This Week in Kentucky Basketball: Avoiding a Tailspin

Life sure can come at you fast in college basketball. Last Monday, the Kentucky Basketball team was riding a six-game SEC winning streak and sitting at 16-7, 7-3. A big home game against Arkansas provided a chance for a quality win before a trip to take on a sliding Georgia team. The Wildcats were favored in both matchups. However, Kentucky lost by 15 points to the Razorbacks and then fell by seven points in Athens. Their 16-9, 7-5 record now has the ‘Cats on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. More importantly, continued poor play has left little room for hope that the season can be salvaged.

An optimist would remind you that things can turn for the better just as quickly as they turn for the worse. The Wildcats were in a very similar situation almost exactly one month ago. After a 26-point loss to Alabama followed by an excruciating home loss to cellar-dweller South Carolina dropped the ‘Cats to 10-6, 1-3. However, Kentucky responded by beating Tennessee on the road to begin a six-game SEC winning streak. The upcoming stretch of six games is admittedly a little tougher, but the point remains the same. We’ve see this Kentucky Basketball team respond to adversity once already this season. Now they must do it once again with their NCAA Tournament lives squarely on the line.

As we do each Monday, it is time to take a look at the week ahead as it pertains to the basketball program. We will highlight the biggest storyline surrounding the team this week, preview the upcoming two opponents, take a look at the updated SEC standings, and feature the top games to watch nationally. Let’s dive on in to another edition of this week in Kentucky Basketball.

Top Kentucky Basketball Storyline: Responding to Adversity

This season has offered nothing if not plenty of adversity for the Kentucky Basketball program to deal with. Losses have piled up on the back of a 9-16 season followed by the embarrassing first round exit to #15 seed Saint Peter’s. Injuries have kept the Wildcats from playing at full strength quite often since the very beginning of the season. The fanbase has largely turned on their Hall of Fame coached and grown very critical of individual players as well. It has not been a fun season in Big Blue Nation and it almost assuredly hasn’t been fun to be a part of the basketball program either. Now, the ‘Cats are in real danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons. Understandably so, that has left the coaches, players, and fanbase a little restless.

A road trip to Mississippi State followed by a Saturday home game against the Tennessee Volunteers will not be the easiest way to bounce back into the win column. However, it does provide the Wildcats a pair of opportunities for quality wins which are desperately needed at this point. There is still a very real path to both a double-bye in the Southeastern Conference Tournament and a bid into the NCAA Tournament. Hope may be running thin within the fanbase, but that doesn’t change what lies ahead for the team. We have seen Kentucky respond to a very similar situation just one month ago. If they can do it again we may just regain a little bit of momentum heading into March.

This Week in Kentucky Basketball: Mississippi State Bulldogs & Tennessee Volunteers

It has been a season of runs for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Coach Chris Jans took over in Starkville after five incredibly successful seasons at New Mexico State that included three NCAA Tournament appearances. He hit the ground running with the Bulldogs by beginning the season 11-0 to earn a Top 25 national ranking. However, things quickly took a downward turn as Mississippi State lost eight of their next nine games which included a 1-7 start to Southeastern Conference play. Coach Jans and company have righted the ship since that losing skid though rattling off five straight victories including wins over TCU and at Arkansas.

All conversations about the Bulldogs must begin with their dominance on the defensive end of the floor. Per KenPom, they have the fourth best defense in the country led by elite turnover creation, rim protection, and holding opponents to 30.6% shooting from three-point range. On the offensive side of the ball Mississippi State is one of the worst shooting teams in the country. However, they are excellent on the offensive glass and pound the ball inside to All-SEC candidate Tolu Smith. You can expect the Bulldogs to try and turn the game into a rock fight on Wednesday night.

As for the Tennessee Volunteers, they are trending in the opposite direction of the Bulldogs. After climbing as high as #2 in the national polls, the Volunteers have lost three of their last four games including their last two in excruciating fashion. On Wednesday night at Vanderbilt Tyrin Lawrence hit a three-pointer as time expired to give the Commodores a 66-65 victory. Then, on Saturday night, DeAndre Gholston knocked in a running 35-footer for Missouri to escape with an 86-85 win. It is a hard to imagine experiencing back-to-back losses more brutal than the Volunteers did last week. Things don’t get any easier though as they play host to Alabama Wednesday before traveling to Rupp Arena.

