Kentucky basketball: Rushed reactions vs Vanderbilt 2.0

2. The return of the press!

About 5 minutes into the second half, Calipari brought back the full-court press. I wrote about Calipari’s use of the 2-2-1 press earlier in the season (read it here) but this press was a little different. Vanderbilt was playing at a comfortable pace for most of the game and controlling the tempo. As the Cats found themselves down 14 points, Calipari turned to his full-court run/jump trapping press.

This immediately sped up the Commodores, which resulted in a transition three-pointer for Quade Green and a 5-0 run for the Cats. Vandy used a quick timeout to stop the bleeding, but the Kentucky run continued to 8-0 before a defensive miscue led to an easy Vandy dunk. Up until the under-12 minute timeout, the Kentucky basketball team’s defensive pressure put them on a 13-2 run.