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A woeful offensive performance dooms Kentucky basketball vs Mizzou

By Drew Koch

LEXINGTON, KY - JANUARY 30: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats reacts against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Rupp Arena on January 30, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY - JANUARY 30: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats reacts against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Rupp Arena on January 30, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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The Kentucky basketball team just didn’t have it offensively against the Missouri Tigers. The Wildcats fell 60-69.

The Kentucky basketball team was 21-of 67 from the field, including 2-of-20 from downtown. The poor shooting performance and lack of execution the Wildcats fell to the Missouri Tigers 60-69. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Cats in scoring with 15 points.

Mizzou’s physical play overwhelmed the the Kentucky basketball team. There were a pair of technical fouls and two flagrant fouls charged during the contest. In the end, a 14-point deficit was too much for the Kentucky basketball team to overcome.

First Half

Both teams were cold from the floor early. The Wildcats were 0-of-4 from deep early. Missouri went scoreless for almost 5 minutes before knocking down a three-pointer to tie the game at 9. The Tigers took a 11-9 lead after a missed dunk by Nick Richards turned into a quick turnaround jumper for Jeremiah Tilmon. The Cats’ next possession resulted in their eighth straight miss from the field, and Kentucky only scored 2 points during that 5-plus minute stretch.

A 10-0 run by Mizzou put the Tigers up 16-9 before Sacha Killeya-Jones hit a free throw line jumper and ended a 8-plus minute stretch between UK field goals. Thanks in large part to the high-energy effort of Jarred Vanderbilt, the Kentucky basketball team narrowed the lead to 2 at 20-18.

However, the Tigers ripped off 6 straight and took their largest lead at 26-18. Late in the half, Mizzou’s Jordan Geist went low on Vanderbilt, both players went to the floor and were called for technical fouls. The referees also tagged Vanderbilt with a flagrant 1 foul. The Kentucky basketball team was 0-of-10 from downtown and scored only 18 points in the first half. The 18 points were their lowest total of the season. Missouri used an 8-0 run heading to the locker room and led UK 28-18 at halftime.

Second Half

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came out in the second half ready to lead the Wildcats. The Kentucky basketball team started the second half with 14-5 run, closing the gap to 1 point. But poor play and bad shot selection on back-to-back possessions allowed the Tigers to convert 3 straight baskets and take a 41-32 lead.

A kick out three-pointer by Kassius Robertson grew Missouri’s lead to 11 at 49-38. The Mizzou lead grew to as large as 14 with the Tigers in front 56-42 with 5:04 left. The Cats closed the lead to 8 after Wenyen Gabriel hit the first three-pointer of the game for Kentucky. Quade Green knocked down a triple and cut the Tigers lead to 7.

With 41 seconds left, Kentucky cut the lead to 5 after Gilgeous-Alexander converted 3 free throws and Mizzou led 65-60. But that is as close as the Kentucky basketball would get. The Tigers converted their free throws down the stretch and survived the Wildcats’ late charge.

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