Watch the Tape: Auburn Tigers

BRamseyKSR

Make it four wins in a row for the Kentucky Wildcats. Saturday’s contest against the Auburn Tigers turned into a blowout as the ‘Cats came away with an 86-54 victory. After a Jaylin Williams putback dunk with 5:24 left in the first half the Tigers had a 25-24 advantage. However, Kentucky would close the half on a 16-4 run and eventually led by as many as 40 points in the second half. It was an all-around dominant performance for Coach Calipari’s team who is now playing as well as anyone in the country. Oscar Tshiebwe led the way with 22 points and 17 rebounds while Antonio Reeves added 21 points of his own. Cason Wallace was excellent scoring 19 points while dishing out 9 assists and Jacob Toppin contributed a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds.

With the victory, the Wildcats are now one win away from clinching the #3 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. That next opportunity will come on Wednesday as Kentucky celebrates senior night at Rupp Arena against the Vanderbilt Commodores. Coach Stackhouse’s team has won six of their last seven games so this next contest certainly is not one that can be overlooked. However, it is good to see Kentucky playing their best basketball of the season as the calendar turns to March. The ‘Cats are now up to #20 in the NET Rankings, #22 in KenPom, and have produced the fifth best offense in the country per Bart Torvik since January 14th. We just might have the makings of a dangerous NCAA Tournament team here in Lexington.

As always, we’ve been hard at work in the KSR Film Room breaking down the game. These are starting to get more and more fun as Kentucky rides a a four-game winning streak into the month of March. The Wildcats continue to execute at a high level offensively, have thrown in some new wrinkles to improve Oscar Tshiebwe’s production, and flashed some positive steps forward defensively. Let’s dive on in to the tape and take a look at the blowout victory over the Auburn Tigers.

Offensive Execution Led to a Blowout Win Over Auburn

The Auburn Tigers feature a Top 20 defense in the country. They are among the best at taking away three-pointers and protecting the rim. However, on Saturday evening, Kentucky shot 8-13 from deep and dominated around the basket. In fact, the Tigers recorded just one block in the game. The Wildcats put up 1.32 points per possession which is their fourth best number of the season. Offensively, the ‘Cats are starting to look like a well-oiled machine. They are moving the ball well, screening well, and putting their best playmakers in situations to succeed. Cason Wallace and Antonio Reeves continue to emerge as All-SEC caliber guards. The talented duo combined for 40 points including 6-9 shooting from beyond the arc against Auburn.

There is a certain pace to Kentucky offensively now that we simply did not see earlier in the season. The Wildcats were often slow, stagnant, and seemingly unsure of what to do. However, they are now quick and decisive which leads to much better execution. That certainly was on display Saturday evening against the Auburn Tigers. The quick and decisive description certainly fits Lance Ware while he is in the game. He has obvious offensive limitations, but the he is the team’s best screener and does everything at full speed. Here, he quickly gets into a side ballscreen for Cason Wallace. Also, check out how he rubs through #0 Johnson while rolling to the basket. That helped to hang him up long enough for Antonio Reeves to get free beyond the arc for a three.

When Big Blue Nation and national media members alike railed against Kentucky’s offense the lack of spacing earlier this season was a common theme. Not having enough shooters, not playing the shooters together, and structural issues offensively held the Wildcats back for the first couple of months. However, now the keys have fully been turned over to Cason Wallace, Antonio Reeves has emerged as a go-to scorer, and Jacob Toppin is finally showing signs of reaching his potential. Far too often earlier in the season there was simply no space around the basket to drive into even if the ball handler was able to beat his man. Now, there is a ton of space to drive the basketball. Toppin easily gets to his patented pull-up jumper as Auburn won’t help off of Wallace or Reeves.

Part of Kentucky’s surge to elite status offensively has come from better execution at the end of the shot clock. Gone are the days of dribbling around at the top of the key without a clear plan. Now, the ball deliberately gets into the hands of either Cason Wallace or Antonio Reeves and usually a high ballscreen is set. This clip is a perfect example of why Reeves is such a dangerous playmaker. The Auburn defense obviously doesn’t want to give up a three with just five seconds on the shot clock so they are all the way out there 30 feet from the basket. However, Reeves is comfortable enough as a ball handler to get down hill and finish with the floater. Check out Tigers defender #5 Moore not wanting to commit off of Wallace to stop the ball on the wing either. Great play.

