Offense lags behind defense as UT Arlington comes to town
Guard Devin Booker of the Kentucky Wildcats shoots a three during the second half of the game against the University of Georgetown Tigers at Rupp Arena on Sunday, November 9, 2014 in Lexington, Ky. Kentucky defeated Georgetown 121-52. Photo by Michael Reaves
November 25, 2014
By Kyle Arensdorf
UK basketball is rounding into shape on the defensive side of the ball while lagging a bit on the offensive side after a few early struggles.
On Nov. 18, the Cats went to Indianapolis and punished then-No. 5 Kansas the way they were supposed to punish their early opponents, suffocating the Jayhawks on defense and converting (most of the time) on offense to a 72-40 victory.
UK played a similar game Sunday against Montana State on its way to an 86-28 victory.
Head coach John Calipari called the win their second best game of the season to the Kansas game.
“We sustained, defensively, for the entire time,” Calipari said. “Just like we did against Kansas. The issue is we played the same way offensively (as UK did against Kansas), too.”
In both matchups, the Cats held their opponents to less than 20 percent shooting from the field and at or below 20 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.
With UK’s stifling defensive play, there hasn’t been a pressing need for great offense – which is one thing the team hasn’t done well this season.
After the Cats’ matchup against Montana State, Calipari admitted they “didn’t exactly knock it out of the park offensively,” and they haven’t all year.
In five games this season, the Cats have only shot 50 percent or higher from the field once (58 percent Friday against Boston University).
One player that is finding his way offensively is freshman guard Devin Booker.
Following a poor offensive performance against Kansas where he shot 2-8 from the field and 1-6 from 3-point range, Booker has made 7-of-11 3-point attempts and has scored 33 points in his last two games.
His 18 points against Montana State Sunday were a game-high and the second most points scored by a Cat this season.
Booker also dished out seven assists on Friday, a season-high for any UK player.
“It’s an adjustment you have to make from high school to college,” Booker said Friday. “I feel like it’s coming along right now.”
The Cats will take to the court again Tuesday in Rupp Arena to take on a 3-1 UT Arlington team.
The Mavericks’ only loss of the season came at the hands of Buffalo (who UK beat 71-52) on Nov. 18.
“When you’re going to play the No. 1 team in the country that just beat Kansas by (30 points), you definitely want to have a little momentum going into that game,” UT Arlington coach Scott Cross said to utmavs.com. “Buffalo had Kentucky down five at halftime. I felt like we played awful against Buffalo and we lost by six.”
