This Kentucky team is impossible to figure out. Following the win in Knoxville last night Kentucky improved to 6-1 against top fifteen opponents. Kentucky is also 1-4 against unranked power conference opponents. The one win is Louisville. L’s Down. The Cats’ last two games came in the Volunteer state and followed this exact trend by losing to unranked Vanderbilt before beating UTjr. in the Food City Center. The trends aren’t just in who they play, but also how they play.
Execution on Defense
Kentucky was in control on Tuesday in a way they could never get to in Nashville. Kentucky dictated what the Vols were able to do on offense by having a great game plan and executing it better than they have all season. Tennessee attempted 45 (forty-freaking-five) threes; I believe the second most in the history of the school for a single game. Vandy had 45% of their three-point attempts come from shooters who are over 35% on the season while Tennessee only had 22% of their threes come from shooters with the same qualifications. Kentucky was without Lamont Butler, one of the best perimeter defenders in the country, but the game plan of keeping Tennessee out of the paint made up for the individual deficiencies.
Keeping Tennessee out of the paint led to more than just a bad shooting night. Vanderbilt had 21 assists to only 5 turnovers, a ratio that would double UCONN’s leading average on the season, but Tennessee didn’t have the same success moving the ball. Kentucky still only forced 5 turnovers, but limited Tennessee to just 14 assists. It’s not necessarily “good,” but it is good enough when your offense shoots 50% from deep. Tennessee also scored just 24 points in the paint compared to 32 from the Commodores. Keeping the duo of Zeigler and Lanier away from the paint kept Tennessee from moving the ball and scoring easy buckets at the rim, the strength of an already struggling offense.
Everybody Stepped Up
This was the most complete game Kentucky has had all season. Kentucky played nine guys (let’s all agree, Carr didn’t play) and got something positive out of each of them. Jaxson, Brea, and Ainsley were excellent shooting the ball and all seemed to be involved every time Kentucky went on a run. Trent Noah hit a shot from Mars, Travis Perry had zero turnovers against the best defense in the country, Garrison hit a backdoor pass against the pressure, and Collin Chandler was incredible on defense. Otega Oweh matched the Vols physicality and hit four free throws to ice the game. With Butler and Carr out, the Cats needed a complete effort and that is exactly what they gave Big Blue Nation.
Amari Williams
I have been very critical of Amari Williams, but he was nothing short of amazing in Knoxville. The birthday boy had 10 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, and was +20 in 24 minutes. Compare this to the 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and +5 in 23 minutes against Vandy and you can see the trend. Basketball Reference has a stat called “Game Score” that rates individual games on a 0-40 scale with 10 being the average game. In SEC play Williams averages a Game Score of 12.5 in wins and 5.2 in losses with no overlap between his best loss and worst win. This shows how valuable Williams is to Kentucky’s success and why it was so important for the Drexel transfer to be at his best in Knoxville.
We all know what’s next. Just win.
