The Cats Illustrated Basketball Stock Report's latest update takes Kentucky's 78-64 win against Vanderbilt into account.
As always, we're looking for trends and comparing the last UK game to the action before that to determine where things might be heading.
| 📈 | E.J. Montgomery. It's not as though there has been an overnight epiphany for Montgomery with no steps backward. But the overall trajectory looks very good for the sophomore big man. He had six points, nine boards, and three blocks against Vanderbilt. That is two games removed from 12 points and eight rebounds against Mississippi State. He also has three blocks in three of Kentucky's last four games. Montgomery has not yet proven he can avoid laying an egg but on the whole this is a player trending in the right direction. |
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📈 | Three-point shooting. Since the start of the 2020 calendar year, spanning a dozen games, Kentucky is shooting above 38-percent from outside the arc. They still aren't hitting a ton of threes, but the 'Cats are shooting well enough to make the outside scoring discrepancy less of a problem. UK was an excellent 6/9 from three-point range against Vanderbilt, including 4/4 in the second half. UK is getting better looks and its best shooters are taking those shots, compared to earlier in the year. |
📈 | Finishing games out. Kentucky won the second half against Vanderbilt 51-28, and that included a flurry at the end of the game. The game before that, a 77-64 win at Tennessee, the 'Cats held the Vols scoreless over the last three-plus minutes of the game. One game before that, Mississippi State cut Kentucky's lead to six with 2:36 to play but the Bulldogs never got closer and UK kept them at arm's length to finish out the game. Since the loss to Auburn, UK has been solid down the stretch. |
📉 | Handling pressure defense. For a brief stretch in the second half, in between Kentucky runs, Vanderbilt's pressure defense gave the 'Cats serious problems and forced a couple of turnovers. UK made an inbound pass to the wrong spot on the court, players didn't help one another out when the pressure came, and the 'Cats played loose with t he ball. It led to a couple of turnovers that could have led to a different outcome. Fortunately for UK that was short-lived but the team has to be better-prepared for that. |
📈 | Ashton Hagans. It's tough to overstate how much Hagans probably needed a game like this. It's not a secret that he had been a notch down from his play from earlier in the season. Whether the issue was foul trouble, turnovers, poor shooting or just bad decisions in general, Hagans went through a rough stretch. Is he out of the woods? Maybe not, but nearly posting a triple double while shredding Vanderbilt's defense going 100 MPH up and down the court was a positive development and something to build on. |
📈 | Tyrese Maxey. Since shooting 2/10 on the road against Texas Tech, Maxey has scored 17 points against Vandy in Rupp, 25 against Vandy on the road, gone for 15, 5, and 4 in a win at Tennessee, and played fairly efficient basketball against Mississippi State without forcing too much. This is a good time for Maxey to be playing some of his best basketball of the season. |
