Kentucky has a problem with first halves for some reason. We talked about how Andrija Jelavic is confused with Kentucky's slow starts, but when you really dive into the numbers, it is baffling how different this team really is after halftime.
Kentucky basketball's +/- after halftime is astounding
We threw away all the cupcakes here; this is Power 5 games only (10 total games). And when we looked at just those, Kentucky is -89 in the first halves of those games. That is non-competitive basketball at its best.
The games are sometimes over before halftime. Kentucky did come back and win two of those (Indiana and St. John's), but you cannot dig yourself out of a hole that deep very often. And it's not just shot selection; the lack of energy at the beginning of games is startling. The cuts aren't crisp, the communication is lax, and the team falls behind over and over.
Compare that to the second halves of games, and Kentucky is a different team. Against the same Power 5 opposition, Kentucky is an astonishing +55.
Now, some of that will be that the other team is so far ahead that they may let up a little bit. But you can also see it on the court. Kentucky's energy lifts; they move the ball better. They cut harder, and they just take on a different personality.
That personality has to come out at the start of games, because against good competition, you are not coming back from 10-point deficits on the regular. You need to start better and find that desire as soon as the ball tips off, not 25 minutes into a 40-minute game.
We will see if Otega Oweh makes good on his declaration that the team will be good in just a few hours against the Vols. For their sake, we have to hope he's right.