Three takeaways Kentucky basketball’s win against Lipscomb
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Game day: No. 9 Kentucky 97, Lipscomb 68
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Tuesday night’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Lipscomb in Rupp Arena.
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Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 97-68 victory over Lipscomb on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena:
1. There was no post-Duke letdown
After Kentucky’s huge 77-72 win over Duke in last week’s Champions Classic, you’d think Mark Pope would stress the importance of avoiding the dreaded letdown with the mid-major 2-3 Lipscomb Bisons coming to town.
You’d also be wrong. Dead wrong. In his postgame press conference, the UK coach said that is something he does not do. He wants to talk about what he wants his players to do, not what he doesn’t want them to do. “It’s just not something we spend time on,” he said.
Doesn’t mean that strategy works every time, Pope said, but it worked Tuesday night. The Cats started fast, jumping to a 20-6 lead. They led 43-26 at the half and by as many as 40 points (95-55) in the second half on the way to a 4-0 record.
The Cats ended up shooting 54.8% from the floor, outrebounded the visitors 43-28 and committed just eight turnovers, including only two in the second half.
2. Pope was disappointed in 3-point shooting
Kentucky went 12-for-25 from 3-point range for 48%. It was 8-for-13 in the first half for 62%. Koby Brea and Lamont Butler were each a perfect 3-of-3 from long range. Jaxson Robinson was 3-of-6 from deep on his way to a game-high 20 points on just 10 shots.
In the process, this Kentucky team became the first in program history to make 10 or more 3-pointers in the first four games of the season.
And yet, Pope was not happy. Not with the number of makes, but the number of attempts. His preseason goal was for his team is to take at least 30 3-pointers per game. The Cats fell five short of that mark. “That’s not who we want to be,” Pope said.
Butler’s shooting is a definite bright spot. As a three-time defensive player of the year in the Mountain West, Butler’s reputation is that of an elite defender, not a scorer. Through the first three games, the San Diego State transfer was 1-of-6 from 3-point range.
He shot 30.2% from three last season, 34.2 the year before and 32.9 in 2021-22. But during postgame press conference, Butler said he has worked hard on his shooting.
“This summer it was just a lot of reps,” he said. “I feel like I have good form, good mechanics. I think I get my feet in place almost every time, but just getting the reps.”
Is it easier to shoot 3-pointers playing for a coach who wants you to shoot them?
“Oh for sure,” Butler said. “He doesn’t want us to back down from any shot. If I feel comfortable shooting it, he’s comfortable with it.”
3. Kentucky is underrated defensively
Lipscomb coach Lennie Acuff talked at length about how impressed he was by Kentucky on the defensive end of the floor. “I think they’re underrated defensively,” he said.
The Bisons shot 38.8%, the fourth team in four games to shoot under 40% against the Cats. Wright State shot 35.3. Bucknell shot 39.7. Duke shot 39.4%.
“We worked really hard to get (Lipscomb) above 39% those last five minutes,” Pope joked. “But 39 is our goal. And we’re 4-for-4.”
One other note: Lipscomb missed its first 13 3-point shots before finally connecting with 4:49 left in the first half. The visitors ended up 5-for-29 from long range for 17.2%.
“Like I said, I don’t think they get enough credit for their defense,” Acuff said.
This story was originally published November 19, 2024 at 10:26 PM.