For the Kentucky Basketball team, their two opponents this week offer Quad 1 opportunities to improve their very bare NCAA Tournament resume. The ‘Cats only Quad 1 win to this point came at Thompson-Boling Arena back on January 14th. Splitting these two games is an absolute must, but honestly we might be to the point where Kentucky needs to win both. It all starts on Wednesday night in Starkville.

Around the Southeastern Conference

• You have to continue tipping the hat to Alabama for their dominance in the Southeastern Conference this season. 12-0 is not an easy feat by any means. They have arguably their toughest test remaining on Wednesday night when they travel to Tennessee to face the Volunteers.
• Coach Buzz Williams and the Texas A&M Aggies quietly just keep on winning. They are now comfortably in second place with a 10-2 conference record. Their next six games though are among the toughest of any final stretch in the SEC. This week they host Arkansas and go to Missouri.
• There is now a three-way tie for fourth place featuring teams headed in different directions. Missouri has won five of their last six games to improve to 7-5 in the league. Meanwhile, Auburn has lost five of their last six games including three straight. Then, as we all know, the Kentucky Basketball team suffered two tough losses last week to fall to 7-5. It is going to be a really interesting battle for the fourth and final SEC Tournament double-bye.
• Arkansas and Vanderbilt both are moving up the conference standings as they continue to stack wins. The Razorbacks lost on Saturday, but had won five straight SEC games prior to that defeat. As for the Commodores, they are playing as well as anyone in the league with three straight wins.

Games to Watch Nationally

Monday, February 13th

North Carolina vs. #15 Miami (FL) @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN)

Texas Tech vs. #6 Texas @ 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN)

#9 Baylor vs. West Virginia @ 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN2)

Tuesday, February 14th

#24 Providence vs. #18 Creighton @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (FS1)

Syracuse vs. #23 NC State @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ACC Network)

Oklahoma State vs. #5 Kansas @ 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN)

Oklahoma vs. #12 Kansas State @ 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPNU)

Wednesday, February 15th

#10 Tennessee vs. #1 Alabama @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN2)

Louisville vs. #7 Virginia @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPNU)

#11 Marquette vs. #16 Xavier @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (CBS Sports Network)

Northwester vs. #14 Indiana @ 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time (Big Ten Network)

#19 Iowa State vs. #22 TCU @ 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPNU)

Fresno State @ #21 San Diego State @ 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time (CBS Sports Network)

Thursday, February 16th

Maryland vs. #3 Purdue @ 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time (Big Ten Network)

SMU vs. #2 Houston @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN2)

Middle Tennessee vs. #25 Florida Atlantic @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time

#8 Arizona vs. Utah @ 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time (Pac 12 Network)

San Diego vs. #17 Saint Mary’s @ 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time

#4 UCLA vs. Stanford @ 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN2)

Loyola Marymount vs. #13 Gonzaga @ 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time (CBS Sports Network)

Saturday, February 18th

#7 Virgina vs. Notre Dame @ Noon Eastern Time

#14 Indiana vs. Illinois @ Noon Eastern Time

#20 UConn vs. Seton Hall @ Noon Eastern Time (FOX)

Kentucky vs. #10 Tennessee @ 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time (CBS)

#6 Texas vs. Oklahoma @ 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN+)

#12 Kansas State vs. #19 Iowa State @ 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN)

#15 Miami (FL) vs. Wake Forest @ 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ACC Network)

#22 TCU vs. Oklahoma State @ 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN+)

#5 Kansas vs. #9 Baylor @ 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN)

#16 Xavier vs. DePaul @ 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (CBS Sports Network)

#24 Providence vs. Villanova @ 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (FOX)

#1 Alabama vs. Georgia @ 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time (SEC Network)

Pepperdine vs. #13 Gonzaga @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time

St. John’s vs. #18 Creighton @ 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time (FS1)

#8 Arizona vs. Colorado @ 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN2)

#17 Saint Mary’s vs. BYU @ 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time

#4 UCLA vs. California @ 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time (Pac 12 Network)

Sunday, February 19th

#3 Purdue vs. Ohio State @ 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time (CBS)

#23 NC State vs. North Carolina @ 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN)

#2 Houston vs. Memphis @ 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN)