Kentucky basketball: Top 3 players who got the Cats to the Sweet 16

The Wildcats advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the 7th time under head coach John Calipari. Which 3 players from the Kentucky basketball team have been the top performers and a big reason why the Cats are headed to Atlanta?

The Kentucky basketball is headed to Atlanta for the Sweet Sixteen. This is John Calipari’s 7th trip to the Regional Semifinals in his 9 years at UK. The Wildcats have been on a roll of late, but which 3 players have been the top performers for the Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament?

While this year’s Kentucky basketball team is not littered with NBA Lottery talent as in years past, they are not without their stars. Kentucky defeated Davidson in it’s opening game of the tournament. Last Saturday, the Cats knocked 13-seed Buffalo out of the tournament. Let’s explore the 3 most valuable Wildcats to this point. The third player on the list may surprise you.

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Anybody out there want to debate this? I didn’t think so. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the single best player on the Kentucky basketball team. While Kevin Knox gets his fair-share of fanfare and publicity, SGA is the unquestioned leader among the players.

In Shai’s 2 tournament games he’s averaging 38 minutes, 23 points, 7 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 3.5 steals. If there’s a better stat line through the first 2 games of this year’s tournament, please let me know.

Gilgeous-Alexander can get to the basket almost anytime he wants. While he scored 19 in UK’s first game of the tournament, Shai will be the first to tell you he didn’t have a good game. And honestly, he’s right. Gilgeous-Alexander shot only 5-of-13 in the game and had 3 turnovers. However, Shai got to the line late in the contest and was 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.

Against Buffalo Gilgeous-Alexander was downright unstoppable. Shai missed only 2 shots and one of those was a missed lob attempt that rolled off the back of the rim. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 27 points against the Bulls, and was 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.

I’ve said all year that Shai is the straw that stirs the drink for this Kentucky basketball team. Unfortunately for Gilgeous-Alexander, there is not another player on the team who can pick up his slack. In order for the Cats to go to the Final Four, SGA must play at the same high level going forward.