This Week in Kentucky Basketball: Moving On From Another Tough Loss

Big Blue Nation is getting far too accustomed to what losing feels like. The Kentucky Basketball program, the self-coined gold standard of the sport, has fallen on some tough times.

Over the last three seasons, Kentucky is just 4-13 against Top 25 opponents. Since 2015, the Wildcats are 16-26 in road or neutral site games against Top 25 opponents. Those are not statistics you would expect to see associated with one of the blue bloods of college basketball. However, that is where the ‘Cats sit entering the week of Christmas.

This week, Kentucky plays host to Florida A&M on Wednesday before getting a few days off for Christmas. Then, when they return to Lexington, it will be time to begin the Southeastern Conference schedule. Wednesday’s game will provide one final tune-up before the games start to mean a little more. However, it is unlikely we gain much from this contest as the Rattlers are one of the worst Division I teams in the country this season. This week will serve more as a self-reflection week for the Kentucky Basketball staff and players than anything else.

As we do each Monday, it is time to take a look at the week ahead. We will break down the week’s biggest storyline surrounding the program, dive into a preview of the Florida A&M Rattlers, take a look around the SEC as a whole, and finish with some of the top games to watch nationally leading up to the Christmas holiday. Let’s dive on into another edition of this week in Kentucky Basketball.

Top Kentucky Basketball Storyline: Self-Reflection and Resetting the Season

There are real, structural issues that are impeding Kentucky’s ability to score offensively. Some of those issues can be solved, or at least masked, while others simply are what they are. Head coach John Calipari can’t revamp the lineup during the season. Additional shooting or another playmaker isn’t walking into Rupp Arena this week. However, the Wildcats would be better served by playing to the strengths of the guys who are currently on the roster. That hasn’t always been the case to this point in the season.

Going 0-11 from the field in the final four minutes and 30 seconds is bad enough. When you realize that Cason Wallace and Oscar Tshiebwe, the two best offensive players, only took one shot during that stretch you can’t help but be frustrated. Asking the “other guys” to go win the game against a good team seems like a losing proposition for Kentucky Basketball. There needs to be a more coordinated plan of what the Wildcats will turn to when the going gets tough.

In the halfcourt, Kentucky has to find ways to manufacture better spacing. Again, the players aren’t changing, but Coach Calipari can make the most of what he has. Ballscreen continuity — similar to what the UCLA Bruins run — could be a great place to start. Spacing improves when you change sides of the floor multiple times and that is something the Wildcats do not do often enough. So many of the Wildcats’ halfcourt sets involve unnecessary pre-movement, are too slow developing, and don’t have a clear objective at the end of the play.

Simplicity can be golden. Ballscreens for Sahvir Wheeler and Wallace. Off-ball screening action to free up Antonio Reeves and CJ Fredrick beyond the arc. Diagonal back screens or cross screens for Tshiebwe to get deep post catches. Those three types of actions should be the vast majority of Kentucky’s halfcourt offense.

This Week in Kentucky Basketball: Florida A&M Rattlers

It would be foolish to try and build up Florida A&M this week as some actual test for the Kentucky Basketball team. They are currently ranked 357th out of 363 Division I basketball teams on KenPom. The Wildcats are projected to win 82-47. This season, the Rattlers are 2-7 but neither of those wins came against Division I opponents. Their only close game was a six-point loss at Louisville on Saturday. Florida A&M struggles mightily to score, has the highest turnover rate in the country, and gets dominated around the basket due to a lack of size.

It will likely be difficult to take much away from Wednesday night’s game at Rupp Arena. The Wildcats have easily disposed of opponents such as Howard, Duquesne, South Carolina State, and North Florida, which are all better teams than the Rattlers. If anything, this week’s game can serve as a confidence boost for some struggling players. Hopefully, Fredrick can see the ball go through the basket a couple of times. Chris Livingston should get some more extended minutes as he continues to carve out more of a role. We will likely see Ugonna Onyenso get some run and probably even minutes for Adou Thiero in the backcourt.

Wednesday against the Rattlers would be a great chance to throw some different things against the wall. Let’s go back to the “double fist” ballscreen continuity that we saw some of down the stretch against Bellarmine. Let’s play Livingston 30 minutes and see if he can be a star. Get Fredrick back in there and see if he can get some confidence by making four three-pointers. This game is essentially an exhibition contest for the Kentucky Basketball team. Use it as an opportunity to grow and get ready for SEC play next week.

Around the Southeastern Conference

While the Kentucky Basketball team struggles against the best competition, the rest of the SEC continues to shine. Arkansas is now 10-1 with their only loss coming by three points to Creighton at the Maui Invitational. LSU is 10-1 with their only loss coming by two points to Kansas State in the Cayman Islands. Mississippi State is a perfect 12-0 with a neutral site game against Drake this week that will give them a chance to enter SEC play undefeated.

Alabama, Auburn, and Tennessee all lost over the weekend but they were against very good teams. All three programs are 9-2 with very impressive resumes. The Crimson Tide fell 100-90 against Gonzaga in Birmingham, but have wins over Michigan State, North Carolina, Houston, and Memphis. Auburn lost by three points at USC and now goes to Washington this week for another solid road non-conference matchup. As for Tennessee, they lost 75-70 at Arizona but won three straight games against good teams at the Battle 4 Atlantis and on a neutral floor against Maryland. These are all Top 20 teams in the country as SEC play gets ready to start next week.

The neutral floor matchup between Mississippi State and Drake will be an interesting one, but otherwise, Tuesday’s matchup between Florida and Oklahoma is the only real game worth watching around the SEC. Most teams are taking the Christmas holiday to rest up and get ready for conference games to start. South Carolina hosts a solid Western Kentucky team on Thursday and Missouri plays Illinois on a neutral floor Thursday as other good tests for SEC teams.

Games to Watch Nationally

Tuesday, December 20th

#15 Mississippi State vs. Drake @ 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time in Lincoln, Nebraska
#2 UConn vs. Georgetown @ 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Wake Forest vs. #14 Duke @ 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ACC Network)
#9 Alabama vs. Jackson State @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (SEC Network)
#18 Indiana vs. Elon @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Providence vs. #24 Marquette @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time
#12 Baylor vs. Northwestern State @ 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN+)
#5 Arizona vs. Montana State @ 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time
#22 Miami (FL) vs. #6 Virginia @ 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ACC Network)
#11 Gonzaga vs. Montana @ 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Wednesday, December 21st

#13 UCLA vs. UC Davis @ 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
#8 Tennessee vs. Austin Peay @ 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN+)
Boston College vs. #21 Virginia Tech @ 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ACC Network)
#19 Kentucky vs. Florida A&M @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (SEC Network)
#3 Houston vs. McNeese @ 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN+)
#7 Texas vs. Louisiana @ 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (Longhorn Network)
#1 Purdue vs. New Orleans @ 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPNU)
#10 Arkansas vs. UNC Asheville @ 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time (SEC Network)
Utah vs. #20 TCU @ 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Washington vs. #23 Auburn @ 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time
San Francisco vs. #25 Arizona State @ 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Thursday, December 22nd

#4 Kansas vs. Harvard @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ESPN2)
#5 Arizona vs. Morgan State @ 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Missouri vs. #16 Illinois @ 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time (SEC Network)

Friday, December 23rd

#18 Indiana vs. Kennesaw State @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time
#17 Wisconsin vs. Grambling @ 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time