Once again Kentucky's defense failed late. Auburn shot 52.2-percent in the second half and that's really amazing. Kentucky attempted a dozen more shots than Auburn in the second half and Auburn actually made one more field goal. That's just a total defensive meltdown and also a testament to Kentucky's inability to find a consistent offensive flow or clean looks.
Tyler Ulis, Isaiah Briscoe and Jamal Murray combined to attempt 51 field goals. Auburn's entire team attempted 55. The backcourt has to do too much. But they also aren't playing great. They would benefit tremendously from just one low post scorer but they are also attempting a ton of shots and, on days like today, not leaving with enough to show for it. For instance, Briscoe attempted 16 shots in the game (4 FT, 12 FG) and had all of eight points to show for it. Murray had 20 points, sure, but he attempted 22 shots. Only one free throw attempt for Murray.
Derek Willis had a particularly strong first half and finished with 12-12 so he deserves a major shout out. Still not very good defense but played with a chip on his shoulders going at the basket and attacking the glass. Deserves some props.
Kentucky won the boards by ten, they were up by nearly double digits in the second half, and they were in control, more or less, for most of the game. The three-point shot, the free throw line and Kentucky's bad second half defense were the equalizers that ultimately led to Auburn's win.
Just not a very good defensive team. I suspect the end of year numbers will be towards the bottom end of all recent Calipari teams defensively. Couple that with a suspect front court, foul problems and the normal issues of youth and I have serious questions about this Kentucky team and whether it's even likely that they make it past the first weekend of the tournament. Surely they can, but this team looks fatally flawed in some respects.
I think if the tournament started today they'd be a 5-seed and the problem is I see a lot of potentially bad road losses and not many potentially great wins still on the schedule. So I have to wonder how much they could do to improve their projected 'seeding' (whatever you think it is) compared to how much worse it can get. Easy for me to see this team ultimately slipping to the 8-9 game and a rough ride.
Tyler Ulis, Isaiah Briscoe and Jamal Murray combined to attempt 51 field goals. Auburn's entire team attempted 55. The backcourt has to do too much. But they also aren't playing great. They would benefit tremendously from just one low post scorer but they are also attempting a ton of shots and, on days like today, not leaving with enough to show for it. For instance, Briscoe attempted 16 shots in the game (4 FT, 12 FG) and had all of eight points to show for it. Murray had 20 points, sure, but he attempted 22 shots. Only one free throw attempt for Murray.
Derek Willis had a particularly strong first half and finished with 12-12 so he deserves a major shout out. Still not very good defense but played with a chip on his shoulders going at the basket and attacking the glass. Deserves some props.
Kentucky won the boards by ten, they were up by nearly double digits in the second half, and they were in control, more or less, for most of the game. The three-point shot, the free throw line and Kentucky's bad second half defense were the equalizers that ultimately led to Auburn's win.
Just not a very good defensive team. I suspect the end of year numbers will be towards the bottom end of all recent Calipari teams defensively. Couple that with a suspect front court, foul problems and the normal issues of youth and I have serious questions about this Kentucky team and whether it's even likely that they make it past the first weekend of the tournament. Surely they can, but this team looks fatally flawed in some respects.
I think if the tournament started today they'd be a 5-seed and the problem is I see a lot of potentially bad road losses and not many potentially great wins still on the schedule. So I have to wonder how much they could do to improve their projected 'seeding' (whatever you think it is) compared to how much worse it can get. Easy for me to see this team ultimately slipping to the 8-9 game and a rough ride.
