Everyone is acting like Alabama has some sort of miracle formula for shooting three's. I probably watched UK start 60 games like this during the 90's. Villanova won two National Championships with this approach. Coach K has won three. To me, what Alabama does is just common sense.
Now you can beat a team like Alabama if you have superior players. I saw the Fab Five beat Kentucky in 1993, and Michigan went 0-4 from three-point range in that game. But you need superior players, because this is a better system.
When I rooted for Pitino's teams, I never worried about teams that relied on their defense. I knew that no one was really going to be able to stop Kentucky. The only teams that worried me were teams that could score a lot of points themselves.
ReplyDeleteAlabama 17 - 12 Kentucky (11:58 left in the 1st half). Boston and Allen just shot back-to-back air balls. Alabama has five turnovers, which is the only thing keeping UK in the game.
ReplyDeleteAlabama 19 - 16 Kentucky (7:41 left in the 1st half). Alabama not taking UK very seriously right now. 5 turnovers for UK; 7 for Alabama.
ReplyDeleteAlabama 26 - 22 Kentucky (3:55 left in the 1st half). At one point, Alabama missed 7 three's in a row, but UK still couldn't catch them. Cats shooting 5-17 on two's, 1-3 on three's, and 8 turnovers. Bama 6-10 on two's, 4-12 on three's, and 9 turnovers.
ReplyDeleteAlabama 35 - 32 Kentucky (halftime). Kentucky fights back, ties the game, has the ball, throws the ball away with 19 seconds left. Bama comes down, makes a three, takes a three-point lead at the half.
ReplyDeleteKentucky:
ReplyDeleteTwo-point shots: 6-19
Three-point shots: 3-5
Free throws: 11-13
Turnovers: 9
Alabama:
ReplyDeleteTwo-point shots: 9-16
Three-point shots: 5-16
Free throws: 2-2
Turnovers: 9
Alabama in this game reminds me of a lot of games that I saw UK win in the 1990's against schools like Mississippi State. What is most likely to happen is that at some point, Alabama will hit three or four three-pointers in a row, build a 12-15 point lead, and that will be that.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Cal is going to do everything he can to pull this one out. I'm sure he's sick of hearing people talk about how his system is out of date.
ReplyDeleteAlabama 38 - 38 Kentucky (15:41 left in 2d Half). Askew has committed back-to-back fouls, giving him three for the game. Maybe that means we won't see as much of him the rest of the way.
ReplyDeleteKentucky wants Olivier Sarr to take control of this game, but they don't have a point guard who can get him the ball. He has one basket on a drive, and another where Brooks hit him under the basket. But he and Brooks have also taken some really odd shots.
DeleteOn the other end, Alabama keeps trying to beat UK off of the dribble, and it's not going as well as they thought it would.
DeleteAlabama 41 - 43 Kentucky (11:58 left in 2d Half). UK has outscored Alabama 11-6 in the second half, with all of Alabama's points coming at the free throw line. The Cats are overplaying the three-point shot, forcing Bama to drive, and then cracking down as they get closer to the basket. It's been a very effective defense, except for the fouls. Meanwhile, UK's offense continues to be terrible. Cats now 10-29 from two-point range, and many of their misses are from less than three feet.
ReplyDeleteBut it's a very intense game right now, with both teams really going for it.
DeleteAlabama 43 - 43 Kentucky (10:32 left in 2d Half). UK's last three possessions: terrible shot by Boston, charge by Mintz, charge by Allen.
ReplyDeleteAlabama 45 - 43 Kentucky (10:05 left in 2d Half). A third consecutive offensive foul for UK.
ReplyDeleteAlabama 49 - 51 Kentucky (7:16 left in 2d Half). UK had the ball and a chance to build a two-possession lead -- only to get called for another offensive foul.
ReplyDeleteAlabama is still trying to beat UK off of the dribble, and still getting in trouble under the basket with UK's superior height.
DeleteAlabama 52 - 54 Kentucky (3:54 left in 2d Half). Calipari has put together an amazing game plan here, and so far he has held Alabama to only 17 points in the second half. If he had any functional offense, this would have been an easy win. But it is just painful to watch the Cats try to score. UK now 13-37 on two-point shots, with 14 turnovers.
