In our regular postgame feature, the Cats Illustrated staff offers its first impressions from Kentucky's 89-79 loss to Arkansas on Saturday night at Rupp Arena. Each staff member will share his three main takeaways from the game...
JEFF DRUMMOND:
1. Call it what you will, "Everybody's Super Bowl" or a "John Calipari Special," but the stars aligned tonight for Arkansas. The Razorbacks had an out-of-body shooting experience (13 treys when averaging 5.7 in league play) and also fought harder than Kentucky. You could tell it meant a lot to guys like DJ Wagner, Adou Thiero, and Zvonimir Ivisic. Like Mark Pope said this week, it looked like it was just another game for the Cats.
2. I don't even know where to start with tonight's player rotations for Kentucky. I know the Cats were in a bad spot without starting point guard Lamont Butler, but the combinations we saw on the floor at some critical times did not make a great deal of sense. Too many times when the ball is in the wrong hands at the wrong times.
3. We thought the days of not implementing any zone defense were over when Calipari departed Lexington. Tonight screamed for it. It will be interesting to hear Pope's rationale for why he elected to stick with man-to-man defense. Arkansas consistently beat the Cats off the bounce, and when help arrived, the ball was kicked out to 3-point shooters. A woeful offensive team hung almost 90 on the Cats. That cannot happen.
JUSTIN ROWLAND:
1. Adou Thiero is a dude. He was a grown man. Physically he's the total package and he's becoming that well rounded NBA prospect so many Kentucky fans identified even early in his time in Lexington. He posted big numbers but also exerted his will in loose ball situations in a way that Kentucky didn't match.
2. We've seen Calipari teams go on the road and play on a mission with their backs against the wall before. It looked like they were on a mission in their first half and you could see in DJ Wagner's body language how the team became more confident over time.
3. That's a bad loss for Kentucky but in the bigger picture it's one that you can never take from Calipari. There may be games that matter more in the standings, but that's the game everyone is going to think about looking back. He came back to Rupp Arena and took care of business.
TRAVIS GRAF:
1. Kentucky had a poor plan defensively and never adjusted. Sure, bad shooters like DJ Wagner and Karter Knox hit step back threes and the team as a whole played out of their minds, but Kentucky didn’t try anything different and didn’t even try zone until the under four timeout in the second half.
2. The analytics subbing method screwed Kentucky in this game. Missing Lamont Butler stinks if you’re Mark Pope, but you can’t play four on five with Travis Perry or Colin Chandler on the floor for extended minutes. The same with Amari Williams subbing out often.
3. It’s a long-term problem that Kentucky can give up 90 points to a bad offensive team like Arkansas with little to no resistance. They won every 50/50 ball and won the physicality battle from start to finish.
DAVID SISK:
1. Arkansas played totally out of their character from what they have showed all year long. They scored 25 points over their SEC average, and shot 20% better from three than they have all year long. Adou Thiero, D.J. Wagner, and Big Z also came back to their old stomping grounds and were Cat killers. They combined for 52 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 assists. John Calipari coached his best game I’ve seen in a long time. He knew UK was down to a third-string point guard, and he pressured. The Hawgs were also spot on with their Zoom coverage.
2. Kentucky is consistently inconsistent, and it is maddening. They lose to Clemson then go on the road to beat Gonzaga. A loss at Georgia was followed by a win as an underdog at Mississippi State. An L at Vanderbilt came before an improbable win at Tennessee. Now, nobody saw this defeat against Arkansas coming. Ole Miss will be out for blood in Oxford, but history tells us Kentucky ought to rebound when we least expect it.
3. I am in no way taking up for the team tonight. But this is the second time in three games we’ve seen Kentucky lose in three games with an injury and an absence with the combination of Andrew Carr and Lamont Butler. Carr is a shell of himself right now due to his back. Butler is analytically UK’s second most effective player. Things won’t get any easier if the team can’t heal up.
