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SEC Basketball: Key takeaways from LSU’s last-second win over Kentucky

By Tristan Freeman

LEXINGTON, KY - FEBRUARY 12: Marlon Taylor #14 of the LSU Tigers dunks the ball during an alley-oop against the Kentucky Wildcats in the first half at Rupp Arena on February 12, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY - FEBRUARY 12: Marlon Taylor #14 of the LSU Tigers dunks the ball during an alley-oop against the Kentucky Wildcats in the first half at Rupp Arena on February 12, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TN – JANUARY 29: Reid Travis #22 of the Kentucky Wildcats congratulates Tyler Herro #14 after a basket against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the first half of the game at Memorial Gym on January 29, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN – JANUARY 29: Reid Travis #22 of the Kentucky Wildcats congratulates Tyler Herro #14 after a basket against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the first half of the game at Memorial Gym on January 29, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

2. Wildcats relying on three players for most of production

In this high-profile game, Coach John Calipari used a seven-man lineup, with freshman EJ Montgomery playing 13 minutes to back up the starting bigs, while Immanuel Quickley and Ashton Hagans splitting time at the point guard position due to foul trouble with the starter.

But this game was a great indication of what the Wildcats will look like rotation-wise in March.
Since conference play started, PJ Washington has emerged as the team’s best player, averaging 16 ppg to lead the team. Keldon Johnson has slowed down a bit but is a consistent double figure scorer, along with the sharpshooter Tyler Herro.

The question is, will this trio (Washington, Johnson, and Herro) be good enough for a Final Four run in the NCAA Tournament? Reid Travis is averaging less than 8.0 ppg in conference play and had nine points and nine rebounds in the game against LSU. He’s a good defender and rebounder but has become second fiddle to Washington as the go-to post player.

As far as the guards go, Hagans and Quickley aren’t reliable scorers at this point and may not be so as freshmen the rest of the season. It’s a departure from previous Wildcat teams, having as many as 6-8 guys that can definitely score double-digits in any given game.

This is still a top-10 national team that no one will want to see in their region of the NCAA Tournament. But this particularly Kentucky squad is vulnerable if their top guys don’t have great games. It’ll be interesting to see the continued development of the youngsters, as well as whether or not the career 17 ppg scorer Travis emerges as a post threat this season.

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