Much-needed improvement is needed here.
Ten days ago, Ohio State exposed the Kentucky Wildcats’ defense and lack of athleticism. They forced Kentucky to guard them straight up, and Kentucky failed in every facet on the defensive end of the floor, as evidenced by Ohio State shooting well above 50% from the field thanks to the middle of the paint being left open all night long.
On Monday’s Mark Pope Show, Pope said that there had been several points of emphasis over the Wildcats’ 10-day break between games, with ball-screen defense being one.
“Ball-screen defense was a massive priority, and it’s going to continue to be,” Pope stated. “It’ll be a work in progress every day from now through the rest of the season. What I’ve been proud of is our guys have really…these were not wasted days. They came every day and were really focused on trying to grow.
“We made some huge growth in that space. We made some huge growth in some offensive scheme stuff that we’re trying to work on, as well as continuing to build on fundamental things that we’re doing. We had terrific days of work. And so those things, they’ll be big parts in our growth as we continue down the road.”
In both of their losses, Kentucky’s defense and lack of athleticism were exposed and a crucial part of defensive lapses and long-scoring droughts.
With 10 days between games to sit and stew on an embarrassing loss in Madison Square Garden, Kentucky needs to come out of the gate with a fire under them in the final non-conference game before SEC play starts. Brown is a team that will not go down easily.
On Saturday, the Florida Gators will stroll into Rupp Arena for a top-10 matchup and another chance for Kentucky to gain a Q1 win.