Or was it a combination of slightly better defense and Auburn missing all their open shots? A lot of both, I think.
Grest road win!
Grest road win!
Was Our Defense Better?
- Thread starter ala_kat2
- Start date
Auburn definitely missed some open looks, but we did play better D overall
Defense was better for sure. Ugo also played 36 minutes and I think that's a huge part of it. He gives us a second layer that can erase mistakes even if he isn't blocking all the shots.
Definitely better . The guards seem to be doing a better job at fighting through screens .
Wagner on ball defense on their point guards was phenomenal
Wagner on ball defense on their point guards was phenomenal
We did better on head fakes and staying on the wing shooters 100%
Still had to many break downs but you couldn't honestly watch this game and not see that the defense was better
Both for certain. Much better on the defensive end, still a lot of open looks for Auburn that didn’t fall but I’ll take effort given tonight every single game.
Play like that and there’s not a lot to complain about. Big, fun win.
Defensive effort was much better. Ugo is finding himself and Thiero is tough as nails getting rebounds. He out jumps everyone and is strong with the ball.
Every team is going to get some open looks throughout a game. I thought we limited their open looks and we rebounded better. Pretty good defensive effort imo.
Our defense has taken strides for sure but they still aren’t world beaters
Definitely better . Way more physical. It’s like we stopped being afraid they were going to all a foul .
Defense is something any team can Improve on with just pure effort , positioning and communication. We’re doing all those better the last 2 games , regardless of what the other teams are doing , how they’re shooting , etc.
Easily best defense Kentucky has played this year. If Auburn didn’t get to live at the line they wouldn’t have managed 50. Hell of a performance. Adou was unbelievable.
Yeah fans gotta realize that . Open looks will happen it’s basketball . Nobody is going to play lockdown defense every possession.
Just can’t give up open 3 after open 3 and we seem to be getting better at that
Defense was definitely better when we were allowed to play it.
Our defense has been improving for a while. Our problem has been rebounding
I haven’t looked at the nerd numbers but we did better defensive rebounding.
On the road with SEC officials this was a very good win.
Cal gets a team playing their best every year. Sometimes it takes longer.
I haven’t looked at the nerd numbers but we did better defensive rebounding.
On the road with SEC officials this was a very good win.
Cal gets a team playing their best every year. Sometimes it takes longer.
1st half they missed a ton of open looks. Second half the D was more solid.
I'd make the argument that many early games, teams shot better than they would in an open gym.
We held Auburn to 59, that isn't just cause Auburn was cold in their own home gym. End of story.
We held Auburn to 59, that isn't just cause Auburn was cold in their own home gym. End of story.
7-10 of their open looks were from poor shooters. We covered Broom and Williams so the "splash" brothers crashed and burned!
It’s obvious that Bradshaw just can’t play much. Same with Z. They can buy a few minutes here and there to give Ugo rest or if he’s in foul trouble. But we need defense. And Ugo is miles ahead of both of those guys . He’s stronger, tougher, a better rebounder, and a 10x better shot blocker
I don’t want to totally discredit what Mitchell has done for us this year because he’s had some good games, but I think a lineup with Onyenso and Thiero sharing the floor could potentially elevate our defense a fair bit. They were both key for us today.
"Cats" out of the bag now they showed they were capable if they give the effort but will they continue this or will they wilt ? Auburn was not equipped to do to us what Gonzaga did.
We got a long way to go still if we want to do anything this year. It was was for sure promising but we will see what happens next game before we proclaim our defense is fixed.
We got a long way to go still if we want to do anything this year. It was was for sure promising but we will see what happens next game before we proclaim our defense is fixed.
Absolutely it was better. DJ was really good early with on ball pressure setting a tone. Good defense will lead to open missed shots when a team starts pressing.
We have held ole miss to 63 and auburn to 59. D has improved.
Lsu is another team we can hold down.
Bama game will be a track meet next Saturday though.
Lsu is another team we can hold down.
Bama game will be a track meet next Saturday though.
I thought the defense was outstanding and tbh it starts with Wagner. He has brought intense ball pressure this week. He is doing great fighting through ball screens.
It is also the case that Thiero is a much much better defender than Mitchell at the 4.
Edwards has also improved and was probably the first over the past month.
Ugo is balling out.
Yeah finishing with 59 definitely shows amazing improvement.
They made everything against South Carolina. I liked our odds
Yep. I was one of the few in the offseason that thought he would be huge for us. I wanted him to start before the foot injury and envisioned Bradshaw as the 4.
Defense was definitely better.
Broome, shooting 38% this season..... 0-3 tonight..... 33% shooter career
Holloway.... 30.3% career .... 0 for 3 tonight.
KD Johnson..... 31.6% career... 0 for 2 tonight
Williams, shooting it well this season, was a 33% shooter coming in to the season, was 0-2
For once, dudes who can't shoot shot closer to their career performances.
Broome, shooting 38% this season..... 0-3 tonight..... 33% shooter career
Holloway.... 30.3% career .... 0 for 3 tonight.
KD Johnson..... 31.6% career... 0 for 2 tonight
Williams, shooting it well this season, was a 33% shooter coming in to the season, was 0-2
For once, dudes who can't shoot shot closer to their career performances.
Sometimes you need both. You’re not gonna get stops every time at this level of play. You just try to make it as hard as possible.
We did well answering their runs. And got lucky in their misses.
How about this stat
Kentucky lead for 38:39 of the game. Auburn, ZERO
Kentucky lead for 38:39 of the game. Auburn, ZERO
They don’t need to be. They just need to improve from putrid to average.
Teams missing open shots are often times impacted by the defense you play throughout the game. Making open shots is about comfort and rhythm. When guys are moving how and where they want and are open, never get bumped or bruised, etc. they are beyond comfortable, no pressure.
But when you are up in their grill and defending your tail off the whole game, when they finally do get free, they tend to rush it or tend to not be in as much of a rhythm because they just haven't had it the whole game.
Basketball is so much a game of rhythm and momentum- when you don't have either one of those things and you get an open shot, you're a lot more likely to miss it.
People never account for that. It's always just "oh they missed shots"
Also- the dudes who did get open shots, were the guys we WANT to get open shots- Holloway, Johnson, etc.- we did a great job on their regular shooters.
But when you are up in their grill and defending your tail off the whole game, when they finally do get free, they tend to rush it or tend to not be in as much of a rhythm because they just haven't had it the whole game.
Basketball is so much a game of rhythm and momentum- when you don't have either one of those things and you get an open shot, you're a lot more likely to miss it.
People never account for that. It's always just "oh they missed shots"
Also- the dudes who did get open shots, were the guys we WANT to get open shots- Holloway, Johnson, etc.- we did a great job on their regular shooters.
Excellent post
Open shots for mediocre to bad shooters are not the result of bad defense. You can’t take everything away. Conceding some open shots to bad shooters to eliminate the same for good shooters is just fine. Additionally, we contested almost everything at the rim. Two weeks ago, our defense at the rim was pretty much the same as pregame layup lines.
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