Click here for an explanation of how the DSS is charted and what the ratings and box score represent.
On Saturday we had the immense pleasure of watching the Kentucky Wildcats play their best game of the season. For those keeping score at home, this is the third straight game that UK has played their "best game of the season." If this trend continues, I fully expect to see them beat Georgia on Senior Day by a score of 103 to 15.
I listened to Tom Leach's post game interview with Coach Calipari and when Leach asked Cal what the team did defensively to shut South Carolina down, I heard something I never expected from a Calipari interview: silence. There was a long pause and I could almost see the wheels turning in Cal's head as to how to give an answer that would not embarrass Darin Horn or the Gamecock players. Cal eventually answered that when you block a lot of shots it starts to take a toll on the opponent and make them start to second guess whether they want to take a shot or not. Nowhere was this more evident than in the 2nd half when a Gamecock (I don't remember who it was) pump faked approximately 23 times to try and get Anthony Davis into the air before deciding to pass the ball back out to the perimeter.
| Kentucky | Defense Box Score: Kentucky vs South Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Name | Min | FGM | FGA | 3PTM | 3PTA | FTM | FTA | Def Rb | Blocks | TO | Steals | Points | Fouls |
| T. Jones | 27 | 1 | 6.16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0.84 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| M. Kidd-Gilchrist | 30 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.33 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| A. Davis | 28 | 2 | 10.68 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 1.83 | 2 | 9 | 3 |
| D. Lamb | 28 | 2.5 | 6.66 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.5 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| M. Teague | 28 | 1.5 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.67 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| D. Miller | 20 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.83 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| T. Beckham | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| E. Vargas | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| K. Wiltjer | 18 | 1 | 2.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Undefended | 40 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 8 | |||
| Totals | 200 | 18 | 59 | 9 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 26 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 52 | 13 |
| Kentucky | Four Factors | Ratings | |||||||||
| Name | Opp eFG% | Opp TO% | FTRate | DRb% | Stops | Scores | Plays | Stop% | DPoss% | Def Rtg | Opp Eff |
| T. Jones | 16.2 | 12.6 | 32.5 | 19.0 | 5.2 | 1.5 | 6.7 | 0.78 | 0.17 | 80.6 | 44.9 |
| T. Beckham | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 11.4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.00 | 0.04 | 83.2 | 0.0 |
| M. Teague | 25.0 | 32.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 5.2 | 0.71 | 0.12 | 84.0 | 77.0 |
| A. Davis | 23.4 | 16.2 | 56.2 | 18.3 | 7.4 | 3.9 | 11.3 | 0.65 | 0.27 | 84.3 | 79.7 |
| Undefended | 50.0 | 11.4 | 0.0 | 15.4 | 5.8 | 3.0 | 8.8 | 0.66 | 0.15 | 85.3 | 91.4 |
| K. Wiltjer | 60.0 | 0.0 | 80.0 | 11.4 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 0.63 | 0.10 | 86.3 | 109.8 |
| D. Lamb | 45.0 | 19.8 | 45.0 | 11.0 | 4.6 | 3.0 | 7.6 | 0.61 | 0.18 | 87.1 | 92.5 |
| D. Miller | 50.0 | 17.0 | 40.0 | 5.1 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 0.49 | 0.16 | 91.2 | 123.1 |
| E. Vargas | 150.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.35 | 0.09 | 91.8 | 195.8 |
| M. Kidd-Gilchrist | 40.9 | 4.4 | 0.0 | 6.8 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 7.6 | 0.47 | 0.17 | 92.2 | 118.8 |
| Totals | 38.1 | 13.3 | 25.4 | 66.7 | 35.4 | 21.3 | 56.7 | 0.62 | 86.7 | ||
1 recs | 32 comments
I like that 3rd consecutive game of best game of the season .... but,
Do you think we can get better?? (not that I am not satisfied with where we are … just asking the hypothetical question) ie … have we peaked offensively?? defensively?? I think that as good as we are we can be even better and that is really scary … these next few weeks will tell and I really like where we are at his point..
ukcris - February 5, 2012
oh yeah, this team is definitely not a s good as they can be
But they are headed in the right direction and that should be frighting for everyone else! ;-)
JLeverenz - February 6, 2012
Let's peak
In April.
bigbill992001 - February 5, 2012
I will accept that only if:
as we peak, its a very SHARP upward trend to the peak, so we are always better than we were vs SC :)
kentuckyrules - February 6, 2012
Sometimes the DSS doesn't accurately reflect the game, as with all statistical measures.
