5 Rushed Reactions: Kentucky Wildcats vs Tennessee Volunteers

2. Out of Bounds defense

It was a little frustrating to watch the Kentucky Wildcats attempt to play defense on Tennessee’s out-of-bounds plays underneath the hoop. Tennessee scored at least 6 points in the second half on ‘out-of-bounds underneath’ plays. This isn’t a part of the game that gets a lot of attention, but 6-10 points is significant. Kentucky’s communication and organization on defensive ‘out-of-bounds underneath’ plays must improve. The Cats guard too well and play too hard to give up easy baskets like this. It’s especially frustrating considering how little Kentucky is able to score on their own plays underneath the basket when in-bounding the ball. As conference plays continues, Kentucky will face several more close, tense games. You never know when an ‘out-of-bounds underneath’ basket is going to be the difference in the game. The Cats absolutely need to get this fixed.