Has it finally turned the corner?
After the pandemic protocols and the careless turnovers and the unfortunate injuries and the missed shots — so many missed shots — did Kentucky basketball show Saturday night in its 82-69 win over LSU that it has finally solved the puzzle that is the 2020-21 season?
Tuesday will tell.
Tuesday brings a trip to No. 18 Alabama. Red-hot Bama. Bombs away, Bama. The same Alabama that spanked UK 85-65 two weeks ago in Rupp Arena. The same Alabama that blitzed LSU by 30 in Baton Rouge. The same Alabama that has won nine straight games, is 13-3 overall and 8-0 in the SEC.
“The best team in our league,” UK Coach John Calipari called the Crimson Tide on Saturday. “They’re a top-10 team. They deserve to be.”
Greg Bryne, a former UK assistant athletics director now the AD at Alabama, made a genius hire two years ago tabbing Nate Oats to replace Avery Johnson. Oats is a go-getter, a former Michigan high school coach who sold candy to finance upgrades to his program. Buffalo Coach Bobby Hurley hired Oats before moving on to Arizona State. Danny White, just hired as the AD at Tennessee, promoted Oats to head coach. Three years later, Buffalo was trouncing No. 4 seed Arizona 89-68 in the 2018 NCAA Tournament before losing to Kentucky.
Oats can be brash. In 2018, he referred to Calipari as a “whiner” during March Madness, then apologized. This year, he accused Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski of canceling part of Duke’s non-conference schedule because the Blue Devils had lost two straight, then apologized.
“I learned a few lessons from it,” Oats said.
Alabama has learned to play the Oats’ way. That means run, run, run. That means spread the floor. That means launch volume three-pointers. The Tide went 16-15 last year, Oats’ first. This year, it won 71-63 at No. 7 Tennessee. It made an SEC-record 23 three-pointers in 43 attempts on the way to burying LSU.
In the 20-point win at Rupp in Jan. 12, Alabama was 14-of-30 from three-point range. Ten made triples came in the first half as Alabama led 42-30 at intermission. Second half, Kentucky never drew closer than 11. It was UK’s worst home loss, by margin, in the Calipari era, and its fourth worst overall.
Have the two weeks since made Kentucky a different team? The Wildcats are 1-2 since that bashing, but they did show encouraging signs in Saturday’s win. The point total was a season high. UK made five of its first eight three-point shots and finished 7-for-26 for the game behind the arc. Smart stat: These Cats are 4-1 when they make at least six three-pointers, 1-8 when they make fewer than six.
UK’s errant aim returned in the second half. It missed eight of nine three-pointers. But its defense was excellent. In fact, Kentucky’s defense has been excellent all year. UK is 14th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. Opponents are shooting just 40.4 percent overall, including 30.3 percent from three-point range.
Trouble is, the Cats are shooting just 28.2 percent from three themselves. They’ll have to do better than that on Tuesday to keep up with the Tide. Much better. They’ll have to approach the 15 assists, compared to nine turnovers, they showed LSU.
“I told them I want 10-12 turnovers,” Calipari said. “I just don’t want 19.”
The next four games are full of opportunities for a Kentucky team that must take advantage if it has any hopes of being included in March Madness. Saturday, No. 5 Texas comes to Rupp Arena for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Feb. 2, UK travels to No. 19 Missouri, which defeated No. 6 Tennessee 73-64 in Knoxville on Saturday. Then Feb. 6, the Vols come to Lexington.
Alabama comes first, however. Remember, we thought Kentucky had turned the corner before, when the Cats beat Florida by 18 in Gainesville on Jan. 9. Three days later, Calipari’s club was trounced by the Tide. Is this false hope all over again? Tuesday will tell.