Tough shots are counted the same as open ones, and sometimes players get shots made on them after defensive switches when they are disadvantaged.
All this stuff tends to even out over a number of games. I thought Jones was great, I just don’t know if he was quite as great as his stats make him look.
As we have always seen, these are tools, not the arbiter of good and bad play. The lopsided nature of the game really impacted some of the stats, and the fact that you had odd lineups in there a lot of the time in the second half when the game had become a laugher contributed to some statistical anomalies, which we can see above.
Just like you, I’m confident Miller and MKG had good defensive games. Jones was great, and Davis was otherworldly. And I really think your point about Teague is right – he was really good defensively.
Glenn Logan - February 5, 2012
true
Although in his post game comments Cal was not happy about the three late layups, there really isn’t much of anything to complain about defensively.
JLeverenz - February 6, 2012
please
Ya’ll can’t F with the Dawgs.
DAWGPACK69 - February 6, 2012
you know i'm just messin
You guys have a great team, maybe the best in the country. We need to get a series started. Seattle/ Lexington. Hope to see ya’ll in the tourney. It would be a good matchup.
DAWGPACK69 - February 6, 2012
UDub?
The Huskies with a 16-7 record, a RPI of #74, and 9-2 in the weakest PAC12 I have seen in many years, will be very lucky to make the NCAAT. With that said, nice comeback win over UCLA. Whoever wins the PAC12T, will probably be the only participant in the NCAAT from the “down” PAC12. Good luck the rest of the way!
The Cats are playing some awesome basketball, AD and TJ are just beasts, Doron and MKG are ,well, Doron and MKG, Teague is running the ship, as it needs to be run, and Kyle is playing his best od the season. The wild card in this mix is the play of Darius Miller.
If Darius decides he wants to play like he did in the SECT last season…….this team becomes almost unbeatable. With Darius hitting on all cylinders this team brings home #8.
All the other pieces are coming together! These “kids” are sure fun to watch.
seattlekat - February 6, 2012
Random thought...
Not real pleased with the 45% from 3 from USC East, but I don’t know if that’s warranted or not?? If you have fierce interior D going on, doesn’t it make sense that a team will throw up more 3’s, and in relation to that, make more??
What think you, JL??
EagleTDL - February 6, 2012
I agree with your theory...
if you are totally getting owned in the paint, what else is there to do but to throw up 3’s? its all you really have, right? Same mentality zone defense wants to portray: you cannot come inside, please take 3’s :) (of course, that is a trick most teams fall for)
kentuckyrules - February 6, 2012
In general the perimeter defense was pretty good in the half court
Most of the problems came from getting to shooters in transition, and I’m sure Cal will work on that with the team. This wasn’t the case of taking away the interior at the expense of giving up perimeter shots – UK was very good at denying both in the half court.
For the game SC shot an eFG% of 38.1% which is really good and just goes to show how dominant the Cats were on the interior. In the end holding a team to that low of a percentage is always terrific and it doesn’t really matter (in terms of points allowed) if you get there by stopping 2s and giving up 3s or vice-versa.
I wouldn’t be concerned unless it becomes a trend in future games. But identifying shooters in transition is something to keep an eye on Tuesday against Florida.
JLeverenz - February 6, 2012
Florida
Not only in transition, but also off dribble penetration and from ball screens at the top of the key.
jdogblue - February 6, 2012
Noted Sir...
Appreciate the input!