Oscar Tshiebwe Playing More as a Face-Up Threat

It is hard to replicate what Oscar Tshiebwe did last season. In one of the more dominant seasons we have seen in quite some time, the Kentucky center averaged 17.4 points and 15.2 rebounds on his way to being named National Player of the Year. While Tshiebwe has had another excellent season it hasn’t been quite the same for the big man. Opponents have figured out the script for at least containing him. Due to not being especially tall, Tshiebwe can struggle against length. Also, he isn’t super comfortable as a ball handler or passer so he can be neutralized by double teams. Teams found varying levels of success throwing length and pressure at him throughout the season. However, the ‘Cats have recently pulled him away from the basket more and it has worked out well.

Oscar Tshiebwe is always going to make his money around the basket. Whether it be by ducking in at the front of the rim or scoring via the offensive glass he is going to score plenty inside. However, his skill set actually allows him to be effective as a face-up guy as well. Tshiebwe’s strengths are his speed and footwork. While many opposing centers are bigger, or at least taller, Tshiebwe typically has the edge when it comes to mobility. When he can bring his defender out of the paint and then drive it at him with one or two dribbles in a straight line it really neutralizes what advantage the defender may have in the length department. Kentucky found success using Tshiebwe away from the post against the Auburn Tigers.

Recently the Wildcats have had success hitting Oscar Tshiebwe on the short roll. He is at his best when he can use his speed and footwork to attack his defender. Auburn does a good job of keeping Cason Wallace from getting to the drag ballscreen here. However, Tshiebwe does a good job of just floating into the open space. Once Wallace hits him with a perfect pass he doesn’t even need to dribble before slamming it home. Having Tshiebwe pop into space as opposed to blindly rolling all the way to the rim got Kentucky two points on this possession.

The primary worry of using Oscar Tshiebwe more outside of the post is losing out on the nation’s best offensive rebounder. That is why the recent emergence of Jacob Toppin and Chris Livingston on the glass has been so valuable. If those two can pick up some of Tshiebwe’s slack then it won’t hurt to allow him to continue playing more away from the rim. Also, he still grabbed six offensive rebounds against the Auburn Tigers so it doesn’t seem to be a problem right now. Tshiebwe missed the pull-up jumper here but Toppin was there for a physical offensive rebound and putback to give Kentucky the lead.

Flashes of Defensive Improvements Led to Easy Points

Nobody is ready to claim that the Kentucky Wildcats are a good defensive team. However, they did play one of their better games of the season on Saturday to help blowout the Auburn Tigers. The ‘Cats forced 13 turnovers, but 10 of those were steals leading to 23 points off of takeaways. Manufacturing some easy points offensively by creating live ball turnovers can help mask some of the deficiencies on the defensive end. Let’s take a look at the film from Saturday’s win.

Kentucky set the tone early with effort and intensity on the defensive end. They beat the Auburn Tigers to the 50-50 balls including this one early in the game that brought Rupp Arena alive. Antonio Reeves did a good job staying with #0 Johnson on the handoff and ended up knocking the ball loose. As Johnson went after the ball and bent over to grab it Reeves dove straight to the floor and recovered the loose ball. His effort was rewarded by Chris Livingston finding Cason Wallace for a trail three in transition.

We spent a lot of time before the game talking about Auburn’s transition attack. Led by point guard #1 Green Jr. the Tigers like to bring it at you fast. However, for the most part, Kentucky did an excellent job of sprinting back and limiting their transition opportunities. Of course part of that is helped by scoring 86 points as well. Here Green Jr. gets the ball and is off to the races in a four on three situation. Both Oscar Tshiebwe and Antonio Reeves were back though to protect the rim and help corral the ball. The Tigers guard ended up attempt a wild runner that was blocked and rebounded by Tshiebwe. Excellent job springing back and forcing this type of shot.

Kentucky was excellent in every aspect on this defensive possession. First, you see great effort getting back and containing #1 Green Jr. in transition. Lance Ware is on a full out sprint to help level off the ball. Then, you get an excellent rotation by Cason Wallace to take away the short roll when the ‘Cats iced the side ballscreen. #0 Johnson is contained off of the dribble as well as the shot clock started to wind down. Finally, Green Jr. is forced to launch a 35-foot prayer from UK logo at half court. The 28.1% three-point shooter air balled the attempt. All-around excellent defensive execution.