As always, Cats Illustrated takes a deeper dive into the numbers from Kentucky's latest basketball game.
Arkansas defeated Kentucky 89-79 in Rupp Arena on Saturday night. Here are some of the more significant and telling numbers from that.
89 ... Points scored by Arkansas. Let's start with the basics. Arkansas scored 46 points in the first half. They averaged 37 points per first half on the season. They scored 43 points in the second half. For the season the Hogs have averaged 39.5 points in the second half. From start to finish Kentucky wasn't good enough at getting stops.
52% ... Arkansas from three-point range. The Razorbacks were 13/25 from three-point range. This is a team that has shot 33.5% from deep on the season, ranking No. 172 nationally in three-point shooting. The Hogs made 13 threes against Kentucky but only average 7.5 makes per game on the season, and that includes the outburst against the Cats.
50% ... Kentucky from the free throw line. The Wildcats were only 9/18 from the charity stripe. Jaxson Robinson was 4/8 and Williams was 4/7. But nobody else did a good job of even getting to the line.
18 ... Fast break points for Arkansas against only five for Kentucky. The game didn't sustain the fastest pace from start to finish, as Mark Pope mentioned afterward, but it was Kentucky that really struggled to get out and run for easy buckets.
14 ... Turnovers by Kentucky. If there's one thing that has been a bellwether in Kentucky's losses it has been a smaller than usual assist total and a worse assist/turnover ratio. UK had 11 assists on 30 baskets plus those 14 turnovers.
12-3 ... Arkansas' advantage in blocks+steals. The Razorbacks had 10 steals and two blocks. Kentucky had only two steals and one block. That's a very small number for Kentucky, any year.
12 ... Free throw attempts by former Cat and Arkansas forward Adou Thiero. He was 10/12 from the line. Thiero was a significant matchup problem in the game and there was a big question as to who would guard him going in.
9 ... Made field goals by Kentucky's Amari Williams. He was the game's leading scorer with 22 points. Williams shot 9/13 from the field and had 11 rebounds and three assists. He did have four turnovers.
+4 ... Kentucky's scoring advantage in Amari Williams' 25 minutes. The Wildcats were +4 with him in the game and -14 in the 15 minutes of game time with Williams off the court.
3 ... Second chance points by the Hogs. Arkansas only had four offensive rebounds and three second chance points. If you knew that would be the case before the game you would have felt good about Kentucky's chances. But the Hogs shot 55% from the field.
1/6 ... Koby Brea from three-point range. Some of those shots were tough looks against good defense so that's a credit to the Hogs' defense. But Brea has been much better shooting at Rupp Arena than he was on Saturday night.