By the Numbers: UK-Dominican Republic
When a team defeats its opponent by 50 points, nearly doubling its score, the numbers inside those insiders will tend to be impressive.
That was certainly the case on Wednesday night coming out of UK's 108-56 win against the Dominican Republic in the first of four exhibition games in the Bahamas.
Cats Illustrated digs into the box score to seek out the interesting and relevant finds.
56 ... Points in the paint for Kentucky compared to 20 for the Dominican Republic. That number will almost always result in a very lopsided score. The Dominican Republic only shot 4/19 from three-point range and lost that facet of the game to Kentucky significantly as well so there was no path to a much better outcome.
+40 ... That was Kentucky's margin when Daimion Collins played. The second year big man is in line for a much bigger role this season and did nothing to discourage the hype that has followed him this offseason. Collins scored 15 points on (6/9 FG), with a couple of high flying dunks over opponents from the baseline. He also had five rebounds, two blocks, and, maybe most impressively, five assists.
28 ... The number of assists dished out by Kentucky players on 42 made field goals. That's an incredible number and speaks to great team ball movement both in the halfcourt with entry passes and on the break. The impressive thing is how that number resulted from so many players passing the ball so well. Fredrick had four assists in 12 minutes. Collins had five assists and Livingston four. The backcourt and the frontcourt moved the ball well and so did throwing the ball into the paint.
18 ... Turnovers committed by the Dominic Republic, and most all of them were forced by the length and anticipation of Kentucky's defense. One of the biggest improvements from last year to this year could be the defense of the backcourt but it was all hands on deck in forcing turnovers Wednesday night.
12 ... The numbers of minutes played for Iowa transfer CJ Fredrick, who is coming off an injury. That was fewer that most of the other players presumed to be contenders for UK rotation roles this season so it will be interesting to see how much Calipari uses the sharpshooter. He dished out four assists in his first seven minutes of action so contributed to great ball movement.
11 ... Made three pointers by the entire team on 26 attempts for a 42.3% mark outside the arc. That'll do. Antonio Reeves knocked down three early triples and was 4/5 for the night. Chris Livingston showed impressive range and the kind of game that may make some of his own predictions for himself appear very possible. It wouldn't be wise to read too much into this number. Not only for one exhibition game, but maybe for the first month of the season. They got good looks and knocked down a lot of shots. Some nights against defenses better equipped to force a grind it out game it will be a very different scenario. But good returns on the first night.
6 ... The number of rebounds for Oscar Tshiebwe. That was the lowest number since he's been at Kentucky. Granted, he only played 19 minutes, but it never seemed like he really put his foot on the gas, perhaps since it's exhibition season and he knows, as we all do, what he's capable of and demonstrated at an historic level over the course of last season. Kentucky won the glass 43-35, in part because of Livingston's strong effort with eight. This should once again be a great strength for Kentucky with the nation's leading rebounding joined by such length and athleticism.
5 ... Turnovers by Kentucky. That's an incredible number compared to 28 assists. That explains the extent of the blowout as much as perhaps any number when you consider possessions lost/gained and easy baskets resulting.