Five things you need to know from No. 20 Kentucky’s 65-62 loss to No. 7 Kansas
Five things you need to know from No. 20 Kentucky’s 65-62 loss to the No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks in the Champions Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis:
1. Kentucky’s offense is really struggling. Who would have guessed the UK football team is not the most offensively challenged program on campus?
For the second straight game, Kentucky’s attack went completely stagnant after halftime. The Wildcats were 8-of-30 on field goal tries in the second half.
The checklist of areas that need improvement is long. UK’s offensive spacing is bad. There is too much one-on-one isolation. The ball does not get to players in their comfort zones for good shots.
Recognition of what is a good shot is spotty.
True freshman point guard Devin Askew — who reclassified into the recruiting class of 2020 and could still be a high school senior — is, not surprisingly, having a rough transition (1-of-5 shooting, four turnovers, one assist Tuesday night) into high-level college hoops.
None of this is especially shocking for a team that, until Keion Brooks returns, has no one who had ever scored a basket for Kentucky before this season.
Still, even by the “new team every year” standards of John Calipari-era Kentucky basketball, the current Cats have a long way to go.
2. Kentucky three-point shooting remains frigid. After going 0-of-10 from behind the arc in Sunday’s home-court loss to Richmond, UK went 3-of-21 against KU.
Prized freshmen wings Brandon Boston and Terrence Clarke are both still oh-for-the-season on treys, Boston 0-of-11, Clarke 0-of-8.
For the season, UK is shooting 19.1 percent (9-of-47) on three-point attempts.
Creighton graduate transfer Davion Mintz (2-of-5) and ex-Pendleton County star Dontaie Allen (1-of-2) had Kentucky’s only made treys vs. Kansas.
Maybe the ability to hit perimeter shots needs to play a larger role in Kentucky’s playing-time decisions.
3. A Calipari-era rarity: The Cats under .500. Kentucky is now 1-2, only the second time in John Calipari’s 12-year tenure as UK head coach that the Wildcats have been below. 500 at any point in a season.
The other time also came after a loss in the Champions Classic. UK stood 0-1 in 2018-19 after its shocking 118-84 drubbing at the hands of Duke in the season opener.
4. The Bill Self Effect. Before Self came to Kansas in 2003, UK led the all-time series with KU 19-3. Under Self, the Jayhawks are now 7-4 vs. the Wildcats.
5. Champions Classic parity. After Michigan State beat Duke 75-69 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Tuesday’s first game, the all-time Champions Classic records are: Duke 6-4, Kansas 5-5, Kentucky 5-5 and Michigan State 4-6.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 12:21 AM.
