Collin Chandler has received a lot of flak for his play at times this season. He is still just 2 years removed from being on a Mormon mission. He is trying to regain the confidence he had that led him to be a top 40 player in the class of 2022. But in these last two games, when Kentucky needed a big-time play, Collin Chandler was there.
Collin Chandler has the clutch gene
Trailing LSU with just over one second to go, Mark Pope called a timeout, and it was Collin Chandler who stepped forward and asked for the inbound role. He threw a full-court dime to Malachi Moreno, who sank a free-throw line jumper to complete the comeback from 18 points down. Chandler finished the game with 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists, shooting 50 percent from the floor.
Fast forward to yesterday afternoon. The Cats struggled again in the first half, falling behind by 17 to a Tennessee team that had an extra day's rest. But once again, they kept on fighting.
They closed the lead to just one when Chandler stepped up again. Otega Oweh had missed a free throw, leaving the Cats down one with 50 seconds to go. Ja'Kobi Gillespie brought the ball up the floor, and Tennessee tried to run a little flare screen. Chandler fought through the screen and made a big-time steal. He threw it ahead to a streaking Oweh, who made a layup with 34 seconds to go, giving Kentucky its first lead of the game.
Oweh was fouled but missed the free throw, setting the stage for a Denzel Aberdeen floater to put the Cats up three. The final seconds saw Tennessee miss a free throw on purpose, but the Vols couldn't get a shot off, and Kentucky had come back again, this time from 17 down.
Chandler finished the game with 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. He was 4-of-6 from deep and gave Kentucky everything he had.
So now, Kentucky sits at 12-6 (3-2 SEC) and has a chance to win two home games against Texas and Ole Miss. If they do that, they get themselves out of the hole they dug before heading into two more road games against ranked foes, Arkansas and Vandy.
A huge part of why they are on a 3-game winning streak is Collin Chandler. Let the kids grow up; don't be so quick to write them off. Chandler is proving he has the clutch gene.