What a turn of events it was in Rupp Arena on Wednesday night.
Before the Kentucky Wildcats faced Texas, rumors circulated that Collin Chandler was under the weather and might miss the game. Little did we know, not only would Chandler play, he’d go on to have a career night in front of the Big Blue Nation while carrying UK across the finish line.
The first commit of the Mark Pope era broke out for 18 points, draining a career-best five shots from 3-point range (on nine attempts). Coming off the bench
to play 32 excellent minutes is impressive enough; to do it while not feeling 100% is a story to tell your grandkids.
Chandler would add seven rebounds and multiple highlight reel moments to add to his already legendary mixtape.
Just a few weeks ago, it seemed like Mark Pope’s team was far from a position to string together four straight conference wins, but after multiple comeback wins and the “Collin Chandler flu game,” the Cats are clawing their way up the top of the SEC standings.
The juice that Chandler brings to this team can’t be measured on a stat sheet. He makes plays on both ends of the floor that seem impossible. He can get the crowd to transfer momentum to his teammates to help create the best basketball we’ve seen this season.
With the unfortunate injury to Kam Williams, everyone, including Chandler, will be looked at to provide even more spark. It will be interesting to see what the line-ups will look like moving forward and how Mark Pope will strategize to keep this version of Collin Chandler front and center.
At 4-2 in league play, UK will take on Ole Miss next on Saturday at noon in Lexington. The game will be televised on ESPN.
