By Kevin Erpenbeck

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A home game against Northern Kentucky was supposed to serve as a tune-up game for UK Hoops before it travels to face No. 7 Louisville on Sunday.

But the 82-64 win over the Norse showed head coach Matthew Mitchell the team still needs some fine-tuning.

“We just aren’t sharp right now,” Mitchell said. “We’re not a real cohesive defensive group and some players were off balance in their shots … we were a bit unfocused tonight. Played well enough to win, so you can’t take the victory away from us. But clearly we have to play much sharper.”

The No. 13 Cats (7-1) played three straight games in the Virgin Islands over the Thanksgiving break, and seven games in the last 15 days. Mitchell decided to give the team a day off Monday to rest, so a lack of practices could be the core of UK’s struggles against Northern Kentucky, according to the coach.

“This is just where we are right now,” Mitchell said. “If we could ever string some practices together … and with a short turnaround on Sunday too. The three straight days of practice we have coming up can at least help us make some improvements.”

The Cats struggled to keep possession in the first half, turning the ball over 12 times to the Norse. Mitchell said the issue of ball control has been “incredibly concerning” early in the season. But UK was able to correct its mistakes in the second half, limiting its giveaways to just four while ultimately pulling away from Northern Kentucky.

The Cats also struggled at the line, hitting just 22 of their 43 free throws. Senior center Azia Bishop experienced the most hardship, going 1-for-8 on the night. Leaving points on the court has been another consistent problem for UK this year, but it’s something that Mitchell hopes to address with more practices going forward.

“We did try to get some reps on that yesterday and today, but it didn’t help us very much tonight,” Mitchell said. “Not a whole lot you can do there though. Just keeping working at it, step up there and be focused … hopefully it’ll get better.”

Sophomore guards Linnae Harper and Makayla Epps continued their success from the games during Thanksgiving break, however, scoring double digits each off of the bench. Epps, who was named the MVP of the Virgin Island’s Paradise Jam Island Tournament, also had six rebounds against the Norse.

Despite the unimpressive showing against one in-state opponent, Mitchell believes the energy and focus of the team will display itself more against the other in-state opponent of Louisville, based on the deep rivalry the two programs share alone.

“If you ever have to worry about energy in that game, you’re in trouble,” Mitchell said. “I’ve only seen us come out with low energy once (against Louisville) in my seven years here. Their confidence level will increase for the game, so that should help.”