Casually Scoring 90 vs a Top 10 Defensive Team

[thedahc]

It's funny to me how when you visit Rafters after a win, it's almost impossible to tell we won.

I don't see a lot of talk about this, but we just dropped 90 on a team that was #9 in defense according to KenPom

(POST EDITED TO INCLUDE THIS WEEK'S KENPOM RATING OF MISS ST WHICH IS NOW #16 DEFENSIVELY AFTER LAST NIGHT......THANK YOU TO @Oldbluefart FOR POINTING THIS OUT)

I think this team has spoiled us with their offense if we aren't ecstatic about torching a solid defense

 

[UKBB4Ever]

UK fans are thrilled with this team.

The CHC never will be.

They will be whining about Evansville when we’re in the FF.

 

[MdWIldcat55]

I'm not sure why being ahead of a decent team 90-71 before six meaningless points in the last 90 seconds is less impressive to some of the Rafters folks than beating a decent team 72-53 would be.

Oh yeah, I guess I do. People just like to bitch and whine.

It's an immutable fact that scoring fast creates more possessions for BOTH teams, and a competent opponent is going to score on some of those extra possessions.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Im happy with it. A lot of improvement over the last week. Less minutes for Edwards, Ugo becoming a bit of the force with blocks and defense

Aside from everyone just cleaning up the little things, I'd like to see better rebounding effort, better and more consistent play making from our PGs, which will lead to #3, more looks for Shep. And more looks for Shep also means smarter passes from him. But he should touch the ball once every time down the court.

 

[know1]

Our offensive scoring has been impressive. I like it.

 

[chroix]

If you’re happy with how the second half started you’re gonna love it when we get knocked out of the Sweet Sixteen.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I think people realize that our offense is really good this season.

But I also think people realize that we want this to turn into a March run and in order to do that, we still need to improve defensively.

One can be happy with the offense and disappointment with the defense at the same time.

One sided teams tend to get bounced early in the tournament.

 

[Oldbluefart]

It's funny to me how when you visit Rafters after a win, it's almost impossible to tell we won.

I don't see a lot of talk about this, but we just dropped 90 on a team that was #9 in defense according to KenPom

I think this team has spoiled us with their offense if we aren't ecstatic about torching a solid defense

Am I misreading this chart? It looks like it was from last year with the teams records.

 

[jjsomer]

If you’re happy with how the second half started you’re gonna love it when we get knocked out of the Sweet Sixteen.

That's correct. If all I watched in last night's game was the first 5 minutes of the second half, I would think this team sucked. But, this team is not the first 5 minutes of the second half. Sure...they are capable of that. However, they are also capable of the first half of play also...47pts at halftime to MSU 29 pts at halftime. They played much better defense...scored at will...and rebounded pretty well against a very old MSU team. MSU was not a slouch...but we made them look pretty pedestrian last night. Lots to be excited about for KY fans...not so much for trolls.

 

[blubo]

Am I misreading this chart? It looks like it was from last year with the teams records.

Stats through last night’s games. no sec teams in top ten in defense.
Ms St actually tied with kansas at #63

NCAA College Men's Basketball DI Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA Division I Men's Basketball leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.

www.ncaa.com

 

[bthaunert]

If you’re happy with how the second half started you’re gonna love it when we get knocked out of the Sweet Sixteen.

Or, we could say that was a rough 2:45 stretch where they got it down to 6 and then we pushed it back to 10 a minute later and it never got below there. We could focus on those 2:45 seconds where they outscored us by 12 and focus on the other 37:15 where we outscored them by 25. You can do both you know...you can be very happy with the overall performance and talk about the lapse in play for that under 3 minute period.

 

[ganner918]

Stats through last night’s games. no sec teams in top ten in defense.
Ms St actually tied with kansas at #63

NCAA College Men's Basketball DI Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA Division I Men's Basketball leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.

www.ncaa.com

Currently on KenPom (what OP was referencing) State is #16 in adjusted defense which takes into account opponents' offensive strength, and pace of play.

 

[H00SIER-Cat]

Or, we could say that was a rough 2:45 stretch where they got it down to 6 and then we pushed it back to 10 a minute later and it never got below there. We could focus on those 2:45 seconds where they outscored us by 12 and focus on the other 37:15 where we outscored them by 25. You can do both you know...you can be very happy with the overall performance and talk about the lapse in play for that under 3 minute period.

I think there were was a stretch where they outscored us 5 to 0 and another where they outscored us 4 to 0. We have got to fix this.

