There’s no forgiveness left for UK in 2017-18. They need to win a big game and Kentucky-Auburn is a big game.
Courtesy: lakerholicz.com
Out of all John Calipari’s birthdays, his 59th is probably one that he’ll look back on and forget.
Last Saturday, Calipari’s young Kentucky Wildcats led Texas A&M 30-26 at halftime, but the more experienced Aggies poured in 59 points in the second half to pull away for an 85-74 victory. It was UK’s third straight loss—the first time for such a streak in the Calipari Era in Lexington.
And the path doesn’t get any easier this Wednesday night. Kentucky travels to “The Plains” to take on No. 10 Auburn.
The Wildcats’ current skid began with a 69-60 loss to Missouri in Columbia. Then came a 61-59 home court loss to Tennessee—marking the first time since 1998-99 that the Vols had swept the Wildcats in regular season play.
Losing comes as a surprise, too. Fans and analysts thought that UK had turned the corner after notching a spectacular 17-point, come-from-behind win on the road against then seventh-ranked West Virginia. But then it took everything but the kitchen sink to grind out an OT victory against Vanderbilt at home and three consecutive losses followed.
Before the season I wrote that Kentucky was bound to have troubles because of overwhelming youth. But I didn’t figure it would be this tough for UK. The reality is clear: a few more losses and the Wildcats won’t be looking NCAA-plausible.
That negative script could change with a turnaround win at Auburn Wednesday night.
But doing just that won’t be easy. Former Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl has the Tigers clicking on all cylinders–at 22-3 overall and 10-2 mark in SEC play. With a very potent offense behind the trio of Bryce Brown (16.6 PPG), Mustapha Heron (16.3 PPG), and Jared Harper (13.3 PPG), Auburn is shooting 39% from three-point range on the season and is scoring at a 85.5 points-per-game clip.
The good news is that the Wildcats rank third in the nation in three-point field goal defense (opponents are shooting 29% from long range). And UK also has a slight edge in another defensive category–the Wildcats allow 70.5 points per game (the Tigers yield 72.4 per night).
Offense is a another story, though. UK ranks 116th in the nation, averaging just 76 points per game.
Part of Kentucky’s scoring woes is the fact that the Wildcats don’t have a true, established scorer. There is no Jamal Murray or Malik Monk on this team, a player who can take over a game by knocking down shots from three-point range. And to make matters worse, UK is one of the worst teams in the nation in assists—the gold standard when it comes to evaluating cohesiveness and teamwork. On average, UK dishes out just 13.4 assists per night (ranking 198th nationally).
The stark reality is that UK doesn’t have good, offensive flow. If I had a dollar for every time one of the players went behind his back or between his legs–when it wasn’t necessary–then I’d have enough money to drop out of college and coast financially until the day I die.
It’s a common theme with many of Calipari’s teams. UK plays well in spurts, but then players devolve into an “it’s all about me” gameplan.
Now there’s simply no room for selfish play. The Wildcats’ season is on the line Wednesday night in Auburn, Alabama.
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Cameron Brown is an undergraduate student at Western Kentucky University, double majoring in journalism and history—with a minor in broadcasting. Contact him at Cameron.brown288@topper.wku.edu
