LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Cats are jelling, or so it appears, as John Calipari’s club rides a three-game winning streak, capped by the 15-point win over a top-20 Tennessee team at Rocky Top on Saturday.
The same Kentucky team that started 1-6 and slipped to 5-13 is now 8-13 and harboring the actual hope that it could maybe, possibly sneak its way into the NCAA Tournament by winning next month’s SEC tournament.
What changed? Here are five things:
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1. THE EMERGENCE OF ISAIAH JACKSON
The 6-foot-9 freshman was Calipari’s third-highest-ranked 2020 signee. His No. 37 ranking by 247Sports trailed Brandon Boston (No. 6) and Terrence Clarke (No. 10). But Jackson has become UK’s best rookie, if not best player, and a potential NBA draft lottery pick to boot.
Over the last three games, Jackson has scored 49 points and grabbed 27 rebounds in 72 minutes. He scored 18 points and snatched 11 rebounds in the 82-80 win over Auburn, added 15 points and nine rebounds in the 82-78 win at Vanderbilt, then contributed a team-high 16 points with seven rebounds in the 70-55 triumph in Knoxville to nail down SEC Freshman of the Week honors.
Oh yeah, Jackson has also blocked two shots in each of his last four games, and is 21 of 26 from the free-throw line in his last three. Enjoy him while you can, BBN.
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2. THE RETURN OF KEION BROOKS
The sophomore forward was the only returning Cat who got some clock in 2019-20. A leg injury delayed his 2020-21 debut until Jan. 9 at Florida, but the Indiana native has provided leadership in the locker room while rounding into form on the floor.
Brooks produced a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds in UK’s home loss to Tennessee. Since then, he scored 12 points against Auburn and a grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds at Tennessee.
The measure of Brooks’ worth could be seen last week at Vanderbilt. Enduring an off night shooting the ball — 1 for 6 from the floor for two points — Brooks grabbed nine rebounds, dished five assists and blocked four shots as the Cats clipped the Commodores.
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3. JACOB TOPPIN’S BOOST OFF THE BENCH
Anything the Rhode Island transfer did would be considered gravy since the expectation was Obi’s little brother would have to sit out the season. Granted a waiver for immediate eligibility, the Brooklyn-born 6-9 forward has progressed from pleasant surprise to important contributor.
In the win over Auburn, Toppin grabbed seven rebounds in just 18 minutes. He scored a career-high 16 points, including a perfect 5 of 5 at the foul line, in Nashville last Tuesday. And his six points and four rebounds at Tennessee underplayed the part his energy played against the Vols.
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4. IMPROVED ASSIST-TO-TURNOVER RATIO
The second game of the season, the 76-64 loss to Richmond, Calipari lamented the fact he had never coached a team that failed to record a second-half assist. Until then. UK’s five assists and 21 turnovers against the Spiders was a sign of the frightening numbers to come — 21 turnovers against Georgia Tech; 18 at Mississippi State; 19 against Alabama, 17 each at Auburn, at Alabama and at Missouri.
Thankfully, the ratio has reversed. Through its first 17 games, Kentucky had 193 assists compared to 255 turnovers. Over the last four, the Cats have 62 assists compared to 50 turnovers. Strong stat: Kentucky is 7-2 when it has more assists than turnovers in a game; 1-11 when it does not.
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5. THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE IMPROVEMENT
For most of the 2020-21 season, Kentucky was among the worst 3-point shooting teams in the nation. Percentages proved it. Heading into the Feb. 9 game against Arkansas, UK was 87 for 292 from 3-point range for a miserable 29.8%, which ranked in the 300s out of 347 Division I teams.
Starting with that nail-biter against the Hogs, UK is 40 for 90 from 3 for 44.4%. Over that four-game span, Davion Mintz is 14 for 29 (48.3%), Brandon Boston 11 for 24 (45.8%), Devin Askew 5 for 12 (41.7%) and Olivier Sarr 4 for 9 (44.4%). A team always looks better when the ball goes through the net.
