeler led Kentucky to a 86-76 gut-check victory at South Carolina.
After being an invisible man — by his standards — in the first half, Tshiebwe ruled the basket area in the second half.
