In few other markets across the country will a 21-point beatdown like this one be as scrutinized as tonight's win. But there's a reason for that.
The Cats played their strengths well. They scored 58 points in the paint and shot an amazing 31-45 from inside the arc. I have to say that I'm not sure how much to read into that because right from the start of the game it was pretty clear EKU was not equipped or prepared to challenge Kentucky's players when they got the ball inside. Alex Poythress caught the ball early on the baseline and EKU basically resigned to him scoring and the Kentucky guards didn't really have much trouble finishing around the rim.
I don't want to write off that "good" as something to take for granted but we do know that UK can do that. What we have to see is progress in terms of offensive post players, interior defense, three-point shooting and free throw shooting.
The Cats shot 14-20 (70-percent) from the line and that's absolutely acceptable. But 4/19 from three only makes it harder for me to believe that they're ever going to be more than mediocre-to-bad from three-point range. We're nearly one-third of the way into the regular season and I think that's a fair sample size especially when the defenses UK faces are going to improve compared to the defenses they've faced on the whole so far.
Because Briscoe has pretty much given up on shooting from range and is just attacking the rim he's actually been, at times, a much more efficient offensive player than Jamal Murray. His decisiveness and physicality with the ball is one reason for that. He goes in a straight line where he wants to go, undeterred. Tonight was no exception and I was impressed with his strong 10 points (5-9) and six boards. If I had one criticism it would be he didn't really get others too involved in the offense and when a guard hits five field goals the absolute low point total possible is 10 points. He's got to get to the line and hit his share, that's unavoidable.
Kentucky was at their best when Alex Poythress was on the court. They were +24 when AP played. He was 9/12 from the field with 13 boards (six offensive). He got involved early, he didn't force things, and I think he quickly saw that EKU didn't have anyone remotely in a position to challenge him. So kudos to him for seizing an obvious opportunity.
His frontcourt veteran counterpart, Marcus Lee, finished with a better game than I gave him credit for at first glance. It's tough to argue with 5-5 from the field, eight boards (three offensive) and five blocked shots.
Charles Matthews: Very nice game. He was 5-5 on the night which brings him up to 16-26 on the season (was 50-percent heading into game). I love how Calipari doesn't have to break him down. He can just build him up. Here's a guy that plays with total humility and an awareness of who he is and who he isn't. Really picks his spots well and is striking a good balance between attacking when it's available and to his ability, and letting others run the show when it's not.
On the flip side I'm not sure where Derek Willis is going to fit in both with Matthews and the three-guard alternative. He was just 1-3 in six minutes and I wasn't impressed with the defense (positioning or decisions) tonight. He only had one rebound and I didn't think he was going up strong with two hands on a couple of occasions.
I think one of the reasons social media was a bit negative, especially for a 21-point win, was that UK won this game on the basis of what everybody already knows they can do. They didn't really answer any of the more long-standing questions that became problems against UCLA. The defensive intensity was up and down. At one point when the game was 36-30 it looked like they were struggling for motivation on the defensive end, and when EKU opened the second half on a 10-0 run it was apparent that focus was again an issue.
However, when UK needed to get stops to keep EKU at arm's length, they did.
I though on a couple of occasions Dominique Hawkins played good basketball. He made some nice passes in the open court and set up a couple of three point shooters. And although he only played six minutes I thought on the basis of his first half play he should have played more, especially with some guys a bit weak on defense at times.
Tyler Ulis knocked down a couple of threes but he also missed most of his shots. Shots that went down easily last year -- floaters, mid-rangers, etc., -- just don't look as comfortable this year. Maybe some of that is playing a lot more minutes and the impact of fatigue. Or adjusting to a different role. Not saying Ulis had a bad game because in a lot of respects he was still a great asset tonight and of course he's the one who set those expectations so high.
Not sure what to take from this game. Bit disappointed in the focus or lack thereof at times. Wondering how much lockdown potential this team has defensively. Those easy baskets inside were not there in abundance against UCLA and they won't be there nearly that frequently against the better SEC teams they play, so I'll keep beating that dead horse about three point shooting needing to significantly improve.
