QUICK TAKES: Arkansas 88, Kentucky 73
Kentucky's Jacob Toppin tried to work his way around Arkansas' Makhi Mitchell during Tuesday's game at Rupp Arena. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor Edit
@JDrumUK
In our regular postgame feature, the Cats Illustrated staff offers its first impressions from Kentucky's 88-73 loss to Arkansas on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena...
JEFF DRUMMOND:
To put it mildly, this was one of the worst defensive performances I've ever seen Kentucky give at Rupp Arena. The second-half points-per-possession for Arkansas was 1.424, a number I cannot recall seeing for a long time -- if ever -- in a half of basketball between two P5 clubs. This game was just to physical for the Cats, and the Razorbacks brought way more intensity to the court than UK did. Big Blue got punked in their own house and left fans scrambling for the exits with more than six minutes remaining, something else I cannot recall seeing. The first-half officiating was a atrocious, but it won't be an excuse to fall back on because Arkansas just dominated the second half and made it a moot point. There are many reasons for concern after this showing. Kentucky drops to a woeful 1-7 in Quad 1 games. Oscar Tshiebwe looks like more of a liability lately than a reigning national player of the year. John Calipari is still struggling to push the right rotation buttons. Defense is a mess. We could go on and on, but it's already late, and maybe the best thing to do now is just tip your cap to a great performance by Arkansas.
TRAVIS GRAF:
For me, this loss came down to the inability to get defensive stops. Arkansas is a solid team, but they’re not a 64% from the field type of squad. They shot that from the field tonight because they were tougher than Kentucky and attacked Kentucky’s defense and took it to them. Cason Wallace is the only consistent piece for the Wildcats, and it’s February. That’s a bad thought for Kentucky fans to have as March approaches. Oscar Tshiebwe played poorly for the second game in a row and he was a total liability on the defensive end. I’m not sure who he would’ve guarded on defense, but some minutes from an injured Sahvir Wheeler (ankle) would’ve been big in this one, especially with CJ Fredrick being unplayable once again.
JUSTIN ROWLAND:
Arkansas played as well as I've seen them play all season so they're definitely peaking at the right time of year. This was a pivotal game for both teams and the Razorbacks just flat out beat them, especially in the second half. When Kentucky was scoring and playing well on offense it was a good game, and fun, but as soon as the offense stalled the Razorbacks ran away with it. Kentucky is just not good enough on the defensive end of the court. They were No. 69 in adjusted defense on KenPom coming into this game and I can't imagine that will hold after tonight's display. I'm not sure what the solution is on that end of the court at this point in the season. They badly needed a Quad 1 win and I think this ultimately would have been that, but it was another instance of UK just not being nearly good enough against most of the best teams they've faced.
DAVID SISK:
Try these numbers out for size: Arkansas was 17-for-22 from 2-point territory in the second half. The Razorbacks shot 72% overall in the second half, and 62.7% for the game. They scored 46 points in the paint. Kentucky just doesn’t have any rim protection, and we already knew about the ball-screen problems. The Cats struggle with teams who can drive the ball. On the other end, the Hawgs had 23 points off 15 UK turnovers. The Razorbacks had 20 fast break points. They were too fast and too physical, and Kentucky could not answer that bell. These positionless, versatile, athletic teams have caused problems. That brings us to lineups. CJ Frederick was non-existent, and Antonio Reeves has struggled the last two games. Now there is legitimate talk whether Oscar Tshiebwe should find his way to the bench. Damion Collins was impressive in the first half, and he provides rim protection. There is no sufficient answer to why he didn’t play in the second half. The Cats better turn it around quickly, because the schedule is about to get rocky.
