NCAA Tournament 2019: Top takeaways from second night of Sweet 16

Kentucky 62, Houston 58

Kentucky will go as far as PJ Washington takes them
The Wildcats made it to the Sweet 16 without their best player in PJ Washington but would not have beaten Houston without him. He came off the bench due to his foot injury but contributed 16 points and helped Kentucky dominate on the glass.

Houston’s guards largely outplayed Kentucky’s backcourt, so John Calipari focused on feeding the ball to Washington down low – and it worked.

Now, we’ll see how Washington’s foot heals but we expect to see him in the Elite Eight against Auburn. But it won’t be enough for him to simply show up – he’ll have to play like he did tonight to give Kentucky that interior threat if the Wildcats are going to win.

Don’t doubt Tyler Herro in clutch situations
The only other Kentucky player to finish with more than seven points, Herro (who finished with a team-high 19) came up with five points in the final minute, including this go-ahead three and two free throws to seal the game.

Herro added a legitimate perimeter shooting threat when he was added to Kentucky’s starting lineup halfway through the season and his clutch play has lifted the Wildcats on more than one occasion.

He came up big against Louisville, called himself a walking bucket in a comeback win over Arkansas, and – for Elite Eight purposes – had 20 points and several big shots late in Kentucky’s two-point win at Auburn on Jan. 19.

If Kentucky is going to beat the Tigers for the third time this year, he might have to come up big late again.