The Wildcats have had some very noticable trends as of late, and they have reared their head in SEC play, as well as both of their true road games so far. These areas are crucial for their post-season success, and Mark Pope knows how important it is to get them straightened out as soon as possible as they get deeper into conference play.
1. Rebounding
While Kentucky is one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the country, ranked 8th, they are the opposite on the offensive end. Not just that, but their numbers on the defensive end have really taken a dip. The Wildcats were ranked in the top 3 in defensive rebounds just a couple of weeks ago. This is an issue, and it is a growing one in the last few games. Mark Pope stresses staying in the moment, but it appears the Wildcats are not when the ball comes off the rim right now. Pope noted this in his call-in show this week, but it’s a big issue with the guards, as they will have to help the bigs out with rebounds. It needs to be a team effort on the glass, and if the Wildcats do that, they can make significant improvements there. It needs to be all hands on deck when it comes to rebounding.
2. Physicality
This aligns with the rebounding issues, but the Wildcats absolutely have to learn how to handle physicality, especially in the physical and bruising SEC. Each game Kentucky has played a physical team, many of their strengths become weaknesses. Their shooting numbers, rebounding, assist-to-turnover ratio, and their overall pace take a hit. When teams play physical and slow them down, the Wildcats really struggle. They are going to have to get tougher if they want to make a deep tournament run and survive the SEC. You’re going to have to get physical each night in the conference.
3. Three-point shooting
One of the major strengths of this team has taken a concerning dip lately, and again, is a trend in their losses. Against Georgia, the Wildcats shot 6-25 from three-point range. Not only that, but as a team that can be really dangerous from deep, the Wildcats aren’t even in the top 50 in the country in three-point attempts. It seems that teams have been doing a good job of taking away the three from Kentucky. They’re going to need their shooting touch that they had earlier in the season if they want to reach their hopes of a Final Four.
Kentucky is going to have to buckle down and focus on these three areas to improve on if they want their Final Four wish to come true. If they can’t handle the physicality, improve their rebounding, and get their shooting touch back in SEC play, it will be tough to make that big run in the tournament.