Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s loss at Clemson in the SEC/ACC Challenge
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Game day: Clemson 70, No. 4 Kentucky 66
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Tuesday night’s SEC/ACC Challenge men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Clemson in Clemson, S.C.
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Three takeaways from Kentucky’s 70-66 loss to Clemson in college basketball’s SEC/ACC Challenge on Tuesday night at Clemson.
1. Kentucky’s 3-point shooting is off target
So No. 4-ranked Kentucky rolled into Littlejohn Coliseum boasting the nation’s highest-scoring offense, averaging 96.7 points over its first seven games, all wins. And a large part of that offensive firepower had to do with the staple of Mark Pope’s attack, the 3-point shot.
Over the last three games, Kentucky’s accuracy from behind the arc has fallen off, however. The Cats were just 8-of-29 shooting from 3-point land in last Tuesday’s win over Western Kentucky. Then Friday night, UK was just 7-of-26 from 3 in its victory over visiting Georgia State. Add it up and Kentucky was 15-for-55 from 3 for 27.3% over the two games.
That trend continued Tuesday night at Clemson. The Cats were just 4-of-14 from 3 in the first half on the way to a 37-30 halftime deficit. They then were 3-of-13 from 3 in the second half for a total of seven made 3s in 27 attempts on the night for just 25.9%. Add that to last week and Kentucky has shot 26.8% from 3-point range over the last three games.
Otega Oweh led Kentucky in scoring Tuesday with 17 points, but he was just 1-for-5 from beyond the arc. Jaxson Robinson scored 12 points, but was 2-for-7 from 3. Kerr Kriisa missed all four of his 3-point attempts. And Koby Brea, the Cats’ most accurate 3-ball shooter, was able to get off only two 3-point attempts in his 17 minutes on the floor. He made one.
Give Clemson’s defense credit. An Elite Eight team last season, the Tigers held the Cats 30 points below their per-game average. And Pope’s club ended up shooting just 38.1% from the floor overall.
Bottom line: UK averaged a season-low 0.963 points per possession, just the second time in eight games the Cats have been held below 1.0 points per possession.
Said Pope, “We never got to a great flow. Credit Clemson for that.”
2. Clemson’s physical play was a problem
Pope himself said afterward, “It was a really physical game. Their bigs play relentless.”
Clemson coach Brad Brownell’s teams pride themselves on physical play. That was personified by Clemson’s Ian Schieffelin, the curly-haired 6-foot-8 senior from Atlanta who made just four of 20 shots, including going 1-for-8 from 3-point range for 11 points. But Schieffelin grabbed an eye-popping 20 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end.
“We finished the first half down 10 on the glass,” Pope said. “That was pretty much the difference in the game.”
Outrebounded 31-21 over the first 20 minutes, Kentucky fared better on the boards in the second half. Rebounds ended up a 44-44 draw. Amari Williams led the Cats with 11. And both teams collected 15 offensive rebounds. Still, it was Clemson that came up with the key boards and key loose balls.
Clemson’s physical defense combined with Littlejohn’s atmosphere made UK’s first true road game a tough one.
“I know there was some blue in there,” Brownell said, “but there was a heckuva lot of orange.”
3. Kentucky needed more from its bench
Pope narrowed his rotation a bit to nine players. Reserve center Brandon Garrison returned to play 12 minutes after missing the Georgia State game with an injury. Freshman guard Collin Chandler did not play.
But Clemson’s bench outscored Kentucky’s bench 17-7. The Tigers’ Myles Foster was a factor in the first half and finished with seven points and four rebounds. Dillon Hunter, the younger brother of Clemson’s leading scorer, Chase Hunter, contributed six points. Reserve guard Del Jones added four.
“I was really proud of our bench,” Brownell said.
Meanwhile, Kentucky’s bench was just 3-for-13 from the floor, including 1-for-8 from 3-point range. Kriisa entered the contest leading UK in assists at 4.3 per game. He left having failed to make an assist in his 21 minutes. In fact, the Cats were credited with only 11 assists on their 24 made field goals.
This story was originally published December 4, 2024 at 1:09 AM.
