After falling to in-state rival Louisville for the first time since 2020 last week, No. 12 Kentucky had its second test of the season on Tuesday night when it took on No. 17 Michigan State in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.
The end result was no different, with the Wildcats falling, 83-66. In fact, the performance was even worse than one week ago as similar issues presented themselves once again.
Kentucky’s defense is a problem
Michigan State entered the night shooting 21.7% from three-point range. Kentucky allowed the Spartans to go 11-of-22 from deep and 32-of-64 from the field overall. That came one week after Kentucky gave up 96 points to Louisville as it continues to struggle getting stops.
The Wildcats trailed by as many as 24 and fell behind by at least 15 points in the first half for the second time this season. The issue, though, was not just on defense.
Kentucky just simply looked lost on both ends of the floor and could not get any rhythm going on offense, shooting 35% and just 7-of-30 (23%) from long range.
It only had 13 assists the entire game. For comparison, Michigan State sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. had 13 assists by himself, speaking to the lack of chemistry and ball movement in the halfcourt.
Senior guard Otega Oweh was Kentucky’s leading scorer, but he only had 12 points (4-of-12 FG), which speaks to the lack of a go-to option for the Wildcats.
There just seems to be some disconnect within this group at the moment. ESPN’s Kris Budden reported that Kentucky’s players were “barking at each other” in a timeout while trailing by 14, which prompted head coach Mark Pope to step in and tell them to get on the same page.
