By Les Johns

The classic Arkansas Razorback teams from the 90s had their “40 Minutes of Hell” defense, but UK Hoops have their “40 Minutes of Dread.”

UK head coach Matthew Mitchell’s squad is in the face of its opponents for every shot, pass and dribble, forcing frustration, confusion and ultimately defeat.

After seven games, the Cats lead the NCAA in both turnovers forced (35.7 per game) and turnover margin (17.6).

The turnover margin is leading to the Cats getting far more shots at the basket than their opponents (76.4 to 49 per game), which directly leads to their scoring margin of 36.4 points-per-game, ranking fourth in the NCAA.

“Every play, we try to give it all we got on defense, and I think it shows with the turnover margin,” junior guard A’dia Mathies said, who leads the team with 31 steals this season.

“It’s just energy and effort,” senior Amber Smith said. “We work hard in practice.”

“We are still not anywhere close to being solid in our rotations and we still reach a little bit too much and gamble a little bit too much,” Mitchell said. “I think you can see it on the court that we have a chance to be a pretty good defensive team.”

This year’s team seems to be a step ahead of previous squads.  Last year on this date, the 5-0 Cats were forcing 27.6 turnovers a game, more than eight less per game than what they currently force.

“We have been a lot more consistent in practice (this year),” sophomore guard Kastine Evans said.

“We have more athletes across the board,” Smith said. “We have great players that are willing to put it on the line every single game.”

Mitchell’s UK Hoops team has become known for the up-tempo full-court pressing style. They are notorious for pressuring the ball and creating turnovers.

“We’re not reacting to the game, we’re initiating,” Evans said. “We get a lot of teams to play our game.”

“Seeing the points on the board and just seeing how frustrated the other team gets when you force them to a lot of turnovers makes is a fun style to play,” Mathies said.

Opposing coaches offer a testimonial to the NCAA-leading defense that the Hoops team uses as their primary weapon.

“Their defense has got to be one of the best in the country,” Nebraska Omaha head coach Chance Lindley said. Lindley’s team turned the ball over 42 times in a 48-81 loss to the Cats on November 23.

Mitchell’s “got a lot of the pieces of puzzle, very deep, very quick, and very athletic and with all that athleticism they are very well coached,” Lindley said. “They aren’t just trapping to trap, they know why they are trapping and who is replacing.”

“I think their full-court man pressure is really good,” Northeastern head coach Daynia La-Force said. “They’re very athletic.”

The Cats defeated Northeastern 81-47 on Nov. 17, forcing 37 turnovers.

“They read you and funnel you down the sideline, look to trap and rotate up,” La-Force said. “They do all the right things for a man trap.”

Next up for the Cats are the No. 10 ranked Louisville Cardinals Sunday at Memorial Coliseum.

The Cardinals (7-1) are turning the ball over an average of 20.5 times per game so far this season.

See the full UK Hoops schedule.