Kentucky Basketball Film Breakdown - Opening Week

It feels good to hear the shoes squeaking and the balls bouncing. There is never a shortage of excitement within Big Blue Nation for basketball season. However, it is fair to say that Kentucky fans have been especially eager to get the 2025-2026 season started. Expectations are high coming off of Coach Mark Pope leading the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 in year one. With a solid blend of returning talent, transfer portal additions, and a pair of Kentucky-native freshmen the ‘Cats enter the season as a Top 10 ranked team. After a slow start on Tuesday night against Nicholls, Kentucky has put together three straight halves where they very much look the part. However, it all leads up to the upcoming Louisville game.

Kentucky could not hit a shot coming out of the gate against Nicholls. They were just 2-16 from beyond the arc and scored only 28 points in the first half. Luckily, they also held the Colonels to 12.0% shooting in that half. The Wildcats came out and hung 49 points in the second half and pulled away for a 77-51 victory. Then, they stayed hot on Friday night defeating Valparaiso 107-59. Kentucky shot 11-28 from three-point range in that one which was good to see heading into what promises to be a high scoring affair on Tuesday against the rival Louisville Cardinals.

As always, we’ve been hard at work in the KSR Film Room breaking down Kentucky’s recent performances. There are some critiques to be made, but for the most part the Wildcats did what they were expected to do in two “buy” games in the opening week of the season. With Louisville and Michigan State looming each of the next two Tuesdays things are about to get tougher for the ‘Cats. That is why we will step inside the film room and discuss some of what we saw from opening week. Where can Kentucky improve? What do they need to continue doing? Are their changes that need to be made? We will discuss it all in this week’s film breakdown.

Offensive Execution

It was a tale of two games when it comes to Kentucky’s offense. Actually, said more fairly, it was the first half against Nicholls and then the next three halves. The Wildcats responded to their 2-16 three-point shooting performance in the first half of the season by connecting on 5-11 in the second half. Then, the 11-28 mark against Valparaiso helped calm some concerns that were growing across Big Blue Nation. That was especially true at the free throw line. Including the Blue-White Scrimmage, both exhibition games, and Tuesday’s game with Nicholls the ‘Cats were 52-85 (61.2%) at the charity stripe. However, they went 22-26 (84.6%) at the line on Friday night. Additionally, in terms of pure on-court execution, everything looked much smoother with Jaland Lowe returning to the floor.

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It is easy to pick out specific clips and arm chair quarterback from the film room. However, there is nothing to say other than the fact that Kentucky’s offense was ugly in the first half versus Nicholls. It wasn’t just about missing shots either. The ‘Cats were sluggish in transition, slow to initiate offense, and not executing at a high enough level. This clip encapsulates all of that.

When the ball gets thrown to Brandon Garrison in the backcourt the pace slows down. He is a very effective facilitator in the half court, but he isn’t comfortable enough handling the ball to push it into the front court with the pace that Coach Pope demands. Then, after the initial ballscreen, Collin Chandler stands in the corner as opposed to filling up to the wing. This made it far too easy for the “tag” defender to guard both Garrison on the roll and Chandler in the corner. Finally, Garrison needed to bury his man on the roll and get a catch with two feet in the paint. Instead, he floated out to about 15-feet and turned it over.

Now, let’s see what it looks like when Kentucky is clicking on all cylinders. This is high-level offensive execution. First, notice how Garrison doesn’t touch the ball in the backcourt. When he does get the ball he immediately reverses it as the Wildcats get into a staggered double away. Collin Chandler gets a catch off of the staggered double, but doesn’t have a shot. Garrison immediately flips his hips and sets a ballscreen for Chandler. Right at that moment take a look at the spacing. Denzel Aberdeen and Mo Dioubate are deep in the respective corners while Otega Oweh is high in the slot. That leaves the entire paint for Garrison to roll into. Chandler delivers perfect pass and the ‘Cats get two points via a dunk.

Jaland Lowe unlocks a totally different pace for Kentucky offensively. Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler, and Jasper Johnson did a good job of filling in during his absence, but everyone gets better when PG1 is on the floor. Watch how quickly everything happens on this possession. Malachi Moreno delivers an outlet pass to Lowe and the ball enters the scoring area with 28 seconds still on the shot clock. Lowe attacks and has a paint touch with 26 seconds on the shot clock. With 23 seconds on the shot clock the Wildcats have already passed it four times. Lowe then receives the high middle ballscreen from Moreno which he snakes back around to his left for a layup. Moreno did a great job of finishing his roll to occupy the rim protection as well.

Defensive Execution

Last year the ‘Cats relied so heavily on offensive execution while the defense was a constant work in progress. To say the roles have reversed would be an overreaction, but the defense probably is ahead of the offense through one week of the regular season. KenPom, where Kentucky is now rated as the #1 team in the country, would agree. The Wildcats currently check in at #11 in offensive efficiency and #4 in defensive efficiency. Perhaps most encouraging is the fact that Kentucky still gets to add in Jayden Quaintance who could be the best interior defender in college basketball. Let’s take a look at how the Wildcats’ flexed their muscles defensively against Nicholls and Valparaiso.

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Kam Williams is 0-5 from three-point range so far this season. However, he deserves some serious flowers on the defensive side of the floor. The 6’8″ wing does a great job of using his size and length to make people miss. He also has six total rebounds and a pair of blocks in two gams. Williams ends up being the star of this defensive possession, but first look at how hard Andrija Jelavic switches out on the ball handler. That is how you dictate things at the point of attack. Jasper Johnson does a good job of cutting off a baseline drive and then Williams takes over in a one-on-one situation. He does a great job of walling up and being physical with his chest to force the missed shot.

Malachi Moreno has stood out defensively as well. He is so far advanced for a freshman. The first thing he does well in this clip comes with about 14 seconds on the shot clock. He comes from the weak side all of the way across the paint to deter the baseline drive. Then, as the clock gets low, he once again recognizes a drive and hustles to get two feet outside of the restricted arc and gets perfectly vertical to force the missed shot. Even more impressive is that Moreno had the athleticism and wherewithal to quickly turn around and rebound the miss as well.

Collin Chandler is starting to really solidify himself as one of Kentucky’s best defenders. He consistently does a great job of not getting screened. That is the first thing we see in this clip. Chandler simply fights over the ballscreen and blows up what Valparaiso had planned offensively. Then, as the ball gets reversed, Denzel Aberdeen finds himself a step out of position but whips around and gets a deflection that leads to a steal and a transition opportunity. The Wildcats have really been aggressive in their first two games on the defense end. It will be interesting to see how that translates on Tuesday against a much more potent offensive team in the Louisville Cardinals.