Kentucky Wildcats fall to LSU in uninspiring fashion

By Terry Brown | Jan 5, 2016

Jan 5, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons (25) shoots over Kentucky Wildcats forward Isaac Humphries (15) and forward Derek Willis (35) during the second half of a game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. LSU defeated Kentucky 85-67. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

For the third time this season, the University of Kentucky Wildcats went on the road and played disjointed, uninspired basketball.

On Tuesday night, the Cats lost to the LSU Tigers 85-67 in Baton Rouge. As they did against UCLA and Ohio State, Kentucky came out flat and simply got beat on hustle plays. Against the Tigers, the Cats gave up a season high 44 points in the paint. Cold shooting (24-58 from the field and a horrendous 12-23 from the FT line) and poor rebounding (LSU won the boards 46-32) will not get it done on the road in the SEC.

Yes, LSU played very well. The Tigers are finally hitting their stride after dropping some dreadful nonconference games earlier in the season. The biggest issue for the Big Blue Nation is how are the Cats going to compensate for the deficiencies that this team clearly has. The post position looked bad on paper, but it looked even worse on Tuesday night. Freshman Skal Labissierre’s issues have been well documented (3pts, 2 rebs vs. LSU). However, when junior Marcus Lee and senior Alex Poythress both foul out and combine for 4 points and 6 rebounds, that is a huge issue.

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Kentucky has some of the best rebounding guards in the country. Generally, that’s a luxury, but right now it’s a necessity. Mychal Mulder had 8 rebounds and Isaiah Briscoe had 6 to lead the Cats. And that simply won’t get it done as the Cats move along in SEC play. The Kentucky big men have to contribute.

The Kentucky starting backcourt was the lone bright spot against LSU. Tyler Ulis played well for the Wildcats, finishing with 23 points and 6 assists. Ulis was also 7-8 from the FT line, so the rest of the team was absolutely horrible tonight. Jamal Murray finished with 21 points, the bulk of which came in the second half with the Cats trying to make a furious comeback. If head coach John Calipari can get second half Jamal to show up in the first half of games, the Cats would be cooking.

With three bad losses on the season, the BBN is concerned about how this team will end up in March. Obviously, there’s a lot of work to do. I have faith that Coach Cal and his staff will figure this out. For every Robert Morris loss, there’s 4 Final Four banners in Rupp Arena.

At this point, John Calipari should get the benefit of the doubt. However, with three losses on the season happening the exact same way, it’s time to tweak, regroup, or do whatever it takes to right the ship if this season will end with another banner celebration.

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