Kentucky vs. LSU: Takeaways

After turning their season around last week Kentucky found a brand new way to lose with 75-74 loss in Baton Rouge last night.  As has been the theme the last two seasons, just when you think you turn a corner you realize you’re back where you started.

Lack of Focus Has A Price

Kentucky did not play well offensively but for 37 minutes the Cats grinded.  They built a 9 point lead at HT mostly by surviving the war of attrition.  They pushed that lead to 15 right after HT and it looked like they were about to roll.  Instead, they took their foot off the gas and within about 3 minutes of game time the lead was down to 2.  LSU scored 15 points of their own in that time span (they scored just 60 the other 37 minutes) and turned the game into a dogfight.

It was all self-inflicted mistakes.  DJ doesn’t box out on an airball, Tone just loses their best shooter on an in-bounds, several turnovers on the offensive end, etc.  Kentucky had a chance to bury them and didn’t.  The final play was indicative of this poor mentality.  Adou makes a great initial play but Ugo is lost in space and Reed just ball watches again (that is two SEC games he has cost Kentucky by being a spectator on a final play).

That can’t happen in this league.

The Offense Has Become Bogged Down

Kentucky’s offense had been a strength but the last 10 days it’s really struggled for long stretches.  Some of that is not being healthy.  Tre Michell was quietly important due to his passing, screens, and ability to stretch the floor (love Adou but teams are leaving him wide open on the perimeter).  The biggest issue I think is that in an attempt to fix the defense the sacrifice has been offensive lineups.   Teams have also figured out the line in terms of what kind of contact officials will let them get away with to try and disrupt our flow.  Last night LSU pushed, pulled, and bumped their way (alot of it was off-ball too) into disrupting Kentucky.  There was panic with sloppy turnovers and the wrong players taking the wrong shots.

Last night the offense was reliant on Antonio Reeves in the first half and needed Rob to get really hot late in the game to give them a shot.  That probably isn’t sustainable and Kentucky will need to get and stay healthy to have any chance to finally see it’s full potential.

Adou Continues to Play Winning Basketball

Adou Thiero almost saved the day.  He stripped the ball and secured a steal to give Kentucky a chance to take the lead and then made the block on the last possession.  He is on the verge of becoming a college star (and a potential pro) and he needs to be on the floor, even when Tre Mitchell comes back.  That means Cal will probably have to lean into small-ball (he did against Ole Miss before Tre got hurt) because Kentucky is better when Adou is on the floor.

What Does It Mean

In a normal season you kind of just shrug this kind of loss away.  You were up 15 on an obviously inferior team and relaxed.  Then a bizarre 90 seconds (like hitting the top of the backboard on a FT and it bouncing around the 6 times before falling in) saw you lose on a buzzer beater.  These kinds of losses happen routinely in CBB and have happened routinely to Kentucky over the last century.  The problem is Kentucky already blew a home game against Florida (among others).  You needed this one to be able to build any type of momentum and you dropped the ball in a 2 minute span early in the 2^nd half.

I’ve said this before but we don’t have to do a “State of the Program” after every loss or win.  Had the shot missed and Kentucky won just about everyone would have said “glad to just survive and get out with a gritty win”.  That would have been the correct take but that also means the sky isn’t falling because it went in.  Cal made all the right decisions in the final minute, sometimes you just lose.  What it does mean is that Kentucky is likely putting itself at the mercy of the Selection Committee in March to give them a good draw.

It also means this Alabama game in Rupp is a must-win for fan morale.  Kentucky fans aren’t really the rational “lets see how this plays out” type of fans and losing another game in Rupp might turn this thing into a toxic mess (we’re close already).

Go Cats.