Kentucky basketball: 5 rushed reactions vs Davidson – Tournament Edition

5. Struggles late in game

I’ll tell you what, the Kentucky basketball team did not play very intelligently in the last 60 seconds of the game. Davidson obviously increased their defensive pressure, and Kentucky’s youth did not handle it well.

The Wildcats committed turnovers that allowed Davidson to stay in the game. Even worse, Hamidou Diallo made some key defensive mistakes in the last few possessions. Diallo twice left his man to double team for no reason, then his man hit a three-point shot to keep Davidson alive. But even worse, Diallo and Gilgeous-Alexander both committed dumb fouls on the defensive end. Each of these fouls allowed Davidson to score with the clock stopped.

Kentucky just needed to play solid, intelligent defense down the stretch. Guard your man, rebound the basketball, and do not commit fouls – especially away from the basket! Hopefully these will be lessons that UK’s freshmen can learn from.