The start looked promising this time, the Cats jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead, but another 1st half lull allowed a dangerous Texas team to stick around in a game that shouldn't have been close. Maybe Kentucky basketball just isn't a first-half team. Every time Kentucky seemed to push the lead to 5 or 7, Texas would answer with a big run to tighten it right back up.
In the first half, the Cats built a nice lead behind smart ball movement and shot-making from Otega Oweh. Then, Texas ripped off a 7-0 run to take the lead. Kentucky fought back to tie it at 40 heading to halftime.
The second half was the same movie: Kentucky pushed a tied game to a 6-point lead. Texas climbed back to within one. Kentucky pushed it back to 6. Then, just like clockwork, another 7-0 Texas run put the Longhorns right back on top.
The struggle: Kentucky can't make a layup
Shot selection has been a problem nearly all year, but recently, the ball movement has improved enough to get better shots. Tonight, against Texas, the issue wasn't the quality of the shots; it was finishing them.
One theme has stayed the same even after Kentucky's ball movement got better: The Cats can't make the bunnies.
Kentucky struggled mightily in the paint in the first half, getting outscored by Texas 26-18. Several times, Kentucky players got into the lane and just could not convert the easy looks. That inability to finish at the rim kept Texas alive when Kentucky could have buried them.
The bad news: Kam Williams injury
The mood in Rupp Arena shifted early in the second half when Kam Williams went from the floor straight down the tunnel.
He has not returned to the bench, and the early word is a foot injury. No further details are available right now, but losing a starter when you just found a nice rhythm is the story of Mark Pope's Kentucky tenure.
The possible turning point: The flagrant foul
The game flipped on a single play with 10 minutes to go.
During an Otega Oweh breakaway, he was wrapped up by Simeon Wilcher to prevent the dunk. It wasn't a vicious hit, Wilcher just grabbed his arm, but it was ruled a Flagrant 1.
That call changed momentum:
- Oweh calmly made his two free throws.
- Kentucky retained possession.
- On the ensuing inbounds, Oweh designed a nice lob to Malachi Moreno, who was also fouled.
Moreno knocked down his two free throws, capping a massive 4-point possession that put the Cats up 5. More importantly, it put Kentucky in the bonus with nearly 10 minutes to play, a complete reversal from the first half, where Texas lived at the line.
The takeover: Collin Chandler
That sequence sparked the run Kentucky had been waiting for all night.
Collin Chandler decided it was time to end the back-and-forth for a little while. The sophomore went on a personal 9-0 run, finally pushing the lead out to 10.
Texas, true to form, tried to cut it back down to 6 once more. Chandler again tried to land a knockout blow. He drained a corner three, forced a turnover on the other end, and then threw down a power dunk to push the lead right back to 11 with 5 minutes to go.
But just like Missouri, when Kentucky was up 8 with 3 to go at home, Texas started making plays to put game pressure on the Cats.
2 free throws from Matas Vokietaitis cut the lead back to 5 with 1:50 to go. A turnover from Denzel Aberdeen led to an easy layup from Tramon Mark to cut it to 3. Aberdeen drew a foul but could only convert one of two from the line. Another Mark jumper, and suddenly it was a 2-point game. The Cats hadn't made a shot in almost 6 minutes.
Aberdeen again got in the paint and drew a foul from Vokietaitis. 2 huge pressure filled throws put the Cats up 4 with 26 seconds to go.
Jordan Pope got a really good look from deep to make it a one-point game, but the shot rimmed out, and Kentucky got the rebound. Aberdeen again was just one of two from the line. For some reason, Mo Dioubate just bumped Jordan Pope, sending the Texas guard to the line with 8.9 to go. Denzel Aberdeen was fouled again, and he nailed both for a team-high 19th point.
Collin Chandler had a career high 18 points, Oweh banged in 18 as well. Andrija Jelavic led the team in rebounding with 7 despite playing just 18 minutes.
The Cats have won 4 in a row.