Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s win over LSU in Baton Rouge
Three takeaways from Kentucky’s 79-76 win over LSU at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Tuesday night:
1. This was one of the Wildcats’ more impressive wins
Why? you ask. Because the Cats led pretty much from start to finish. Because they were playing an LSU team that desperately needed a win considering the Tigers had lost three of their last four. Because they made their first seven three-point shots of the second half and received a super-boost from Nate Sestina off the bench.
Remember, LSU started the SEC season 8-0. The Tigers entered Tuesday 34th in the kenpom rankings overall and third in offensive efficiency. And say you what will about Will Wade and that whole FBI wiretap mess last year — and there is much to say about that — I say the LSU coach can coach.
All of that, including a packed Pete Maravich Assembly Center, made no difference to the road team. First half, Kentucky couldn’t hit an open shot. Didn’t matter. UK’s defense kept the LSU offense in check, holding the Tigers to 31.3 percent shooting to squeeze out a 29-28 lead.
“I was skipping to the locker room,” said Calipari, he was so happy.
Second half, the Cats clicked. As previously mentioned, the same team that missed 20 of 22 three-pointers last Saturday in Rupp Arena against Ole Miss, missed just one of eight in the second half at the PMAC. Sestina went three of four from beyond the arc for the game. Ashton Hagans and Immanuel Quickley each went two of four. Second half, Kentucky made 17 of 23 shots for a scorching 73 percent. That will win a lot of basketball games.
2. Will Wade bows to the Hall of Famer
Here’s what the LSU coach said in his postgame press conference:
“Give Kentucky credit. (Calipari) usually comes in and runs his pin downs and all that stuff. We were hoping he was going to run all that because we can guard that.
“Then the second half he just said, ’To hell with that. We’re just going to spread them and drive them and get the misses.’ You know. He ran all his over-under stuff, put the high-ball screen out there and drove the hell of out of us to the front of the rim which was very, very smart.
“That’s why he’s in the Hall of Fame.”
Yep, that’s why Calipari is in the Hall of Fame and why he has team that is now 11-2 in the SEC, two games ahead of Wade’s Tigers with five games to go before the conference tournament commences in Nashville.
Yes, Kentucky was burning down the nets from three, but those opportunities were set up by Hagans (before he suffered a thigh contusion) and Quickley and Tyrese Maxey’s drives to the bucket. By my unofficial count, of the 10 UK baskets in the second half that were not triples, six came off drives to the hole.
3. Kentucky’s defense does indeed travel
As previously mentioned, LSU entered Tuesday night third in the nation in offensive efficiency. The Tigers left Tuesday night having shot just 39.4 percent from the floor. With six minutes remaining, the home team had scored just 52 points and trailed by 15.
That’s seven straight UK opponents that have shot an even 40 percent or below. And the Wildcats blocked 11 LSU shots Tuesday night and altered countless others.
“We haven’t seen a rim protector as good as Nick Richards,” said LSU guard Skylar Mays. “He did a great job controlling the paint and made it tough for us.”
LSU’s front line of Darius Days (5-for-14), Trendon Watford (3-for-13) and Emmitt Williams (1-for-6) were a combined 9-for-33 from the floor.
“Not going to get it done,” said Wade afterward. “Richards totally controlled the game defensively. He’s as good as there is in the league in the charge circle with the with the seals. He’s gotten in great shape. He looks great. We just couldn’t finish over him.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 1:20 AM.