 

[chroix]

Or, we could say that was a rough 2:45 stretch where they got it down to 6 and then we pushed it back to 10 a minute later and it never got below there. We could focus on those 2:45 seconds where they outscored us by 12 and focus on the other 37:15 where we outscored them by 25. You can do both you know...you can be very happy with the overall performance and talk about the lapse in play for that under 3 minute period.

Sorry I can’t separate the two. Especially on the heels of a loss.

 

[IL Wildcat]

It's funny to me how when you visit Rafters after a win, it's almost impossible to tell we won.

I don't see a lot of talk about this, but we just dropped 90 on a team that was #9 in defense according to KenPom

I think this team has spoiled us with their offense if we aren't ecstatic about torching a solid defense

Yep, some here have great difficulty congratulating this UK team because they dislike (hate?) Calipari so much. They fear that if they compliment the team they must also be complementing Cal, and they can't have that. For me, I have no trouble saying Calipari has had me pretty ill over my favorite team for several years now, but I'm glad to see the offensive changes, the coaching changes, and the talent he's recruited this year. This team has a sky high potential, I just hope they can meet that potential this season.

And there is no question, what UK did last night was very impressive. Scoring 90 points on that defense is excellent. The most they had given up in any game was 82 to Alabama. As your numbers show, they're a top 10 defensive efficiency team. And that's not just a kenpom stat- they're top 10 on multiple ratings systems. So, yes, we should appreciate what we have, It's easy to get ill about our defense and forget to compliment this offense, which is astounding.

I would also say this- we had a few minutes in this game with defensive lapses. Namely, the beginning of the 2nd half was the worst. But, all in all, the defense was better. I saw guys moving their feet better, switching on screens better, defending the pick and roll better, and not losing their man and giving up wide open shots as we saw at Texas A&M (and in other games). If the team can play that kind of defense and continue to improve, they'll be hard to beat.

 

[chroix]

That's correct. If all I watched in last night's game was the first 5 minutes of the second half, I would think this team sucked. But, this team is not the first 5 minutes of the second half. Sure...they are capable of that. However, they are also capable of the first half of play also...47pts at halftime to MSU 29 pts at halftime. They played much better defense...scored at will...and rebounded pretty well against a very old MSU team. MSU was not a slouch...but we made them look pretty pedestrian last night. Lots to be excited about for KY fans...not so much for trolls.

If you’re implying I’m a troll you can eat me. I want to see this team achieve the excellence we all know they’re capable of. Not make excuses for not improving. How are we better than when we played Kansas? What improvements have we made other than add some pieces that produce lateral or worse results?

 

[Princecal]

Im happy with it. A lot of improvement over the last week. Less minutes for Edwards, Ugo becoming a bit of the force with blocks and defense

Aside from everyone just cleaning up the little things, I'd like to see better rebounding effort, better and more consistent play making from our PGs, which will lead to #3, more looks for Shep. And more looks for Shep also means smarter passes from him. But he should touch the ball once every time down the court.

I'm fine with possessions that he doesn't touch the ball, if, after we start getting him more open looks and teams start to key in on it, we use him as a decoy to open up another player because of the focus our opponent has to give him. He's also has such a high IQ that he can draw that attention with the ball and make the right pass as well.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

If you’re happy with how the second half started you’re gonna love it when we get knocked out of the Sweet Sixteen.

Name one person that said they were happy with how the second-half started just one

 

[blackcat714]

Once bitten twice shy

 

[ukcatz12]

Currently on KenPom (what OP was referencing) State is #16 in adjusted defense which takes into account opponents' offensive strength, and pace of play.

They were 9th before last nights game.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

If you’re implying I’m a troll you can eat me. I want to see this team achieve the excellence we all know they’re capable of. Not make excuses for not improving. How are we better than when we played Kansas? What improvements have we made other than add some pieces that produce lateral or worse results?

We would spank Kansas right now that your improvement.

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

Yep, some here have great difficulty congratulating this UK team because they dislike (hate?) Calipari so much. They fear that if they compliment the team they must also be complementing Cal, and they can't have that. For me, I have no trouble saying Calipari has had me pretty ill over my favorite team for several years now, but I'm glad to see the offensive changes, the coaching changes, and the talent he's recruited this year. This team has a sky high potential, I just hope they can meet that potential this season.

