Kentucky basketball: 3 keys vs Mississippi St, prediction, game info

3. Nick Richards needs more touches

First, allow me to apologize. Perhaps I judged Nick Richards too harshly and for that I’m sorry. The kid has brought some life to his game over the last week. Here’s hoping that continues going forward.

Make no mistake, Richards is not Karl-Anthony Towns. Richards is an athletic big who is still learning the game of basketball. Richards averaged 10 points and 6.5 rebounds in Kentucky’s last two games. Not only that, but he played 23 minutes against South Carolina and 20 minutes against Florida. In the previous 5 SEC games, Richards averaged only 13 minutes of playing time.

Up until recently, Nick Richards appeared to not be engaged and played very passively. Calipari needs Richards’ intensity to match his effort of late. If this uptick in Richards minutes and production continues, he could be a very important piece for this Kentucky basketball team going forward in SEC play.

Look for the Cats to try to establish Richards early on the low block. Calipari’s teams have always thrived with an efficient post presence. With Richards and PJ Washington doing work down low, this year’s team could find more success instead of relying on Gilgeous-Alexander and Knox to create off the dribble.