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Richmond Basketball: 3 takeaways from away upset victory over Kentucky

By Adam Bernstein

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 13: Grant Golden #33 of the Richmond Spiders reacts against the Fordham Rams in the second half during the first game of the Atlantic 10 2019 tournament at the Barclays Center on March 13, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Richmond Spiders defeated the Fordham Rams 52-50. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 13: Grant Golden #33 of the Richmond Spiders reacts against the Fordham Rams in the second half during the first game of the Atlantic 10 2019 tournament at the Barclays Center on March 13, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Richmond Spiders defeated the Fordham Rams 52-50. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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Terrence Clarke Richmond Basketball Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports /

#1: Taking advantage of Kentucky’s inability to shoot

Kentucky’s only returning contributor from last year’s team is Keion Brooks Jr., a sophomore who played 15 minutes per game off the bench last season and is expected to be a key contributor this year. But he’s missed the first two games with a calf injury.

Kentucky is a very young team with a lot of players who are new to the program. This means they are not yet comfortable with the ball as they have only played two games.

The Wildcats shot an abysmal 35 percent from the field and missed all 10 three-pointers attempted.

A Wildcats team playing six freshmen, three transfers, and zero players from last season’s 25-6 team, allowed for the talented Richmond Spiders to take advantage and outscore them resulting in a huge upset. The Spiders are only without Nick Sherod who has been ruled out this season after tearing his ACL in his right knee.

Kentucky was 9-14 from the charity stripe on Wednesday against Morehead State. Against Richmond, they shot just 60 percent from that spot. Missing free throws is something that Kentucky simply has to improve upon in order to compete. The Spiders would take over after missed free throw opportunities and this allowed for Richmond to have more possessions.

Next. Biggest winners and losers of opening week. dark

Kentucky will have a tough time maintaining if a top-25 ranking if their lack of shooting performance continues. It is important to fix these issues earlier on in the season because they meet up with Richmond again come March.

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