It’s obvious that through five games of the Kentucky Wildcats basketball season that the defense is way ahead of the offense. The offense has been average thus far, as the Kentucky Wildcats are hitting 46.7% of their shots and a smidge over 30% of their three-point attempts. But that defense though?
"In one week the Kentucky Wildcats have had two astounding defensive performances. This year, defense has been an area of focus for both John Calipari and the team. The head coach was happy with how the team managed that in the Cats’ 86-28 win over Montana State on Sunday. “I loved how we defended,” Calipari said in his postgame press conference. “We didn’t look at the score, we just worried about each possession and that’s what you have to do in games like this.” Even freshman guard Devin Booker, just having a few months under Coach Cal, realizes how important defense is on this team, saying Cal stresses for them to “take pride” in their defense. “That’s the most important part,” Booker said. “And just, you have to do it as a collective group. It’s not going to be just one man guarding his man. We all have to play defense for each other, and not just guard your man, guard your teammate’s man too.” The Cats set a record Sunday night for the fewest points allowed in the shot-clock era in school history — 28. The players were not aware they were close to breaking the record during the game, but their coach knew. “But Coach Cal made sure we knew to not (let) them score anymore,” said Karl-Anthony Towns in his postgame interview"
Get ready for some more defensive domination tonight as Texas Arlington comes into Rupp at 7:00PM. But to see more of UK’s defensive domination thus far, do click on the above link. It’s pretty detailed.
Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
John Clay has done a great job of crunching the numbers and comparing the Kentucky Wildcats defense this year against the other five John Calipari teams. It’s especially interesting to see how this team compares versus the 2011-12 National Title team.
Season 3 (2011-12): It was pretty easy to tell early on that this team had the makings of a great defensive team. Kansas shot just 33.9 against UK in the Champions Classic. Penn State shot 26.9 and Radford 26.2. Through five games, opponents were shooting just 29.8 percent, including 24 percent from three. They were also averaging just 0.740 points per possession. Of course, Kentucky went on to win the national championship.
This year, Kentucky is allowing just 28.1% shooting from both two point and three point range.
Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports
Tonight at 7:00PM, the Kentucky WIldcats will face the Texas Arlington Mavericks. UTA comes into the game with a 3-1 record, but don’t be fooled by that. Due to the structure of the Cawood Ledford Classic, the Kentucky Wildcats and Mavericks have already faced two common opponents so far. UTA lost to Buffalo 74-68 while Buffalo gave the Kentucky Wildcats their “closest game” this far, losing 71-52. The Mavericks beat Grand Canyon by a acore of 66-64 while Kentucky won 85-45. Expect another lopsided Kentucky victory.