Kentucky basketball had no FGs in the final 6 minutes in loss to South Carolina

The Kentucky basketball team was 3-8 late in game from the free throw line against South Carolina and didn’t make a shot over the final 6 minutes. The Gamecocks overcame a 14-point second half deficit and defeated the Wildcats 76-68.

The Kentucky basketball team could not overcome poor free throw shooting late and fell to South Carolina on the road. The Wildcats missed 13 shots from the charity stripe and didn’t make a bucket over the final 6 minutes. The Gamecocks overcame a 14-point second half deficit and defeated the Wildcats 76-68. The Wildcats were in foul trouble all evening, committing 32 personal fouls. Three members of the Kentucky basketball team fouled out. The Cats were led in scoring by Kevin Knox with 21.

First half

The game did not start well for the Kentucky basketball team. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had two turnovers early and South Carolina got off to a 7-0 start causing coach John Calipari to quickly burn a timeout. Nick Richards knocked down a mid-range jumper to end the Gamecocks’ run. Richards had his best half of basketball by far. He was 3-of-3 from the floor, had 8 points and 2 rebounds in the first half before picking up a second foul.

The long-awaited debut of Jarred Vanderbilt occurred with 13:09 in the first half. Vanderbilt was extremely energized in his first action of the season. He had a missed shot and turned the ball over in his first minute of play. His first points of the game came at the free throw line late in the half.

Kevin Knox had a solid start to the game, scoring 10 points in the first half of play.  Gilgeous-Alexander took a seat with 5:57 left in the half after picking up his second foul. Cal took a risk putting Gilgeous-Alexander back in the game with under 2 minutes remaining. The risk did not pay off, as Shai picked up his third foul before halftime. SGA had an uncharacteristic 4 first half turnovers.

Brad Calipari saw action late in the first half after poor decision-making by Hamidou Diallo found him a spot in John Calipari’s doghouse. Quade Green was unavailable for the third straight game and did not even make the trip to Columbia.

The Cats took a 28-26 lead after Knox grabbed an offensive rebound which led to a Vanderbilt assisted basket for Sacha Killeya-Jones. The Kentucky basketball team had 11 turnovers in the first half and only 10 made field goals. The Wildcats scored 18 points in the paint and hit 17 free throws in the first half. Chris Silva led way for the Gamecocks with 12 points in the first half. Kentucky led South Carolina 37-34 as the teams made their way to the locker room.

Second half

The second half saw 7 fouls in the first 2:19 of play. The Kentucky basketball team started the half on a 5-0 run and upped their lead to 8 before coach Frank Martin called a timeout in an attempt to settle his Gamecocks down.

Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fourth foul barely 5 minutes into the half. With SGA on the bench, Diallo and Vanderbilt took over point guard duties for the Wildcats. Shai returned midway through the half after Diallo picked up personal foul number four.

The foul-fest continued after Wenyen Gabriel picked up his fourth foul with just over 10 minutes left. A fast break basket by the Gamecocks cut the Wildcats lead to 9. Killeya-Jones picked up his fourth foul shortly after Gabriel picked up his fourth. Two free throws by Silva helped cut into the Wildcats’ lead even more. With 9:00 left Kentucky led 57-50.

South Carolina cut the Cats’ lead to 4 with just over 7:00 left before Knox drilled the Wildcats’ first three-pointer of the night. A three-point miss from Knox and a missed putback from Richards led to a run out for South Carolina. The ensuing possession led to a fast break layup from the Gamecocks and the game was then knotted at 65.

Richards fouled out with under 3 minutes remaining and South Carolina took a 4 points lead late. The Cats were 3-8 from the charity stripe late and did not make a field goal the remainder of the game.