Can it be true? Kentucky again is one of nation’s least experienced teams.

Given all the talk about graduate transfer Reid Travis and a trio of sophomores giving Kentucky the experience it has lacked in recent one-and-done seasons, a calculation by stats savant Ken Pomeroy was startling.

Believe it or not, Kentucky is the second-most inexperienced team among the 353 in Division I. Only UNC Asheville is less experienced.

“I guess covering Kentucky, that does seem unusual,” Pomeroy said. “But I think nationally it’s tremendously unusual to have a roster of exclusively freshmen and sophomores.”

But what about Travis, but also PJ Washington, Quade Green and Nick Richards?

“I don’t think you could find another roster in the country that has all freshmen and sophomores except for one player,” Pomeroy said. “That’s what’s driving that.”

Monmouth Coach King Rice cited his team’s inexperience (No. 278 on Pomeroy’s experience rating) as a reason for its 0-7 start.

“Kentucky’s a young team, too,” he said. “I’ve watched a lot of tape of them. . . . They’re finding their way. Hopefully, we can come out and give them a game.”

Formerly an assistant at Vanderbilt, Rice recalled how John Wall needed time to blossom as a freshman star for Kentucky.

“Sometimes it takes kids time, especially when they’re under the spotlight like Kentucky kids,” Rice said. He then cited another adjustment UK players face. “It might be the first time they’re not dominating someone,” he said. “It takes some time to get used to it.”

When asked about the unblinking spotlight that shines on Kentucky players, Washington said, “It’s definitely hard. In high school, there’s not spotlight like this. There’s nothing like Kentucky basketball. So when you come in here in front of all these fans, it’s hard to be yourself and just go out and be comfortable in your own skin.”

UK Coach John Calipari suggested this adjustment shows itself on defense. Players come to Kentucky having been — almost exclusively — high school stars. Their high school teams needed their scoring, so defense — and the accompanying possibility of foul trouble — was discouraged, he said.

Of the slobbering hype afforded top recruits, Calipari asked a pointed question: “Did they ever talk about how they defended?”

The best defender on the high school level? “That guy never gets any recognition,” he said.

Talking on defense is “not something that’s emphasized in high school games,” Washington said. “When you come to college, it’s something new to us. It’s not easy to learn. It takes time. Once we get it, it’s on from there.”

0-7

Monmouth brings an 0-7 record to Rupp Arena. Six of the losses were by double-digit margins: against Lehigh, Colgate, Saint Joseph’s, West Virginia, Valparaiso and Cal State Fullerton. Last Saturday, the Hawks lost 60-57 to Princeton.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys,” Rice said. “And what I’m trying to get them to understand is there’s no excuses. We never make excuses.”

Monmouth weaknesses that seem to feed into UK strengths include being ranked No. 298 in turnovers (15.7 per game), No. 314 in fouls (21.9 per game) and No. 319 in rebound margin (minus 6.0).

Father and son

Rice’s son, Julian, is not optimistic about Monmouth beating UK.

“My 7-year-old told me, ‘Well, Dad, I don’t know if you can win this one because it’s Kentucky,’” the Monmouth coach said. “‘But after that one, you can win all the games.’”

Rice said he relayed Julian’s view to the Monmouth players.

“If we have to lose (at UK) and that makes us win five in a row, I think I’ll sign up for that one,” Rice said.

Precedents

In making the case for Kentucky’s defense being the problem and its offense in relatively good shape, Calipari cited the opening-game loss to Duke.

“When is the last time one of my teams scored 84, and we lost?” he asked on his radio show.

Answer: It happened three times prior to the 118-84 loss to Duke. Most recently, the Cats lost 97-92 to UCLA in Rupp Arena on Dec. 3, 2016.

The other two times it previously happened during Calipari’s time as coach was Jan. 30, 2016 (90-84 overtime loss at Kansas) and Jan. 14, 2014 (87-85 overtime loss at Arkansas).

Etc.

▪ The parents of former UK star Karl-Anthony Towns plan to attend the game, Calipari said on his radio show. The elder Karl Towns played for Monmouth.

▪ Richard Cross and Barry Booker will call the game for the SEC Network.

This story was originally published November 27, 2018 at 6:23 PM.