Kentucky Basketball: Five takeaways from matchup with Michigan State

The Kentucky Basketball team suffered a heartbreaker on Tuesday night when the team fell in double-OT to Michigan State in the Champions Classic. While it’s hard to find a positive in a tough time, there’s still plenty to be excited about for this season’s team. Here are the five biggest takeaways from Kentucky’s loss to Michigan State. 

Five biggest takeaways from Kentucky’s loss to Michigan State

1. Oscar Tshiebwe is the most valuable player in college basketball

I’m sure this was a no-brainer for most people, but what he did last night just reassured the world of his dominance. The off-season injury situation left some questioning how he would look this year. I think Oscar answered those questions and put to bed all of the people, thinking he would take a step back.

He was beating double teams, grabbing rebounds (as usual), and scoring with ease on the inside. For his first game back, he performed at his usual level and even exceeded my expectations. It’s going to be another huge year for the best player in college basketball.

Last night in the Champions Classic, Oscar notched yet another double-double and finished with a team-high 34 minutes off the bench. He also netted a +/- of 12, which was the highest on the team and one of only two positive +/- grades on the team. The only downfall to his performance was the fouling. His presence on the court makes everyone so much better due to the attention he attracts.

Oscar has become more agile and showcased his footwork speed by defending the pick and roll at a high level. Kentucky, at times, relied on Oscar a little too much by forcing him the ball when it was not needed. This led to several key turnovers but also got others doing more watching than moving.

I’m not sure if there is another player in the country who means more to their team than Oscar does to Kentucky. Last night showcased that, as highlighted by his incredible plus-minus numbers and the team essentially falling apart without him in the second overtime. All of these things combined just reassure us of how important Oscar is, making him what I perceive as the most valuable player in America.

2. More Cason Wallace involvement

Outside of Sahvir Wheeler, there are not many other players that can help create for others. This causes Kentucky problems when Wheeler is not on the floor. The offense becomes more one-on-one based versus ball movement and gets players in the best position to be able to score. Cason has the ability to be an incredible two-way player with his intensity and determination to stop his particular matchup.

Cason was the only other guard with more than one assist in last night’s game. He showcased the ability to create for others as well as being able to get his own points. However, at times I felt like there should be more sets run for him, especially in the half-court when Wheeler was either off the court or needed to take a break from ball-handling duties. When the ball was in his hands, good things happened with the Kentucky offense. Wheeler dominating the ball is definitely not an issue because of how good he is, but it can make Kentucky easier to guard.

By no means am I lobbying for Cason to shoot 20 times a game or be the primary ball handler, but what I am lobbying for is letting him handle the ball more and help Wheeler create for others. It’s a small sample size, but the data shows that the more Cason, the better. I tend to agree with that data.

3. Playmaking

The lack of playmaking is a major issue with this Kentucky team. Sahvir Wheeler does it all and is the key to all things Kentucky wants to do offensively. Oscar is by far the best player on the team, but it can be debated that Wheeler is the most important.

In the two games that Wheeler has played, he has accounted for 47 and 50 percent of assisted baskets. Last year he shared those playmaking duties with TyTy Washington, but this year it’s more of a one-man show. To reach their full potential, there should be some guys who step up to help with playmaking and not just rely solely on Wheeler.

As highlighted in the second key, I think Cason Wallace should be involved more with the ball in his hands. This benefits all parties as well as keeping the defense off balance with two guys who can score, facilitate, and control the tempo. It’s a small sample size, and there is no reason to overreact quite yet, but it is something that needs to improve going into SEC play.

4. Defend without fouling

Last night, Kentucky had four key players with four or more fouls, including Oscar Tshiebwe fouling out of the game in the first overtime. While you love the aggression from the team, they should play with a little more control when defending. It doesn’t help with continuity or rhythm when players are constantly in and out of the lineup due to foul trouble.

Although Kentucky plays around seven to eight players, the familiarity is not there yet. Michigan State forced Kentucky to defend a lot of on-ball screens, which resulted in numerous hand-check fouls. The Spartans shot 27 free throws on 25 Kentucky fouls, resulting in 23 easy points. Through all of this, Kentucky had control of the game numerous times and just could not put the game away.

Outside of fouling, I thought Kentucky played well defensively, especially in the first half. They held the Spartans to 34 points while forcing five turnovers and only allowed them to go to the free-throw line three times. Due to foul trouble on the front line, the Spartans took advantage by pouring in 36 points combined from their front court.

The fouling was mostly to blame for the groove Michigan State got into as well as the lack of rhythm for Kentucky. This is a major issue for when Kentucky gets into SEC play with the amount of really good front courts they’ll see on a night-in and night-out basis.

5. Backcourt Production 

From a backcourt perspective, CJ Fredrick is not going to shoot 1-9 very often, and Antonio Reeves rarely will shoot 1-7. So by no means is there any need to panic; however, we do need to see some more consistency from the backcourt. With a lot of the attention on Oscar, it’s very important that the guards are able to knock down shots and make defenses pay for clogging the paint.

The pace in last night’s game was slower than the previous two games. That could be a product of foul trouble and Coach Calipari not wanting to get in a track meet with fewer fresh players to put on the floor. I think pace and tempo are positive for the backcourt, and it lets them play more freely rather than thinking too much in their half-court sets.

We are only a few games in, and we all know that all of Coach Calipari’s teams get better as they build chemistry and continuity. In recent history, this is possibly one of his weaker backcourt, but that does not mean they lack talent or upside. It will just take more time for these guys to mesh and become familiar with one another’s tendencies.

There has to be some balance when it comes to this Kentucky team. We know what they are capable of on the interior with Oscar and to a lesser extent, Jacob Toppin. The backcourt must step up and complement that, and last night was proof that they need to get on the same page as well as be more consistent. It’s a long season; no doubt in my mind that they will get it rolling, and when they do, look out.