Is there a common thread between Buffalo, Columbia and Ole Miss?

[SilentsAreGolden]

All three led UK at the half, and although Buffalo did lose by 19, they played us pretty hard for a good while. Sure, Texas and UL came closer than Columbia or Buffalo, but you would expect that from teams like that. We've struggled for a good while against 3 teams that really shouldn't be giving us such a hard time.

Just wondering if anyone has a grip on why those teams? Are we just taking them for granted and not bringing our A game? I know we just came off an extended hiatus, and Ole Miss hit everything, so this one is a little more understandable.

 

[Desperado_1955]

Good question. My gut feeling is that UK took them for granted.

 

[JerseyCat84]

They all played WAYYYY over their heads.

This post was edited on 1/6 10:26 PM by JerseyCat84

 

[Aike]

I think all of those teams came into the game knowing they had to spread us out and hit jumpers to win.

Some other teams (Kansas comes to mind) acted like they didn't believe they had to alter anything - until we crushed them.

 

[CalCat57]

Pretty simple. All three teams played with twice the energy of UK for most of the game. And Ole Miss hit TOUGH shots all night long.

 

[Ugoff]

They were all played at Rupp.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I don't think so. I think it's just simply those three teams played way above their normal levels.

But Ole Miss was a bit different.

Buffalo and Columbia came out and did well in the beginning of those games, but eventually talent took over as it often does and we won comfortably.

Ole Miss was a bit different.........they never went away the entire game.

It was just a bad game from a defensive standpoint tho. Nothing more. I laugh when people say teams like this leave a blueprint to beating us. Like what exactly? Play outta your mind? lol

Plus it was a poor defensive effort but Ole Miss is ranked 33rd in offensive efficiency. They are terrible on D. Which sorta explains the high score.

I don't really read into anything about this game........it was just that......a game. There will be others we play poorly or teams play above their levels. It happens.

We'll be great tho

 

[psuweather]

All 3 teams spread the floor on offense and shot 3s. Ole Miss played much faster than the other two teams and set a lot more screens.

 

[That MGH Guy]

There is something to them all wanting to spread us out and bomb 3s. If you're hitting, you get games like this.

I also still think there is something to the timing of all this. Not that it writes off everything, but it's a factor IMO. They struggled with Buffalo and Columbia before games with big name opponents (Kansas and UNC). I did and still will argue that they just wanted to get by those teams to get to the teams that mattered to them. As for tonight, they had two weeks off since their most emotionally draining game of the season. I expected rust. Not THAT much, but I expected a sloppy game. Not this close of course, but yeah.

Again, that doesn't mean you can write the games off as meaningless, but none of them have left me with long term concerns. Bad nights, unfocused nights, they can happen. It's hard to be worried when they've blown away every "name" opponent they've played.

 

[FishersBlue]

Maybe...all three were at home. That's one similarity.

Against Columbia we struggled offensively due to their physicality. Buffalo was a little bit of both. Against Ole Miss we struggled defensively.

The gameplan against UK is play as physical as possible, limit transition points, and spread the floor. Like Cal said we shot 11-20 from 3 and barely won. Who would have predicted that?

 

[dezyDeco]

The kids are human... like us, they can overlook an opponent, too. I sure wasn't expecting this challenge tonight. It made me look at the Ole Miss record... figuring they must be ranked, and I hadn't noticed.

 

[ednunn]

Yeah, they lost

 

[Comebakatz3]

Nothing in common between them...

Ole Miss: Played way over their heads. Three guys that normally score no more than 13ppg put up close to 20+. That isn't going to happen regularly, especially with Moody hitting crazy shots. They also played a pretty fast game.

Columbia: They slowed the game down. They took all of the shot clock and they passed the ball crisply. They basically played old school fundamental basketball. They made UK defend the entire 35 seconds. This makes UK tired on defense and slows the game to a crawl. If you're a good team and not playing out of your mind then this is the way to beat UK IMO.

Buffalo: We just came out as flat as possible and allowed them to push us around. Second half we actually showed up and ended up winning by 19 or so.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

Originally posted by ednunn:
Yeah, they lost

Good one.

 

[rodgersl]

Pack it in the lane on defense, and spread the floor offensively to get one on one opportunities against our guards.
This post was edited on 1/7 3:28 PM by rodgersl

 

[barryn2000]

Originally posted by Desperado_1955:
Good question. My gut feeling is that UK took them for granted.

That and they had nothing at all to lose...

 

[Bert Higginbotha]

Originally posted by JerseyCat84:
They all played WAYYYY over their heads.


This post was edited on 1/6 10:26 PM by JerseyCat84

.................and the SEC refs protected Ole Miss................................... welcome to the SEC UK fans.

 

[Cawood86]

Yep....UK beat them all