KSR's takeaways from Kentucky's 88-68 win over Florida A&M

In a game Kentucky closed as a 38.5-point favorite, the Wildcats found themselves up just seven points with 5:30 to go vs. Florida A&M — a team that entered the game with a 2-7 record and had the second-lowest offensive efficiency in college basketball. Kentucky rallied, ending the game on a 13-2 run over the final 4:09 to take home an 88-68 victory, but it sure wasn’t pretty.

How did it all unfold? What worked and what didn’t for the Wildcats? KSR has the takeaways from Rupp Arena.

A glorified practice leads to wacky combinations

Look, you can’t tell the story of this game without pointing out the obvious: Florida A&M isn’t a very talented team. The Rattlers fought hard and made runs, specifically the 14-0 stretch to make it 69-62 late in the second half, but the numbers don’t lie. 362nd overall in offensive efficiency, they haven’t scored over 70 points in a single game this season. Slightly better defensively — No. 313 overall — but still objectively terrible.

That was clear early, with the Wildcats physically overwhelming the Rattlers on both ends of the floor. UK jumped out to an 18-2 lead, which ballooned to 25-9 midway through the first half. Simply put, it was a name-your-score type of game.

John Calipari started with a wacky lineup, one featuring Chris Livingston, Lance Ware and Oscar Tshiebwe on the floor together. The shifting and tinkering only ramped up from there, utilizing a long list of different combinations that emphasized different skillsets. It essentially turned into a glorified practice with Kentucky throwing different things out there to see what sticks against a relatively underwhelming opponent across the board.

Can Tshiebwe and Ugonna Onyenso play together? What positions should Livingston and Ware play? What about Adou Thiero? How comfortable can Cason Wallace be as the lead guard for extended stretches?

All questions Calipari looked to find answers for as he figures out just what this team is, stressing once again that patience is necessary.

“This team, we — combinations matter with this group. We’re going to have to have some good combinations,” he said. “We’re still a work in progress, and I would tell everybody, just be patient. You know, if you’ve watched me work and coach in the past, it takes time to get it all together, and I’m not panicked. Some of the guys, I’m the biggest proponent for guys in that room. We’ve got work to do now. We do. … You notice I tried all different kind of combinations today, but I wanted to see them. I wanted to see what looked (good).”

Cason Wallace puts the team on his back as PG1

You don’t have to look very hard to see what looked good in Kentucky’s win — his name is Cason Wallace. A career-high 27 points to become the fifth Wildcat this season to score 20 points in a game, knocking down 10 of 15 total shots and five of six 3-pointers. Adding nine assists and four steals, the 6-foot-4 freshman is just the second Kentucky player under John Calipari to finish with at least 25 points and 9 assists in a game, Tyler Ulis being the other.

He did so playing a team-high 31 minutes, a significant chunk of that coming as the team’s lead guard, specifically down the stretch. Sahvir Wheeler subbed out with 7:55 to go in the game and never returned — he only played six minutes in the second half entirely — with Wallace closing things out and pushing the Wildcat lead from seven to 20.

The freshman guard finished with a usage rate of 27.5%, a team-high by a significant margin. He produced 33.1 points for his team while allowing 11.6 for a net of +21.4. No one else had a positive mark on the team. His effective field-goal percentage was 83%, true shooting rate of 78% and an overall offensive rating of 204.6. Defensively, he finished with an individual rating of 126 and a stop percentage of 43.3%.

Florida A&M coach Robert McCullum told reporters he “doesn’t have the vocabulary” to properly describe the positive impact Wallace makes on games. “He’s a two-way player. To find a young player — a freshman — that plays that way on both ends is really impressive.”

McCullum took it a step further by pointing out Kentucky was “more effective when Wheeler wasn’t in the game.”

Fair or not, that’s quite a statement. No matter your thoughts on Wheeler’s game and impact, it’s impossible to deny the value Wallace brought to the table as the go-to option on Wednesday.

Kentucky needs CJ Fredrick to win games

The Wildcats cannot let a career 47% 3-point shooter waste away on the bench. They just can’t. CJ Fredrick combined for three points in 30 total minutes vs. Michigan, Yale and UCLA, including a six-minute outing against the Bruins where he didn’t take a single shot.

The senior guard finally got back to his scoring ways against FAMU, scoring 12 points on a smooth 4-6 shooting from three to go with two assists. After the game, Calipari said he needed Fredrick to win games this season.

“Yeah, we need CJ to win. We really do,” he said. “… I told him, ‘I believe in you, kid.’ Making shots and making plays and he fights on defense.”

His comfort was back, firing away without hesitation and sinking his open looks. It’s what the Iowa transfer was brought here to do and what the Wildcats will need down the stretch this season. A worst-case scenario for this season would be letting Fredrick fall out of the rotation and lose the value he brings as a shooter.

Again, it’s Florida A&M, but half the battle is simply seeing shots fall. Wednesday evening was a great start.

Defense was not good enough

Kentucky’s offense may be a trainwreck on the season, but the defense has always been a clear positive. Tonight, though, the Wildcats didn’t look like the No. 13 defense in college basketball as the efficiency numbers suggest.

Again, FAMU is a clear bottom-tier offense in the country, averaging fewer than 60 points per game with just one player hitting the double-digit scoring mark each night — barely, at that. Tonight, though, the Rattlers scored 68 points, their second-highest mark of the season behind only 70 points in an overtime win vs. Albany State back in November.

As a team, Florida A&M shot 52.0% from the field (31-59), 56.3% from three (13-23) and 87.5% from the line, efficient marks across the board. Jaylen Bates led the Rattlers with 21 points on 7-10 shooting and 2-3 from three while two others finished with 10 or more points.

“Playing here and playing for teams that come in and are inspired to play, you’ve got to bring it,” Calipari said after the win. “If you’re into you and you’re out there by yourself, this is impossible. You have to be together, all of you and talking. We did some good stuff, but at halftime — no one shot 50 percent on us this year. They did. I don’t know what the game was. They shot 52 for the game? That’s the first team to do that to us.”

Calipari said his lineup changes could have played a part. He also said Christmas break starting this week is a factor — his bags are packed, as well. It makes sense, but also doesn’t make the lapses and open looks allowed OK.

Now, a week-long break before the Wildcats play next, taking on Missouri on Dec. 28.