The Cats couldn’t hang on to the ball at home Saturday.
The Kentucky Wildcats, who have been a top-10 team at times this season, are coming off a 16-point loss to the top-ranked Auburn Tigers, who are now 15-1 in SEC action. The Tigers outclassed the Wildcats, and what was the main reason for that?
The Cats ended with 15 more rebounds and seven more on the offensive end, so that wasn’t the problem.
The main issue facing this Kentucky team is turnovers, and it was a clear display Saturday afternoon. They were -10 in that category, losing by 16 despite having six fewer fouls and four more assists.
The two main culprits were Amari Williams and Lamont Butler. Those two combined for 11 of the 18, and they were the only players with more than two turnovers in this one. Williams was one of the main weapons for this time, and he had the ball in his hands frequently, so he gets a slight pass.
Nonetheless, if the Cats are going to get anywhere in March, they are going to have to clean things up. With LSU on deck, they should get a chance to do just that.
Kentucky currently sits 84th in the country in turnovers. You win by not committing turnovers.
Ask Marquette (3rd), Auburn (4th), and Houston (9th), who all rank in the top 10 in the country in the stat. And with Jaxson Robinson now done for the season, the Cats will need to change things and make those adjustments as soon as possible.
It is almost do-or-die time for the Cats, and when it comes to those moments, this veteran squad can’t keep coughing the ball up.