After its SEC Tournament loss, Kentucky basketball is all out of second chances
Surrounded by media inside Kentucky basketball’s locker room inside the Bridgestone Arena late Friday night, Jacob Toppin stared straight ahead.
The look on his face wasn’t really one of anger. Or frustration. Surely those emotions bubbled just beneath the surface for UK’s senior forward. After all, Toppin had done his part, scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, but as he took questions after the Wildcats’ 80-73 loss to Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, the look on his face was one of bewilderment.
And no wonder. Every time this Kentucky basketball team in this 2022-23 season appears to have finally things figured out, it’s back to the drawing board.
Only now, with the NCAA Tournament a weekend away, there are no more second chances.
“If we lose, we go home,” Toppin said.
Next time for good.
There wasn’t anything particularly mysterious about the Cats’ second loss to the Commodores in 10 days. Vanderbilt beat Kentucky at Big Blue Nation’s home away from home in much the same manner Jerry Stackhouse’s surging team surprised UK 68-66 at Rupp Arena on March 1.
For starters, the Commodores exploited Kentucky’s flawed defense, now ranked 71st nationally in adjusted deficiency, according to Ken Pomeroy. Time and again, the ‘Dores drove unimpeded to the rim. They took advantage of angles. They played through contact. They beat defenders off the bounce, a chronic problem for these Cats.
“We didn’t play up to our defensive potential,” Toppin said. “They got whatever they wanted. They got downhill. They got threes. They got everything they wanted.”
Vandy also hit big shots that beat the shot clock. Guard Ezra Manjon did so with 6:30 left, throwing in a three-pointer off a scramble play for a 66-60 lead a tick before the lights around the backboard flashed. Same for Ty Lawrence with 1:11 left when the guard nailed a leaner from the right wing before the shot clock hit zero.
And free throws. Each team shot 20. Vanderbilt made 18. Kentucky made 11. From a purely mathematical standpoint, there’s your difference right there. Kentucky’s misses weren’t just misses, they were big misses. Example: In a span of less than a minute — the 3:48 mark and the 2:49 mark — Oscar Tshiebwe twice missed the front end of bonus situations. With 37.9 second left, his team down five at 77-72 and looking for a reason to believe, Toppin missed two straight at the line.
“We’ve got to be better,” he said.
Give Vanderbilt credit. The Commodores have won 10 of their last 11. Friday, they were 10 of 25 from three-point range. Kentucky was 6 of 25. Primarily a pass-first point guard, Manjon led all scorers with 25 points. Vanderbilt averaged 1.168 points per possession, the 17th UK foe to reach and pass the coveted 1.0 mark. Now 21-11 overall, UK is 8-9 in those games.
Offensively, after scoring a career-high 37 points in UK’s win last Saturday at Arkansas, Antonio Reeves scored 22. He was 8 of 20 from the floor, including 3 of 9 from three-point range.
Afterward, Calipari attempted to pull a silver lining out of the dark cloud. His team needs to get healthy, he said. Cason Wallace and CJ Fredrick played through injuries. Toppin missed practice time this week, though afterward he dismissed talk of playing hurt. Sahvir Wheeler was unavailable once again.
Those are excuses. As Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes said after his Vols lost in Lexington, “We brought enough to win the game.” Same was true for Kentucky on Friday night. And it lost for the fourth time in its last five SEC Tournament games.
It’s true that the Cats have rebounded from tough losses all season. It won at Tennessee after losing at home to South Carolina. It won at Mississippi State after losing at Georgia. It won at Arkansas after that home loss to Vanderbilt.
It’s also true that since SEC play began, these Cats have been unable to string together more than four consecutive victories at a time. Bad habits return. Losing habits.
“We have to play winning basketball,” Toppin said
In March Madness, there’s no other choice.
