Cats Illustrated publisher Justin Rowland hands out game grades to Kentucky players and the coaching after the Wildcats 71-66 short-handed Quadrant 1 win against LSU.

Davion Mintz (B+) ... Mintz finished with 13 points (4/10 FG, 4/4 FT), two rebounds, two steals, and two turnovers. Kentucky was +8 in his 38 minutes. He helped Kentucky play fast and get downhill which was necessary to jump-start and create some offense against an elite defensive team.

Kellan Grady (B) ... Grady was not out of this world on fire against LSU like he was against Alabama. He missed every one of his five three point attempts. One of the biggest changes these past couple of games has been that Grady has gone away from shooting only very high percentage shots. He was 5/13 from the field overall so 5/8 inside the arc. Typically he doesn't shoot much inside the arc. Grady had 13 points, three rebounds, three assists, and a steal but also three turnovers. He didn't come out of the game once.

Bryce Hopkins (A+) ... Where did that come from? One of the things that is special about this team is how someone steps up when they have to. It usually happens and sometimes it's an unlikely player. Just like Daimion Collins had his moment a couple of weeks ago

Keion Brooks (D) ... Brooks had put a bunch of quality games together during much of conference play but there have been off nights and steps back at times. Wednesday evening was an off night for Brooks, so much that Calipari reversed the normal playing time pattern for he and Toppin. He had six points (2/5 FG), one rebound, three turnovers and Kentucky was 11 points worse than LSU when he played.

Jacob Toppin (B) ... It was not Toppin's best offensive game (8 points, 2/7 FG) but he was Calipari's preferred option due to Brooks' struggles. He played 39 minutes and Kentucky was +4. Toppin had six rebounds, the second highest total on the team behind Tshiebwe. He didn't turn it over and had both a steal and a block.

Oscar Tshiebwe (A+) ... Oscar did what Oscar does. It's still amazing that 17 points and 16 rebounds is "just another game" for him but that's right there almost identical to his season averages. He was 5/7 from the field so 17 points on seven FG attempts is fantastic efficiency. He was 7/11 from the free throw line. Drawing so many fouls against LSU was a big part of Kentucky's win. Six of Tshiebwe's rebounds were offensive and Kentucky only had 11 as a team. They had 17 second chance points so that shows you the kind of impact he has on the game. Oh yeah, three blocks.

Coaching (A+) ... What could you possibly knock Calipari and his staff for after they led the team to wins against Alabama and LSU without its starting backcourt? He gave Bryce Hopkins an opportunity and the freshman stepped up. Calipari has hit all the right notes over the last couple of games against Nate Oats, who didn't manage Alabama's lead well at all, and Will Wade, who seemed to have a better game plan but had no answers for Kentucky's run after intermission.