And there is no question, what UK did last night was very impressive. Scoring 90 points on that defense is excellent. The most they had given up in any game was 82 to Alabama. As your numbers show, they're a top 10 defensive efficiency team. And that's not just a kenpom stat- they're top 10 on multiple ratings systems. So, yes, we should appreciate what we have, It's easy to get ill about our defense and forget to compliment this offense, which is astounding.

I would also say this- we had a few minutes in this game with defensive lapses. Namely, the beginning of the 2nd half was the worst. But, all in all, the defense was better. I saw guys moving their feet better, switching on screens better, defending the pick and roll better, and not losing their man and giving up wide open shots as we saw at Texas A&M (and in other games). If the team can play that kind of defense and continue to improve, they'll be hard to beat.

Very well put. I think it's possible to enjoy the incredible offensive ability of this team while still hoping for improved and sustained fundamental defensive output. For parts of last night, we looked much better on D. And for other parts, we looked terrible. But overall, I'll take a beatdown against a decent team and keep smiling.

 

[Cats192]

The offense is ridiculous.

We shot 30% on 23 3 point shots. We still scored 90. We had some turnovers that can be cleaned up. We only had 10, but some of those were careless.

 

[UKAlum84]

Absolutely, we got one of the best teams in the country.

Does not mean we are not beatable.

 

[king of cali]

The offense is ridiculous.

We shot 30% on 23 3 point shots. We still scored 90. We had some turnovers that can be cleaned up. We only had 10, but some of those were careless.

That’s pretty scary that they scored 90 pretty easily while shooting below average from 3. No doubt this team has some offensive firepower.

 

[Cats192]

If you’re implying I’m a troll you can eat me. I want to see this team achieve the excellence we all know they’re capable of. Not make excuses for not improving. How are we better than when we played Kansas? What improvements have we made other than add some pieces that produce lateral or worse results?

We have 14 feet worth of "better."

We lost the Kansas game because Hunter Dickinson is 7'2 and our closest guy was 6'8. He had 27 and 21.

At 1:33 to go in the game, the score was 85-84. So for ~38.5 minutes, we were right there with them despite the glaring mismatch down low.

Give us 1 7 footer. Make Dickinson miss 1 or 2 shots. Get 1 or 2 of those offensive rebounds he got. We win that game. With a bunch of inexperienced freshmen. In November.

Fast forward to January. Our offense is humming. The defense needs work, but they showed improvement last night. Kansas is struggling due to lack of depth. I feel confident we win if we run it back.

 

[jjsomer]

Yep, some here have great difficulty congratulating this UK team because they dislike (hate?) Calipari so much. They fear that if they compliment the team they must also be complementing Cal, and they can't have that. For me, I have no trouble saying Calipari has had me pretty ill over my favorite team for several years now, but I'm glad to see the offensive changes, the coaching changes, and the talent he's recruited this year. This team has a sky high potential, I just hope they can meet that potential this season.

And there is no question, what UK did last night was very impressive. Scoring 90 points on that defense is excellent. The most they had given up in any game was 82 to Alabama. As your numbers show, they're a top 10 defensive efficiency team. And that's not just a kenpom stat- they're top 10 on multiple ratings systems. So, yes, we should appreciate what we have, It's easy to get ill about our defense and forget to compliment this offense, which is astounding.

I would also say this- we had a few minutes in this game with defensive lapses. Namely, the beginning of the 2nd half was the worst. But, all in all, the defense was better. I saw guys moving their feet better, switching on screens better, defending the pick and roll better, and not losing their man and giving up wide open shots as we saw at Texas A&M (and in other games). If the team can play that kind of defense and continue to improve, they'll be hard to beat.

Well said.

The other thought in my head...Calipari has been very good at coaching defense, historically. Where he has struggled has been with the offense. I feel much better knowing that it is the defense which is behind the offense. I think the team will get much better defensively as the season moves on. We may look back and say "Texas A&M was the wake up call.".

 

[ganner918]

The offense is ridiculous.

We shot 30% on 23 3 point shots. We still scored 90. We had some turnovers that can be cleaned up. We only had 10, but some of those were careless.

That’s pretty scary that they scored 90 pretty easily while shooting below average from 3. No doubt this team has some offensive firepower.

It's just a crazy amount of talent and skill on the offensive end. We have better ball movement than we've had maybe ever under Cal, with so many great, willing, creative passers. We have so many shot makers, who can score in so many different ways. We have guys all the time pass up good shots to get another guy a great shot. You just can't guard everyone we have, and whoever and whatever you try to focus on, you're leaving something else and we find it.

