Kentucky Basketball: Wildcats trying to find themselves on defense

Kentucky basketball has given up 80 or more points in four of their last five games.

All great Kentucky teams have had one thing in common: an elite defense.

Back in 2011 when the Wildcats made the Final Four and lost to the eventual National Champion UConn Huskies, they were 18th in the KenPom rankings in defensive efficiency. The Wildcats won the National Title the next season due to a defense that was ranked 7th in the KenPom ratings. That team featured Anthony Davis (a terrific shot blocker) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (an elite on-ball defender). Finally, the 2014 team that reached the National Championship game, was ranked 31st in the KenPom ratings and also took their intensity to another level during March’s grand event.

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In other words, if Kentucky wants to make another long run in the NCAA Tournament this season, they must pick up their play on that end of the floor. The Wildcats have given up 80 or more points in four of their last five games, and in the one game they didn’t, John Calipari’s squad let up 79 points and lost to Kansas on their home floor.

Maybe this is a mid-season swoon or maybe this just happens when you have a bunch of freshmen, but it’s particularly concerning when the defense is getting worse, not better. This is supposed to be the time when teams are hitting their strides, but instead, Kentucky is going backwards.

And it’s not like they are playing offensive juggernauts. Tennessee is a young team, Georgia has two true weapons and not much else after J.J. Frazier and Yante Maten, Florida is not exactly known for their offensive prowess, and LSU is the worst team in a bad SEC conference.

Calipari said before the season that he would be “disappointed” if this wasn’t the best defensive team he’s ever had by February. That certainly isn’t even close to the case, as the Wildcats have regressed significantly since their impressive performance against Michigan State in the Champions Classic in November.

The good news for the Wildcats is that there is still plenty of time to correct this issue. They have a month remaining in the season and they also have the postseason conference tournament to come together as a group on defense.

However, this isn’t the only flaw that the Wildcats have. They have issues scoring in the half court because of their lack of perimeter shooting and they are more inexperienced than the majority of the top teams in the country.

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With Calipari on their side, two elite defenders (De’Aaron Fox and Isaiah Briscoe) and a team that is filled with talent and athleticism, the expectation is for the Wildcats to figure things out. That better come rather quickly though, as Kentucky has lost three of their last five.

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