ReplyDeleteAlabama 56 - 54 Kentucky (2:59 left in 2d Half). But talent will usually beat coaching. Up two with the ball, Allen misses a wide open layup. Then Jackson commits a foul 35 feet from the basket. Alabama makes the free throws, and we're tied. Then Boston gets the ball in the lane, which is usually the prelude to a turnover. It's a turnover, and Alabama gets a runout to go up 56-54. At this point, Cal had to call time.
ReplyDeleteAllen had to make that three-point shot. But this team cannot execute down the stretch, which is why they lose so many close games.
DeleteKen Pom calls that "luck," but he's wrong.
DeleteAllen missed a wide open three-pointer at 54-52, not a layup.
DeleteMintz misses a three coming out of the timeout, and that should be the game.
ReplyDeleteSarr commits a goaltend at the other end. Alabama has a 6-0 run and a 58-54 lead.
ReplyDeleteJackson throws the ball away, Alabama draws the foul at the other end.
ReplyDeleteWell, Calipari proved his point in a way -- he showed that it can be risky to rely entirely on three-point shots and layups. But in the end, he just doesn't have anyone who could play. And Alabama does.
ReplyDeleteWith 7:16 left in the game, UK had 51 points. With 4 minutes left, UK had 54 points. Now there are 46.9 seconds left, and UK still has 54 points. In the last four minutes of the game, Alabama has outscored them 10-0.
ReplyDeleteNow Allen makes a three to cut Bama's lead to 62-57. But it's too late now; there are less than 40 seconds left. Allen had his chance when UK led 54-52.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, I think this game proves my point. Cal is still a good coach, and UK plays hard, but they just don't have enough basketball skill to compete. They are basically like your typical Ole Miss or Georgia teams -- a bunch of grinders who don't deserve to play in the NCAA's.
ReplyDeleteAlabama closes out UK with an 18-5 run in the last 3:52. UK took away the three-point shot, so Bama beat them at the line. UK's offense was spectacularly bad.
ReplyDeleteBut as I said at the beginning, a team that has a good offense (like Alabama) is almost never going to lose to a team with no offense. Eventually they'll make a run, and if you can't match them you are going to lose.
DeleteAnd before you start talking about "Virginia," you should know that in 2019, when it won the national championship, UVA had the second-most efficient offense in the country.
DeleteKentucky:
ReplyDeleteTwo-point shots: 13-40
Three-point shots: 6-14
Free throws: 15-17
Turnovers: 17
Personal Fouls: 25
Alabama:
ReplyDeleteTwo-point shots: 14-31
Three-point shots: 6-20
Free throws: 24-28
Turnovers: 14
Personal Fouls: 15
In the last three games, Devin Askew has shot 0-7 from two-point range, and 0-6 from three-point range.
ReplyDeleteKen Pom now has UK as number 12 in the country in defense, and number 105 in offense.
ReplyDeleteYour mood throughout this post maps with my mood throughout the game. Again, it felt Kentucky was playing so hard, and it felt inevitable that Alabama would simply fly by them at some point. Which is what happened.
ReplyDeleteThe people who figure out the gambling spreads for games do a great job. Last I heard, the spread on this was 8.5 points, and I think Alabama ended up beating that by a bucket or two. But there was a point late when an Alabama guy was going to the free-throw line with a seven-point lead and two shots, and it felt like Alabama was exactly that much better--seven-point lead and two free throws coming late--than Kentucky.
Lon Kruger, a very solid coach, uses Calipari's approach to shut down Alabama. On the road against a good Oklahoma team, the Tide do not get the 28 free throws that they used to beat UK at home. Instead, Alabama gets only 14 free throws. Oklahoma doesn't miss as many close shots as UK did (they go 17-41 from two-point range instead of 13-40), and the Sooners end Alabama's nine-game winning streak 66 to 61.
ReplyDeleteGood.
DeleteTennessee drills Kansas 80-61, and the SEC wins the SEC/Big XII challenge 5 to 4. Of course, the key fact here is that UK cancelled its game with Texas, which would have been a sure loss for the SEC. But every team has to do its part, and the rest of the League usually lets us down. So I'm glad Kentucky contributed to the SEC's victory.
ReplyDeleteThe SEC is now 2-4-2 in the SEC/Big XII Challenge.
ReplyDeleteVandy beats South Carolina 93-81, and the Commodores pick up their first win of the season against an SEC opponent in football or men's basketball.
ReplyDelete