KSR's takeaways from Kentucky's first exhibition loss since... 2014-15

Kentucky lost its final game in the Bahamas ahead of the 2014-15 season, the Dominican Republic taking down the Wildcats 63-62. It’s the last exhibition loss for the program, a run that’s lasted 11 years. That team would go on to win 40 straight games, starting with two exhibition wins over Pikeville and Georgetown, then 31 regular season matchups, three games in the SEC Tournament to bring home that trophy, then another four in the NCAA Tournament to go to the Final Four.

That was the program’s last appearance in the national semifinals — and they also happened to play Georgetown (College) that preseason. What’s in store for this group? Hopefully a similar ride and return to Indianapolis with a better final result.

Until then, let’s talk through the 84-70 beatdown the Wildcats took on their home floor just days removed from taking down No. 1 Purdue in a similar fashion.

Kentucky looked like a team without two primary ball handlers

We knew Jaland Lowe would be out, but Denzel Aberdeen was a late scratch after missing practice on Wednesday, Mark Pope later confirming it was a minor leg injury keeping him off the floor.

“DA has just got a sore leg. He’s trying to get 100% healthy, and so we’re taking a precaution with him,” he said after the loss. “I’d like to have, you know, I don’t know where J-Lowe is going to be, but I’d like to have those guys back in action within the next week or two, I’m hoping.”

We’re five days away from Nicholls State, eight from Valparaiso, 12 from Louisville. That or two thrown in at the end of there is not going to work, considering the Wildcats struggled to get the ball up the floor at times and finished with more turnovers than assists. Five players coughed it up multiple times, including five individually from Collin Chandler. More than anything, the offense was just clunky and the ball didn’t move well at all, leading to 33/23/66 shooting splits with six players failing to hit the 50-percent mark overall.

Kentucky needs Lowe and Aberdeen back in a big way.

Repeat of Ohio State and Georgia losses from a year ago

The Wildcats got punked on a handful of occasions last year, toughness and physicality popping up as serious concerns in an otherwise fantastic season for Pope. It was priority number one for him entering year two, getting the athletes and muscle he didn’t have in his debut campaign. Aberdeen was a part of that equation, something clearly missing against the Hoyas. Mo Dioubate was another part, although he lived up to the hype as maybe the only net positive in the 14-point beatdown. He went for 13 points (4-6 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-5 FT), seven rebounds, three steals and an assist.

Elsewhere, there wasn’t much to like in that area. It was a repeat of some of Kentucky’s worst losses — Ohio State, Georgia, Arkansas, Auburn, Vanderbilt and Texas — where Pope’s team just looked overwhelmed with no answers.

“I do think we have some toughness and some fight, even though we were out-physicalled for the whole night tonight,” he said. “They really picked on us. You’re always looking to expose, to get exposed through these six weeks. You’re trying every way you can to expose yourself. They did an unbelievable job of exposing spaces where we don’t expose ourselves, and Purdue didn’t expose us.

“It’s a terrific opportunity for us to learn, which is what we want right now. At the same time, we don’t do this here.”

Missed free throws close the brief openings

My goodness, what was the deal with the free throw shooting? Kentucky missed a total of 12 attempts at the line, spread across eight players — everyone who saw the floor against the Hoyas, not one player going perfect.

The Wildcats got to the line at a solid rate, just like that Ohio State loss in New York City last season (27-32), but couldn’t knock them down this time around (23-35). There were several opportunities for UK to build momentum on a scoring run with fans looking for any reason to cave the Rupp Arena roof in or take advantage of a drought for Georgetown, only for the air to let out of the building like a balloon with the sound of a bricked free throw echoing up to the rafters.

Absolutely nothing kills the vibe more.

Two-point defense was a real problem

Georgetown scored 84 points on only five made 3-pointers and a 31.3 percent hit rate on said perimeter attempts. How? Because the Hoyas shot a whopping 65 percent (26-40) from two, including a combined 15-18 on layups and dunks. As a team, they scored 1.200 points per possesssion on 57.1 percent of total possessions.

Malik Mack went for 22 points with just two threes and two free throws. KJ Lewis added 19 points with just one three and two free throws. Vince Iwuchukwu? You guessed it, 14 points with zero threes and eight made free throws. Interior defense and ball screen coverage were serious issues, Kentucky called for 19 total fouls while blocking just two shots and forcing six steals.

The Hoyas forced 15 turnovers leading to 23 points the other direction.

Is shooting becoming an issue?

The Wildcats went 20-60 from the field, 7-30 from three and 23-35 at the line. Are we seeing a theme here? They went a combined 26.9 percent (7-26) from deep in the Blue-White Game, 31.0 percent (9-29) against Purdue, and now, 23.3 percent against Georgetown.

A part of it is because they didn’t have Lowe or Aberdeen setting teammates up for good looks. The other part of it is they didn’t make the good looks they did get — and really haven’t in any viewing opportunity this preseason.

“I think the shots we were taking tonight were bad shots, tough shots from tough positions and that’s because we didn’t make the best plays for each other,” Andrija Jelavic said. “We just had to take wild shots, and we missed, and they had better shots than us and that’s why they made it in, and that’s how this game goes. The simpler you play, the better you look and that’s it.”

That doesn’t mean they’re slowing down anytime soon, volume right where they want it to be without the efficiency. They’re working on the latter part while hoping to maintain the former.

“Coach Pope emphasizes the good shots that we should be looking for whenever we get the ball,” Mo Dioubate added. “And I think we just got to keep shooting and just be confident with it.”

‘This is never acceptable here. It is the worst thing in the world.’

Looking for a silver lining in all of this — outside the fact the ’14-15 team lost an exhibition game before going 38-0 to start the season? It helps having a leader who cares about these performances just as much as you do.

Like you, this loss will make him lose sleep. Like you, he believes it’s unacceptable to lose on this home floor. Like you, he’s grateful for this opportunity in a game that doesn’t count against real competition before the regular season begins.

“I will be honest with you, this is painful. We are not going to sleep,” Pope said. “This is never acceptable here. It is the worst thing in the world. I’m really grateful for it that it’s happening now because it gives us a chance to try to learn and grow and we need to do that. We can. 

“I’ve got unbelievably competitive guys. I have beautiful guys. And they care, and they are smart. And we will really, really learn and grow from this. In that sense, I couldn’t ask for anything better in a terribly, awful, painful exhibition game.”