 

[jjsomer]

If you’re implying I’m a troll you can eat me. I want to see this team achieve the excellence we all know they’re capable of. Not make excuses for not improving. How are we better than when we played Kansas? What improvements have we made other than add some pieces that produce lateral or worse results?

You may be a troll if...
If you can't be excited about a 13 point win (up 20 most of the game) and improvement on defense.
If you can't be excited about dropping 90 on a top 10 defense of grown men in the interior.

Take a look in the mirror.

 

[UKTOPDOG]

If you’re happy with how the second half started you’re gonna love it when we get knocked out of the Sweet Sixteen.

In my best Calipari voice “these kids are not robots”

 

[bthaunert]

Yep, some here have great difficulty congratulating this UK team because they dislike (hate?) Calipari so much. They fear that if they compliment the team they must also be complementing Cal, and they can't have that. For me, I have no trouble saying Calipari has had me pretty ill over my favorite team for several years now, but I'm glad to see the offensive changes, the coaching changes, and the talent he's recruited this year. This team has a sky high potential, I just hope they can meet that potential this season.

And there is no question, what UK did last night was very impressive. Scoring 90 points on that defense is excellent. The most they had given up in any game was 82 to Alabama. As your numbers show, they're a top 10 defensive efficiency team. And that's not just a kenpom stat- they're top 10 on multiple ratings systems. So, yes, we should appreciate what we have, It's easy to get ill about our defense and forget to compliment this offense, which is astounding.

I would also say this- we had a few minutes in this game with defensive lapses. Namely, the beginning of the 2nd half was the worst. But, all in all, the defense was better. I saw guys moving their feet better, switching on screens better, defending the pick and roll better, and not losing their man and giving up wide open shots as we saw at Texas A&M (and in other games). If the team can play that kind of defense and continue to improve, they'll be hard to beat.

I believe we have some that want Calipari to fail more than they want UK to win with him at the helm, just so they can beat their chest about how they were right about him.

 

[thedahc]

Am I misreading this chart? It looks like it was from last year with the teams records.

Thanks for pointing this out! I just edited the original post and uploaded latest KenPom, they dropped from Top 10 to 16 after we dropped 90 on them last night.

 

[Rockfly78]

If you’re happy with how the second half started you’re gonna love it when we get knocked out of the Sweet Sixteen.

You’re such a drama queen

Who’s happy about the way the second half started? Point them out. Most of us got over it after winning the game because it didn’t matter. Some of you still clutching your pearls and crying.

 

[thedahc]

Stats through last night’s games. no sec teams in top ten in defense.
Ms St actually tied with kansas at #63

NCAA College Men's Basketball DI Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA Division I Men's Basketball leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.

www.ncaa.com

Not in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency. 2 SEC teams in Top 10 and Mississippi State at #16. See below:

 

[Rockfly78]

I believe we have some that want Calipari to fail more than they want UK to win with him at the helm, just so they can beat their chest about how they were right about him.

Exactly. 100 percent. They’d rather be vindicated on a message board than see their team win. Bunch of little girl dogs

 

[IL Wildcat]

Well said.

The other thought in my head...Calipari has been very good at coaching defense, historically. Where he has struggled has been with the offense. I feel much better knowing that it is the defense which is behind the offense. I think the team will get much better defensively as the season moves on. We may look back and say "Texas A&M was the wake up call.".

Totally agree. Cal's teams have always been good, maybe not always great, but good, defensively. So, if there is one thing he should be able to get fixed here, it's defense. Now, if team were holding teams to under 60 but couldn't break 70, THEN I'd be worried. Offense isn't the problem for this team. If they can learn to play even decent D, they could make a Final Four.

 

[IL Wildcat]

Not in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency. 2 SEC teams in Top 10 and Mississippi State at #16. See below:

Miss St was #9 prior to getting torched by UK for 90.

 

[thedahc]

Miss St was #9 prior to getting torched by UK for 90.

Yep

 

[The_Answer1313]

Miss St was #9 prior to getting torched by UK for 90.

That was something I was going to mention lol.

One game drove them from 9 to 16.

It just goes to show how close teams are in ratings.

 

[chroix]

You’re such a drama queen

Who’s happy about the way the second half started? Point them out. Most of us got over it after winning the game because it didn’t matter. Some of you still clutching your pearls and crying.

I just want to see the team improve. You can say it didn’t matter but you’re wrong. Team is not improving. Disagree all you want.