Following consecutive close losses to Florida and Ole Miss, there was not much positivity surrounding the Kentucky program. They entered Saturday’s contest with South Carolina pretty much locked into the 8/9 spot in the SEC Tournament and were a win away from meeting up with Alabama on Friday afternoon in Nashville.
However, now there is some momentum.
The Wildcats throttled South Carolina for a 28-point victory and for the first time since the 2019 season they beatdown a power conference opponent. UK was scorching from three, but they played really good defense and ended things quickly in the second half. Now it is off to the Music City to see if a miracle run can be made to claim an automatic bid.
Offense
Kentucky scored 92 points in 76 possessions scoring 1.21 points per trip. UK got 39 points from behind the arc while shooting 50 percent from two-point range. Add in 13 makes at the free throw line and you are going to win a lot of games with those numbers. Pacing the offense in the romp were the two guards in the starting lineup.
Davion Mintz continues to play excellent ball down the stretch and he finished with 20 points on 13 shots in 28 minutes while dishing out a team-high seven assists. Brandon Boston Jr. was also flame-throwing scoring 21 points on 13 field goal attempts with four rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes. The pair each hit six shots from three-point land combining to shoot 12-of-22 from distance. It was a shot making clinic that was highlighted by Davion Mintz’s heat check to extend the lead to 19.
In the post, Kentucky got some very efficient scoring from both Isaiah Jackson and Olivier Sarr. Jackson scored 13 points while recording a double-double on eight shots with a team-high four offensive rebounds. Sarr chipped in 15 points on 10 shots with three offensive rebounds and a three-point field goal. They led the way as the team grabbed 13 offensive rebounds that would lead directly to 18 second chance points.
In his first career start, Jacob Toppin scored just two points in 20 minutes. Devin Askew came off the bench to collect six points, three rebounds and two assists in just 11 minutes. Keion Brooks Jr. added seven points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes. Brooks’ offensive rebound rate of 11.7 percent is now tied with Isaiah Jackson for the team lead. After a slow start, the bench contributed 21 points and helped very much in the blowout.
The Wildcats finished with 17 turnovers and a turnover rate of 22.37 percent, but that was expected against an aggressive South Carolina defense. However, hot perimeter shooting helps make everything look better and that was certainly the case in the win to end the regular season.
Defense
South Carolina scored 64 points in 81 possessions posting just .790 points per trip. The Gamecocks were just 2-of-17 from three and finished under 50 percent from two-point range. They made just 10-of-17 free throws and could only get into transition for six fast break points. It’s very hard for them to score when that is the case.
A.J. Lawson paces this Carolina offense from his guard position and the 6-6 junior had a rough outing. Lawson finished with just six points on 10 field goal attempts and zero assists to go with three turnovers. You add that in with other starting guard Jermaine Couisnard being out of the lineup and it resulted in disaster for the Gamecocks.
The best thing this offense does is crash the offensive glass and we saw some of that in the game. Carolina finished with 12 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second chance points, but their offensive rebounding rate was just 26.67 percent. Kentucky did a very good job ending possessions with defensive rebounds while forcing turnovers 22.22 percent of possessions. That’s just about half of the trips ending in a potential fast break the other way.
Isaiah Jackson was once again excellent on the defensive end collecting six defensive rebounds, two steals and a block. When he is able to play without fouling he is a force. Elsewhere, UK got a ton of rebounding help from the perimeter and it really made a difference. Davion Mintz, Brandon Boston Jr. and Devin Askew combined to collect 11 defensive rebounds as it was a full team effort on that end of the court.
Outlook
There’s no denying that this result was the absolute best case scenario for the Kentucky basketball team. The Wildcats throttled their opponent using hot shooting from behind the arc and riding strong defense to help extend the lead. It was a very fun experience for everyone wearing blue and white.
Kentucky will be entering the SEC Tournament as the No. 8 seed and will be wearing their home whites when they go up against Mississippi State to kick the thing off on Thursday. Win that one and the league’s regular season champ is awaiting in the quarterfinal round. A very tough task, but this is March after all.
UK still has some major offensive issues, but the recent surge in defensive rebounding is going to give them a chance. Their defense is good enough to hang around with just about anyone and these games are going to come down to the other end. Can this team make enough shots?
In recent games they have fixed their ball security issues to a certain extent and Davion Mintz is providing the team with shot-making (20-of-44 from three in the last five games) and good decisions from the point guard spot (3-to-1 assist/turnover ratio in the last five games). Keep that up and they may just have a shot to make a run.
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March 08, 2021
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Best Case Scenario - kentuckysportsradio.com
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