EagleTDL - February 7, 2012
Remaining schedule
Personally, I’m glad to see the back end of the SEC schedule heavy with the better teams in the league. It will tell us how far the team has come, and you want to measure your progress against the best teams this time of year. What better way to prepare of the SEC tourny, and the big dance?
UK1972 - February 6, 2012
I agree
I like how the schedule sets up this year. I am disappointed I’ll miss the Florida game, but if the Cats play with the kind of aggressiveness and energy they’ve shown the last 3 games they could win by 15+.
JLeverenz - February 6, 2012
Amazing
UK continues to amaze me with their progression of play this season. They definitely look like the true #1 right now. Big tests this week but playing well enough to win 2 tough road games. The UF game will be tougher than Vandy in my opinion. Our home court this year is nothing special (Miss St OT loss, Xavier OT loss, Cleveland State, and sigh, Indiana State loss).
I personally view Vandy’s next 4-5 games as must-wins, including Saturday’s UK game, if they want to be a definite NCAA tourney team. Otherwise we’re bubble bound and probably not in or a first round loss again.
But good luck in both games. You guys and UF look like true competitors.
VandyGold28 - February 6, 2012
How this young team performs on the road
in your “unique” gym will be a good indicator of their progress. Coach Cal guides them a lot from the sideline so they will have one half where they are a little more on their own. Their defense will be tough as usual and if their offense is on, then you guys could be in for a long evening.
kywineman - February 6, 2012
I will be interested to see how they handle Ezeli
The Cats have done a good job against the quality beig men they’ve faced so far this season, but Ezeli is the best they’ll face since Thomas Robinson.
JLeverenz - February 6, 2012
Hey JL, you may have covered this...
but how does UK defensive % compare when they are playing defense in front of Cal (as someone above eluded to) as opposed to the half when they are not? Offensively the same question?
UK1972 - February 6, 2012
i've always wondered that also
how well the team does offensively/defensively when they are on the same side of the court as “screaming Cal” hahaha!
bluecrip - February 6, 2012
hmm, good question
I don’t know off the top of my head. I think the UK athletics website might have season averages broken down by half which would make it really easy to check. I’ll look into it and mention it in the next DSS.
My guess is that because once they grab a lead they are generally content to keep it and not extend it, that will make it look like they are slacking off defensively in the 2nd half compared to the first. I know that they were much worse in the 2nd half against Arkansas than they were in the first for one example.
JLeverenz - February 6, 2012
I agree ... I know he has the knee injury but he gets up for the big games ... double doubles against Bama and Miss St
ukcris - February 6, 2012
when TJ woke up...
and decided to turn Beast along with AD, the dreams of inside offense minded foes just simply disappeared !!!…thankfully as a CAT fan i don’t have to be afraid !!!
KYCatwoman - February 6, 2012
It's always more fun when the Scary Monster is on *your* side ;-)
JLeverenz - February 6, 2012
KSR has outdone itself for tastelessness.
Their sad attempt at humor portraying Davis as the “Unabomber” is beyond belief. Besides, bomber is reserved for long range shooters and that is not what Davis is known for.
kywineman - February 6, 2012
Good Lord - what tastelessness
KansasUKCat - February 6, 2012
I think that was "Unablocker", not "Unabomber"??
Linky In my mind, that’s a bit different so I didn’t take it as “tastelessness”. But, then again, I’ve been told in the past that my sense of humor is a bit warped… YMMV
EagleTDL - February 7, 2012
They may be calling him the Unablocker
but the picture is obviously related to the unabomber. I get a little confused sometimes so I mixed that up. I cannot believe in any shape or form that AD or family would be pleased with that. It is still tasteless in my opinion.
kywineman - February 7, 2012
Cats Remain Unanimously At Top
UK receives all votes in ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll; Syracuse, OSU, Mizzou follow.
And AD is SEC POW.
Wild Weasel - February 6, 2012
Didn't Teague get credited with a block on the first shot attempt by Ellington, I believe?
BCinVA - February 6, 2012
not officially
I think Brad Nessler might have said that he thought Teague blocked it, but the official scorer didn’t see it that way.
JLeverenz - February 6, 2012
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