The Cats played their strengths well. They scored 58 points in the paint and shot an amazing 31-45 from inside the arc. I have to say that I'm not sure how much to read into that because right from the start of the game it was pretty clear EKU was not equipped or prepared to challenge Kentucky's players when they got the ball inside. Alex Poythress caught the ball early on the baseline and EKU basically resigned to him scoring and the Kentucky guards didn't really have much trouble finishing around the rim.
I don't want to write off that "good" as something to take for granted but we do know that UK can do that. What we have to see is progress in terms of offensive post players, interior defense, three-point shooting and free throw shooting.
The Cats shot 14-20 (70-percent) from the line and that's absolutely acceptable. But 4/19 from three only makes it harder for me to believe that they're ever going to be more than mediocre-to-bad from three-point range. We're nearly one-third of the way into the regular season and I think that's a fair sample size especially when the defenses UK faces are going to improve compared to the defenses they've faced on the whole so far.
Because Briscoe has pretty much given up on shooting from range and is just attacking the rim he's actually been, at times, a much more efficient offensive player than Jamal Murray. His decisiveness and physicality with the ball is one reason for that. He goes in a straight line where he wants to go, undeterred. Tonight was no exception and I was impressed with his strong 10 points (5-9) and six boards. If I had one criticism it would be he didn't really get others too involved in the offense and when a guard hits five field goals the absolute low point total possible is 10 points. He's got to get to the line and hit his share, that's unavoidable.
Kentucky was at their best when Alex Poythress was on the court. They were +24 when AP played. He was 9/12 from the field with 13 boards (six offensive). He got involved early, he didn't force things, and I think he quickly saw that EKU didn't have anyone remotely in a position to challenge him. So kudos to him for seizing an obvious opportunity.
His frontcourt veteran counterpart, Marcus Lee, finished with a better game than I gave him credit for at first glance. It's tough to argue with 5-5 from the field, eight boards (three offensive) and five blocked shots.
Charles Matthews: Very nice game. He was 5-5 on the night which brings him up to 16-26 on the season (was 50-percent heading into game). I love how Calipari doesn't have to break him down. He can just build him up. Here's a guy that plays with total humility and an awareness of who he is and who he isn't. Really picks his spots well and is striking a good balance between attacking when it's available and to his ability, and letting others run the show when it's not.
On the flip side I'm not sure where Derek Willis is going to fit in both with Matthews and the three-guard alternative. He was just 1-3 in six minutes and I wasn't impressed with the defense (positioning or decisions) tonight. He only had one rebound and I didn't think he was going up strong with two hands on a couple of occasions.
I think one of the reasons social media was a bit negative, especially for a 21-point win, was that UK won this game on the basis of what everybody already knows they can do. They didn't really answer any of the more long-standing questions that became problems against UCLA. The defensive intensity was up and down. At one point when the game was 36-30 it looked like they were struggling for motivation on the defensive end, and when EKU opened the second half on a 10-0 run it was apparent that focus was again an issue.
However, when UK needed to get stops to keep EKU at arm's length, they did.
I though on a couple of occasions Dominique Hawkins played good basketball. He made some nice passes in the open court and set up a couple of three point shooters. And although he only played six minutes I thought on the basis of his first half play he should have played more, especially with some guys a bit weak on defense at times.
Tyler Ulis knocked down a couple of threes but he also missed most of his shots. Shots that went down easily last year -- floaters, mid-rangers, etc., -- just don't look as comfortable this year. Maybe some of that is playing a lot more minutes and the impact of fatigue. Or adjusting to a different role. Not saying Ulis had a bad game because in a lot of respects he was still a great asset tonight and of course he's the one who set those expectations so high.
Not sure what to take from this game. Bit disappointed in the focus or lack thereof at times. Wondering how much lockdown potential this team has defensively. Those easy baskets inside were not there in abundance against UCLA and they won't be there nearly that frequently against the better SEC teams they play, so I'll keep beating that dead horse about three point shooting needing to significantly improve.
