Lack of Daimion Collins Late Against Arkansas Proves Puzzling as Oscar Tshiebwe's Struggles Continue

The reigning National Player of the Year continued to struggle on Tuesday night against Arkansas, while Daimion Collins contributed greatly in the first half. Despite that, it was Tshiebwe who stayed in the game as the Razorbacks pulled away.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky coach John Calipari took the podium for less than six minutes following his Wildcats' dismantling 88-73 loss to Arkansas on Tuesday night.

Quick to head over for a radio segment afterward, Calipari didn't give much when asked about the collapse of his team in the second half in a game that many considered "must-win." 

Aside from the usual phrases like giving Arkansas credit, acknowledging the Razorbacks' humongous shooting night and saying UK will get better, there was just one admittedly candid answer from the Hall of Famer — surrounding the decision to play Oscar Tshiebwe more and Daimion Collins less. 

Flashback to last Tuesday in Oxford, as the Wildcats were still riding high heading into a road battle against Ole Miss — one of the worst teams in the SEC. It started out sloppy, as most UK games do this season, 

In stepped the sophomore Collins, who had barely seen the floor since the beginning of SEC play. In less than three minutes of action, he would accumulate four points and a rebound. It may not have seemed like much at the time, but it would give the Cats some life in a trap game that could've easily wound up in disaster. 

His performance earned a hug from Calipari and helped lead to a 75-66 win for Kentucky. The excitement about a potential breakthrough for the 6-foot-9, 210-pounder would only skyrocket over the weekend, as he again came to life off the bench, this time against Florida. 

This time in front of a rowdy Rupp Arena crowd, Collins played just five minutes, but still earned three points from the free-throw line, nearly bringing the house down with what would've been the best poster dunk to occur in Lexington in quite some time. 

It was a necessary performance, as the Cats squeaked by the Gators 72-67. That win came without the usual monster showing from Oscar Tshiebwe, as the superstar center was able to acquire only four points on 2-14 shooting and four boards. 

After the weekend win, Calipari attributed some of Tshiebwe's struggles to perhaps too much usage, making the claim that he needed to role with the backup more down the stretch:

“Need to play him more,” he said. “Need to play Oscar less. Oscar, I got to chalk it up to he's playing too many minutes. That means Daimion can play more.”

Back to Tuesday night's loss against Arkansas, the table was set for Collins to officially make his mark, as Tshiebwe once again wasn't meeting the lofty expectations he's set for himself. 

That's exactly what happened...in the first half. Tshiebwe managed a pedestrian four points and five rebounds, but was far from the usual threat that he's become during his UK tenure. It was again Collins who found a groove. 

A towering midrange jumper splashed down to beat the buzzer, capping off a seven-point half that saw the Atlanta, Texas native look as focused and confident as ever. He was one of only seven that played, with point guard Sahvir Wheeler out with an ankle injury. 

The decision seems easy, right? Ride the hot hand and let Collins continue his offensive outburst, right? 

Right? 

Wrong. It was Tshiebwe who played 18 more minutes in the second half, with just two going to Collins. 

The result? 

A measly three points and two rebounds for the reigning National Player of the Year as the Razorbacks blasted the Wildcats out of the building, outscoring UK 47-33 in the final period. It's only the second time in Tshiebwe's Kentucky career that he's gone two consecutive games without hitting double-figures in the points category. 

"We were trying to get it into (Tshiebwe). I thought he worked at times, and other times (Arkansas) were getting around the post. They trapped him or they just bodied him," Calipari said postgame. "I was doing some stuff to let him get some jump shots, to just get him going, and he's got to be better for us, and he will be. He will be." 

There's no reason to believe that the big man won't regain that stride that he's always maintained, but there's plenty of reason to question why he wasn't removed from the lineup in place of Collins in the second half on Tuesday.

When asked about the decision to keep Tshiebwe in, Calipari was honest: 

"You know, you as a coach, you go with what got you there, and I wanted to -- it was a bigger picture for Oscar than just this game. It was like, let's get him going just to get him right." 

On face value, that makes perfect sense. The NPOY is normally the straw that stirs the drink, and while he isn't reaching the same heights he found in the 2021-22 season, Tshiebwe's still been rock solid for nearly all of his second campaign in Lexington. 

But scoping out and taking a good look at Calipari's response, there's a greater question to pose: Where has Kentucky gone with Tshiebwe, exactly? 

The answer to that is an embarrassing loss to Saint Peter's in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and at the moment a 16-8 record and perhaps a 10-seed at best in the upcoming tourney — if the Cats can even make the Big Dance at all. 

Individual records speak for themselves in regards to Tshiebwe's play, but that's last season. This current version of the West Virginia transfer that's appeared over the past week's worth of games has been far below the standard. 

It's not to say that Collins would've prevented Arkansas from shooting 72 percent as a team in the second half, but why not give him more of a shot? It's past the point in the season to still be ironing out details and trying to think big picture. 

Kentucky is nowhere close to guaranteeing itself a spot in March Madness. It's 1-7 in Quadrant 1 games. Moving into the middle of February, it still has no résumé to write home about. That's the real big picture. 

A couple more losses in the regular season will likely keep UK without a win in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth season in a row. The program that once struck fear into the hearts of anyone who stepped foot inside Rupp Arena has now lost three games at home — one of which came to a team that is ranked No. 271 in the NET. 

When Collins was asked about not playing more in the second half, he started then stopped...looking away as he murmured "I don't know. Next question."

The next question for Calipari and the Wildcats will come on Saturday afternoon in Athens, Ga. as they head down south for a second meeting with the Georgia Bulldogs. Collins and Tshiebwe's playing time will be a major storyline to keep an eye on with just seven games left before the SEC Tournament. 

More on the loss to Arkansas HERE.

Game notes from the defeat can be found HERE.

Everything John Calipari said after the loss HERE.

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