Okay, well, that wasn't exactly a clean or a beautiful game to watch. Wright State fouls a lot. Tonight, they fouled a whole heck of a lot.
That really dictated the tone of the game. They really bodied Kentucky's guys in the post and on the perimeter. Good opportunity for Kentucky's players to learn how to grit out a game that grinds to a screeching halt because of the way that's called. I thought UK's guys did a pretty good job of playing clean on the defensive end, although Wright State doesn't put a lot of pressure on you and relies heavily on the three-point shot.
The three-point defense could have been better tonight but the team was clearly a bit more lackadaisical that they've been at other times this year, and that's a team that knows how to get looks from outside.
Fantastic performance by Tyler Ulis. He managed to play as well as a point guard could have played in a game like that.
Thought Isaiah Briscoe was especially impressive in the first half. Shot a higher percentage in the second half but he turned it over a few times in the second half. In the first half his strength was really on display taking the ball to the basket. I was especially impressed by his strength going baseline. Most guys are really susceptible to skirting that line but you'd have to really hip check Briscoe to get him out of bounds. He's not easily moved. Overall a good game from the field, picked his spots well, got a little sloppy late (although in that kind of game easy to imagine a freshman guard would have some mental lapses), but the free throw shooting is still a problem.
Thought it was Alex Poythress' best game of the season. Played with energy against Duke and in other games but his efficiency was really impressive tonight. Didn't attempt many field goals at all but made the most of his opportunities, was good from the free throw line and was active on the boards.
One disappointment tonight was Marcus Lee's role in the offense. He was almost a non-factor offensively. Some of that was the way Wright State played UK, but he's really looked for his offense all year 'til this point, but he just took a major backseat to the other players on the offensive end.
Impressive how this bunch is so guard-dominated but they don't rely on the three-point ball. They've got some mentally tough, attack-minded guards who are eager to run the offense the way Calipari wants it run.
One of the things about a lot of guard dominated teams or teams with young guards is that they often run the offense without really running it to attack at every scoring opportunity. They're learning the system and they're just kind of going through the motions. This UK team, which is both guard-dominated and dominated by young guards, runs the offense to look for great scoring opportunities and as quickly as possible.
Kentucky's offensive flow was really disrupted by the foul-fest. I don't want to use that as an excuse, but this is a selfless team that's really shared the ball well and has guys with great vision. Tonight the assist numbers were way down. Only about one-third of field goals showed as happening after an assist, and Ulis had about half or more than half of those.
Ulis and Murray were fantastic from the free throw line.
I'm going to write off some of the stats (Murray's A/T ratio, for instance) as resulting from just a really rare, sloppy, foul-fest.
I do think some of the hustle stats were a little disappointing. Just one blocked shot. But Kentucky's defense was good inside the three-point line and Wright State shot just about 33-percent from two-point range.
Wright State did a good job of getting back on defense and not letting long runouts result in a lot of quick fast break points.
Continue to be impressed by Charles Matthews' poise and acceptance of a limited role. However, a bit disappointing to see Matthews, Mulder and Willis -- Kentucky's 'wings' -- account for all of six points.
Willis just doesn't bring enough when he's not shooting well or finding good shooting spots to justify having him out there a lot of minutes.
More of Skal Labissiere's scoring came in the first half but I thought at times the offensive flow stopped with him. Ultimately put together a nice game for a player that's still making hard adjustments.
Altogether-- ugly game, solid gritty win in what most probably expected was a 'trap' game. No real danger of losing tonight but also a game you had to expect guys would have difficulty getting really amped up for.
That really dictated the tone of the game. They really bodied Kentucky's guys in the post and on the perimeter. Good opportunity for Kentucky's players to learn how to grit out a game that grinds to a screeching halt because of the way that's called. I thought UK's guys did a pretty good job of playing clean on the defensive end, although Wright State doesn't put a lot of pressure on you and relies heavily on the three-point shot.
The three-point defense could have been better tonight but the team was clearly a bit more lackadaisical that they've been at other times this year, and that's a team that knows how to get looks from outside.
Fantastic performance by Tyler Ulis. He managed to play as well as a point guard could have played in a game like that.
Thought Isaiah Briscoe was especially impressive in the first half. Shot a higher percentage in the second half but he turned it over a few times in the second half. In the first half his strength was really on display taking the ball to the basket. I was especially impressed by his strength going baseline. Most guys are really susceptible to skirting that line but you'd have to really hip check Briscoe to get him out of bounds. He's not easily moved. Overall a good game from the field, picked his spots well, got a little sloppy late (although in that kind of game easy to imagine a freshman guard would have some mental lapses), but the free throw shooting is still a problem.
Thought it was Alex Poythress' best game of the season. Played with energy against Duke and in other games but his efficiency was really impressive tonight. Didn't attempt many field goals at all but made the most of his opportunities, was good from the free throw line and was active on the boards.
One disappointment tonight was Marcus Lee's role in the offense. He was almost a non-factor offensively. Some of that was the way Wright State played UK, but he's really looked for his offense all year 'til this point, but he just took a major backseat to the other players on the offensive end.
Impressive how this bunch is so guard-dominated but they don't rely on the three-point ball. They've got some mentally tough, attack-minded guards who are eager to run the offense the way Calipari wants it run.
One of the things about a lot of guard dominated teams or teams with young guards is that they often run the offense without really running it to attack at every scoring opportunity. They're learning the system and they're just kind of going through the motions. This UK team, which is both guard-dominated and dominated by young guards, runs the offense to look for great scoring opportunities and as quickly as possible.
Kentucky's offensive flow was really disrupted by the foul-fest. I don't want to use that as an excuse, but this is a selfless team that's really shared the ball well and has guys with great vision. Tonight the assist numbers were way down. Only about one-third of field goals showed as happening after an assist, and Ulis had about half or more than half of those.
Ulis and Murray were fantastic from the free throw line.
I'm going to write off some of the stats (Murray's A/T ratio, for instance) as resulting from just a really rare, sloppy, foul-fest.
I do think some of the hustle stats were a little disappointing. Just one blocked shot. But Kentucky's defense was good inside the three-point line and Wright State shot just about 33-percent from two-point range.
Wright State did a good job of getting back on defense and not letting long runouts result in a lot of quick fast break points.
Continue to be impressed by Charles Matthews' poise and acceptance of a limited role. However, a bit disappointing to see Matthews, Mulder and Willis -- Kentucky's 'wings' -- account for all of six points.
Willis just doesn't bring enough when he's not shooting well or finding good shooting spots to justify having him out there a lot of minutes.
More of Skal Labissiere's scoring came in the first half but I thought at times the offensive flow stopped with him. Ultimately put together a nice game for a player that's still making hard adjustments.
Altogether-- ugly game, solid gritty win in what most probably expected was a 'trap' game. No real danger of losing tonight but also a game you had to expect guys would have difficulty getting really amped up for.
