It was an abysmal night for Kentucky basketball, as they had their worst performance of the season in a 20 point loss to Ohio State. It was ugly from start to finish, with the Wildcats not able to make shots, and unable to get stops on defense.
Otega Oweh scored 21 points for the Cats, but most of those came at the free throw line where he was 13-for-13. Andrew Carr had 13 points, but was just 3-of-9 from the field. Lamont Butler, fresh off a 33 point game against Louisville, managed just four points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Overall, Kentucky shot just 29% from the floor, and an awful 18% from three point range. They also got out rebounded and lost the turnover battle. They were out-scored 36 – 24 in the paint.
It was a bleak night for Wildcats fans. Coach Mark Pope will need to make some adjustments as the team gets ready to enter SEC play, where they will face a lot of physical teams.
Here are five things to take away from the Kentucky 85 – 65 loss to the Buckeyes.
Kentucky struggles with physical teams
Over the past few weeks, Kentucky has faced some teams that play a physical style of defense, and it has given the Cats fits. Opponents are copying what the Clemson Tigers did successfully, and Coach Pope has to prepare his team for it. The SEC is loaded with teams that will smack Kentucky in the face.
The three point shots aren’t falling
Kentucky only made 18% of their three point shots against Ohio State, but have struggled in several recent games. In five of their last seven games, they’ve made less than 30% from deep, with the Louisville game being the only game they made more than 35%. If they want to shoot 30 or more threes per game, they have to be better at it.
Kentucky is reliant on Lamont Butler
As Lamont Butler goes, so goes the Wildcats. Butler has become the heart and soul of Kentucky, and when he struggles, or isn’t on the floor, the Cats tend to struggle as well. He was just 1-of-7 from the floor on Saturday, and had just four points. The offense sank along with him.
Kentucky’s second unit has to play better
There’s a noticeable difference for the Wildcats when the starters exit the game. Guys like Brandon Garrison certainly have their moments, but overall, things have fallen off once the second unit comes in. It’s especially evident on defense, when the backups have to guard in the paint and rebound. Against Ohio State, the backups had just 11 total points, 8 of which came from Koby Brea.
Kentucky has to forget this one and move on
Sometimes it’s just not your night, and Saturday was not Kentucky’s night. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and it’s the kind of game they’ll need to just forget. Luckily, they don’t play again for 10 days, and they can move on from an ugly night.