DAVID SISK:

1. As explosive as this Kentucky offense has been, they have played two high majors teams so far and scored 77 and 66. That’s 71.5 points per game. The Wildcats are incredibly skilled, but it’s not their most athletic team. With only eight fast break points they can get into a halfcourt style against the right team.

2. There are going to be nights when you don’t shoot the ball well. Can they play through that? They were 7-for-27 from 3-point range. Guards Koby Brea, Otega Oweh, Kerr Kriisa, and Jaxson Robinson were a combined 4-for-18 from deep. I think Kentucky guarded well in spurts. They will have to lean on defense every possession against teams like Tennessee and Auburn. Also, who is the go-to guy down the stretch when they have to have a bucket? Tonight their best shot late was Amari Williams on the left block.

3. The lineups were confusing at times. I understand that Lamont Butler had some foul problems, but Kerr Kriisa played two more minutes than him and his point differential was minus 21. The bench got shortened up some in the second, but Brandon Garrison was on the floor way too much in the first half when Clemson was dominating them inside. Everyone is still getting used to each other. Kentucky will have more nights like this where it is a grind. But I do like this team’s fight.

TRAVIS GRAF:

1. Clemson dictated the pace of play from the jump and was also the aggressor in this one. Kentucky never got into their rhythm on offense and there were some clunky lineups throughout the course of the game.

2. Kentucky had a lot of good looks and just couldn’t capitalize. The team was ice-cold from all levels of the court, but they had the shots and opportunities. This Clemson team is decent, but you’re not going to win many games in a 3-point heavy offense when you shoot like they did.

3. Lamont Butler has to be on the floor. He’s the heartbeat of the team, and the offense is so much more organized with him on the floor. There was a huge drop-off when going from him to Kerr Kriisa.

JEFF DRUMMOND:

1. Kentucky is not going to beat very many quality teams if the Wildcats shoot 26% from the 3-point arc (7 of 27) and are unable to find good looks for Koby Brea. Hailed on the ESPN broadcast as "the best shooter in college basketball," he went 1-of-2 from the arc and finished with just three points, often unable to get space from Clemson's physical, over-extended defense. Mark Pope & Co. have to find a counter for that.

2. I thought the game was probably lost in the final five or six minutes of the first half when Clemson went on a 14-2 run to seize control and take a seven-point cushion into the second half. That proved to be just enough to keep the Cats at bay. The Tigers crushed UK on the glass in the first half, owning a 10-1 advantage in second-chance points. Kentucky allowed no second-chance points in winning the second half by three points.

3. As one would expect when you go on the road, Kentucky didn't get the best whistle in this one. A physical Clemson team that wanted to turn this into a grinder was allowed to play their preferred bump-and-handsy game -- at one point the Tigers went 21:09 while being called for only three fouls -- while the Cats dealt with foul trouble for a number of key players. Lamont Butler's absence was a big issue. He finished with a +17 in his truncated 19 minutes on the floor while backup Kerr Kriisa was a -21.

JUSTIN ROWLAND:

1. Kentucky didn't match Clemson's physicality. It's easy to run offense when you're going against teams that don't defend like that. They did not respond well to that tonight, and they're going to face other teams that can do just that.

2. Kerr Kriisa really struggled. You can't just pin anything on one person, but Kentucky was noticeably worse when he was on the court. The dropoff in defense from Butler was noticeable.

3. Kentucky isn't getting nearly enough from behind the arc recently. They were never a lock to be the nation's most prolific three-point shooting team but they've struggled to generate that recently more than I expected.