Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s win over Miles College
Three takeaways from Kentucky’s 80-71 win over Miles College in an exhibition basketball game on Friday at Rupp Arena:
1. This was not a confidence-builder before Duke
Five days before your team is scheduled to play the mighty Duke Blue Devils in the Champions Classic at none other than Madison Square Garden, this is not what you want to see: Miles 46, Kentucky 39. Halftime at Rupp Arena. Exhibition game. Upset alert.
Yikes. No, double yikes. The Division II Golden Bears hit the floor on fire, burying their first six three-point attempts. UK head coach John Calipari had to call a timeout just 1:29 into the game, down 13-4. He called another at the 10:29 mark of the first half, his team trailing 25-16. As previously mentioned, the Cats trailed by seven at intermission. As previously mentioned, Miles College is a Division II team.
So what happened? After failing to muster much post defense in the exhibition win over Kentucky Wesleyan last week, the Cats failed to protect the perimeter against Miles. True, the visitors were throwing in some ridiculous shots. But also true, many of those ridiculous shots were wide-open shots. At the half, Miles had made 11 of 15 of its tries from three.
“Our defense in the first half was horrible,” UK’s Jacob Toppin said afterward.
And what has Duke done historically, or at least over the last decade? Take a lot of three-point shots. And the Blue Devils often hit a lot of three-point shots. That might not be a particular attribute of this Duke team. It’s too soon to tell. Still, Kentucky has to tighten up on the defensive end if the Wildcats have any chance of making next week’s trip to the Big Apple a pleasant one.
Said Calipari, “Hopefully we’re better defensively than we’re showing right now.”
2. Sahvir Wheeler is a pest
So said one of the Miles players after the game. He meant on the defensive end. And he meant it as a compliment. Wheeler certainly took it as such, a huge smile crossing his face when the Georgia transfer was informed of the postgame comment. On this night, Wheeler was a pest when the Cats needed him to be.
“He ignited us,” teammate Kellan Grady said.
The 5-foot-9 junior started the Kentucky comeback with a three-pointer from the right wing at the 19:14 mark. He made one of two free throws at 18:39. He scored off a baseline drive with 17:14 left. Then scored on a fast break after a steal with 16:08 left to put the Cats up 49-48.
By night’s end, Wheeler had scored 15 points, with six assists and three rebounds while going 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. He was also credited with two steals, though the total seemed low since his defensive pressure had much to do with the Cats outscoring Miles 41-25 in the second half.
“Our guards may have to play 30 minutes,” Calipari said. “That’s just the way it is.”
That would be the starting guard tandem of Wheeler and TyTy Washington, the latter being the freshman who followed his 18-point performance against Kentucky Wesleyan with 15 points against Miles. Washington also had six assists. He also collected four rebounds.
Wheeler did commit four turnovers, and turnovers were a problem for the New York native in Athens last season. Still, his intensity and ability to annoy the visitors was the difference in Friday’s game. And the Cats will need for him to be even more annoying come Tuesday night in New York.
3. Kentucky doesn’t have much of a post presence
As Calipari has said, and repeated Friday, if you don’t have a post presence, you’re a fraud. And while Kentucky’s post defense improved, it didn’t get much production out of its frontcourt players on the offensive end on Friday.
Oscar Tshiebwe did grab 12 rebounds, but the West Virginia transfer made just one of his (just) three shots, to go with a 2-of-5 night at the foul line. Sub Lance Ware played just 11 minutes and missed his only two shots.
On the plus side, Jacob Toppin was excellent, going 5-for-7 from the floor on his way to 12 points and four rebounds in 16 minutes. (I liked Toppin last season.) It was also his first action of the season after sitting out the Kentucky Wesleyan game because of a shoulder problem. His return was a welcome sight.
And Cal complimented Dontaie Allen’s floor game, not because of Allen’s nine points on 3-of-5 from behind the arc. Everyone knows the kid can shoot. The coach said he liked Allen’s effort on the floor. The sophomore had three rebounds and two blocked shots in 11 minutes.
But back to the middle. Duke returns 7-footer Mark Williams, who came on strong at the end of last season. And Devils star freshman Paolo Banchero is a 6-10 headache that handles the ball well enough to play outside, but he can also score underneath the basket.
Said Calipari, “It’s going to be a hard game.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 10:53 PM.
