Team Report Card: 3 things good and bad

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Yesterday, I assessed the 1. Defend the interior

UK opponents are shooting 33.7 percent on 2-pointers, which, from UK’s perspective, is the second-best rate in the nation. That number isn’t deflated by the cupcakes, as the top three opponents UK has faced so far — Kansas, North Carolina and Indiana — are shooting a combined 35.6 percent from inside the arc.

Much of that has to do with the interior defense provided by Anthony Davis and, to a lesser degree, Terrence Jones. Davis has 37 blocks and countless shot alteration/dissuasion moments, and Jones has 22 blocked shots. As a team, UK has a block percentage of 24.5, best in the nation and a full three percentage points better than the next team, Connecticut. (Note: Block percentage only takes into account two-point shot attempts.)

Now, three things UK needs to improve

3. Free-throw shooting

This is the bad rap for John Calipari’s teams, ever since Memphis lost in the national championship game with key late misses. And it doesn’t matter how much UK practices — Marquis Teague said last week each player shoots 50 free throws at the end of each practice — if it can’t pay off in games, especially when it matters.

As a whole, UK isn’t terrible at free-throw shooting. It’s 67.8 percent clip is in the 100s nationally but on par with the other elite teams. It’s late-game situations that have cause unease. The past two games, UK missed a combined three of four free throws within the final minute. Against North Carolina, it was Marquis Teague (making 58.3 percent on the season). Against Indiana, it was Anthony Davis (52.6 percent) and Doron Lamb (82.1 percent).

Calipari has said Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is the one he wants most with those clutch shots, because he has the “courage” to make shots when it matters. Kidd-Gilchrist is shooting 74.8 percent, third-best on the team. Either way, this will be an issue for UK moving forward. In last year’s Final Four game, poor free-throw shooting (especially from Terrence Jones) was a huge part in the loss, as UK made just 4 of 12 in a one-point loss.

2. Defensive rebounding

UK is conceding far too many multiple-chance possessions to opponents because teams are able to crash the offensive glass with success. Opponents are grabbing 31.3 percent of all available rebounds. The numbers weren’t good against the top three opponents: Kansas and Indiana grabbed 14 offensive rebounds each and North Carolina grabbed 15.

Part of UK’s struggles is because it doesn’t have the prototypical rebounder. Davis isn’t strong enough (and still needs to learn the nuances of boxing out) and Jones isn’t tall enough to fill that role. An encouraging sign, though, came against the Hoosiers, as Davis was really attacking his man before attacking the ball in the air. UK has the parts to improve its defensive rebounding. Now it just needs to make it happen.

1. 3-point defense

Remember how opponents are shooting 33.7 percent on 2-pointers? Oddly enough, they’re also shooting 33.7 percent on 3-pointers. This isn’t a remarkable percentage, but the last two opponents posted scary numbers: North Carolina made 11 of 18, and Indiana made 9 of 15. Part of it is mishandling screens, part of it is leaving shooters and part of it is bad rotation. But right now, a team that is shooting good when they play UK has the ability to put up points.

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