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Men's Basketball

Breaking Down Kentucky’s Scoring Droughts

Published

4 years ago

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Kentucky has lost six straight games, and the one thing that has decimated Kentucky, especially in the past two games, is scoring droughts.

In both of those games, Kentucky played decent in the first half. They were up by four points at halftime against North Carolina and were down one point at halftime against Louisville. But, you play two halves in college basketball, and the second half didn’t treat Kentucky well.

In the past two second halves of basketball, Kentucky has played 40 minutes and has gone 27 minutes without a shot falling in that time. That’s horrible.

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Let’s look at the second half against North Carolina.

North Carolina

In the second half against North Carolina, Kentucky had three scoring droughts. They played the first three minutes of the second half without a basket, where they were 0/2 from the field. However, this small drought didn’t really hurt Kentucky, as UNC only hit one shot during this stretch.

In the second scoring drought, the Cats went almost three minutes without a bucket, going only 0/1 from the field. Once again though, this small drought didn’t really hurt Kentucky, as UNC only hit two shots during this stretch.

Let’s be negative though for a second. If Kentucky had a functioning offense that produced made shots, the Cats could’ve easily extended their four point halftime lead to double-digits.

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The third drought really hurt Kentucky and made me turn off the TV. The Cats went almost ten minutes without a made basket. The Tar Heels went on a 20-6 run during this stretch and turned a six-point deficit into a six-point lead. The Cats were outscored 41-25 in the half.

Going even further, Kentucky went 0/6 from the field with five turnovers. The Cats also committed nine fouls during this stretch. The fact Kentucky got only six shots up in a ten minute stretch, with so many talented scorers, is mind-boggling.

In other words, Kentucky’s offense in the second half of the UNC game was almost non-existent.

Louisville

First, if we’re being positive, Kentucky actually went on a small 7-2 run at the start of the second half against Louisville to take a four-point lead. But then things went south.

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Kentucky went just over eight minutes without a basket and Louisville turned a four-point deficit into a four-point lead, going on a 15-7 run.

During this stretch, Kentucky was 0/6 from the field with five turnovers. Once again, in eight minutes, Kentucky only attempting six shots with so many talented scorers, is mind-boggling.

Summary

So, in 40 minutes of basketball, the Cats went 27 minutes without scoring, including missing 12 shots, and turned the ball over 11 times. YIKES!!

Kentucky’s offense is bad, but this really shows how bad it is. A talented team like this cannot go 27 out of 40 minutes without a basket and only attempt 12 shots during that time.

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I hate to pull the Dontaie Allen card here, but I have to. Allen averaged over 40 points a game in his senior year of high school and can clearly shoot the ball, but Cal refuses to play him. In a failing offense, the one thing Cal hasn’t tried, he won’t try. I’m not saying Dontaie Allen is going to fix UK’s problems, because he won’t, but Kentucky has nothing except Davion Mintz and Jacob Toppin, two bench-players from non power-five schools, as reliable options on offense right now.

Yet, he’ll sit there and rely on B.J. Boston, Terrence Clarke, and Olivier Sarr to run the offense. Two guys who brick shots the entire game and the other guy hasn’t scored a point in two games.

It’s absolutely ridiculous. Until Cal decides to try something else, this team isn’t going anywhere.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Players Say They Think About Winning National Championship “Every Second”

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3 days ago

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November 18, 2024

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Kentucky basketball players celebrate after their big over Duke.
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The expectations at Kentucky are the highest of any school in the country, and there is good reason why. The winningest college program ever. Eight national titles, under five different coaches. Seventeen Final Four appearances. You get it, a lot of success.

Fans want the players to have those same expectations. Despite not having the elite talent or preseason hype of great Kentucky teams past, this year’s team still has their eyes set on doing something “people will remember forever”, winning a national championship.

Asked on social media, if hanging banner #9 was all the players thought about “every second”, Ansley Almonor had a response.

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“We do.”

It takes a lot to win a national championship, including some luck, but this team is certainly going to be loved for their desire to live out their dream of playing at Kentucky and their unselfishness. Those two things can take them a long way this season .

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart Seemingly Takes Shot at John Calipari, “Anybody Can Recruit”

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5 days ago

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November 16, 2024

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Mitch Barnhart sitting next to basketball coach John Calipari.
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John Calipari and Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart had their differences over fifteen years, but success can hide a lot of things. Not that they hated each other, but they each had vastly different personalities. As that success weaned towards the end of Calipari’s tenure, those issues started to be noticed publically.

If you need evidence of that, despite their efforts to dispute it, there is the infamous press conference where Barnhart talked about “entitled” coaches, shortly after Calipari publicly called for a new practice facility. Then, there were multiple times when Calipari expressed that the administration was not on the same page and that he was facing “headwinds”.

That said, Calipari is now at Arkansas, but those differences and some disdain remain. During an interview on the Kentucky Football pregame show, Barnhart seemingly took a shot at Calipari when asked about Mark Pope’s recruiting philosophy and prioritizing fit.

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“I tell people all the time, ‘Anybody can recruit, not everybody can evaluate,’” Barnhart said. “You can recruit. You can be phenomenal at bringing people to your program. But if it does not fit you, it’s really not helpful.”

Of course, Calipari is one of the best, if not the best, recruiters in college basketball history. At times, he prioritized talent and athleticism over fit.

Quite the coincidence.

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ESPN’s Jay Williams Gives Message to Kentucky Fans, “You’re Not Going to Like It…”

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6 days ago

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November 15, 2024

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ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams gives a message to Kentucky fans after the Wildcats win over Duke. "You won't like it."
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Back in April, opposing fanbases like Duke, told Kentucky fans to “cope with Pope” following the hire of Mark Pope and the corresponding initial shock. On Tuesday, those same fanbases had to watch as Mark Pope outcoached Jon Scheyer and Duke in the final minutes of the Champion’s Classic to get his first marque win in just his third game at Kentucky.

Of course, shortly after the game, Duke fans began to rationalize the loss by highlighting their team’s youth. While true, it sounded like an echo chamber of what Kentucky fans said for years under John Calipari. One notable example was former Blue Devil Jay Williams.

At halftime, while Duke was leading 46-37, Williams called this year’s Duke team the most talented since the 2001 team that he was a part of at halftime. To his credit, he complimented Kentucky on the comeback victory, specifically on their offense and maturity, but then 36 hours later he posted a message to Kentucky fans on social media.

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“Let me put you on to something,” Williams started. “Whether you like it or not, networks are going to sell Cooper Flagg. He’s going to be the number one pick in the draft. You’re going to talk about whether he won the or whether he lost the game, regardless of the outcome.”

“You’re not going to like it. There should be more kudos to Mark Pope and Kentucky,” Williams continued. “Regardless of whether you won the game or not, they’re still going to sell Cooper Flagg because he is selling the sport. Sorry.”

William’s statement is true. That said, it comes off as ‘sour grapes’ about losing. Cooper Flagg is a great talent and will likely be the first pick in the NBA Draft, but most Kentucky fans would say they would much rather have the win than the marketing.

Futhermore, Kentucky and its ‘brand’ has raised the level of multiple players and coaches, and will continue to do so. A deeper impact than Cooper Flagg will have on Duke in just one season.

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