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  • Three things to watch for Kentucky versus North Florida



    The North Florida Ospreys (1-3) should not present a real challenge to Kentucky, however stranger things have happened. Surprisingly, North Florida and Kentucky have two common opponents already this season: Gonzaga and South Carolina State. The two teams have equal records against those opponents.

    Kentucky fell to Gonzaga, 88-72 while North Florida lost in their opening game at Gonzaga, 104-63; in both Kentucky and North Florida defeated South Carolina State (Kentucky 106, South Carolina State 63; North Florida 72, South Carolina State 66).

    Kentucky is favored in this afternoon's game by 26.5.

    In the game against Gonzaga, Kentucky was thoroughly outplayed, and appeared unprepared, outcoached, and not matching the energy level of Gonzaga. Building off of those deficiencies, there are three things to look for in this afternoon's contest.

    1. Will Kentucky improve their energy level today? The game is being played against an uninspiring opponent, the day before Thanksgiving when school is out and players may have other things on their minds, and the team is coming off a low performance against Gonzaga. Despite the opponent, I believe it is important for Kentucky to regain the motivation to play hard.

    2. Continuing that theme, will Kentucky's defense provide an all out effort? One of the disappointing things we have seen since late last season is an absence of the famed John Calipari defensive effort from his team. The offense has had issues from time to time (okay, most of the time), but rarely have we seen defense not perform at fairly high levels, with John Calipari able to motivate both young and experienced players. Blocked shots, rebounding, and steals provide opportunities for transition points and easier offense of abilities, and lacking this, we are left to the much-maligned half-court offense to provide points. Again, despite the opponent, I believe it is important for a strong defensive effort to be displayed today.

    3. Will we see some offensive scheme that makes sense? Many national commentators and local writers have written harsh comments concerning the lack of an offense scheme, or one that is very easy to defend. To see how Kentucky's half-court offense is performing today, don't watch Kentucky players, but focus on the North Florida defensive players instead. Are they required it to move much in the half-court? Do they appear unbalanced on the floor? Are they scrambling to cover players (much like we have seen Kentucky's defense too many times this season)? If so, our offense of scheme is probably working. If we are scoring despite lacking these things, it is likely due to a simple talent disparity rather than improvement on the offense of scheme.
    Comments 12 Comments
    1. UKFlounder's Avatar
      UKFlounder -
      This is another SEC Network+ exclusive game
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Kentucky provided "Need to Know" Facts about UK:

      • Sahvir Wheeler sits atop the conference and 17th nationally with a 5.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Wheeler leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally with 8.2 assists per game

      • Since the start of the 2019-20 season, his freshman season at Georgia, Wheeler's 572 total assists ranks second nationally, only behind the 603 by Yuri Collins of Saint Louis

      • Cason Wallace leads the SEC and ranks third nationally with 17 total steals

      • Wallace has totaled 23 assists and 17 steals through the first five games of his college career. The freshman is the only player in the country with at least 23 assists and 17 steals

      • Wallace is third nationally in field-goal percentage (58.1%) among players with at least 20 total assists

      • Oscar Tshiebwe's 22-point, 18-rebound game against Michigan State was the third such contest of his UK Career. He now has three of the six 20 or more and at least 18 rebounds in a game by an SEC player in the last 10 seasons. No other player has more than one and the feat had not been accomplished since South Carolina's Sindarius Thornwell did so against Alabama on Feb. 7, 2017

      • Tshiebwe also has tallied a pair of 20-point, 15 rebound games so far this season and has five over the last two seasons. He has nine of the 51 20-point, 15-rebound contests by SEC players in the last 10 seasons
    1. blueboss's Avatar
      blueboss -
      What we’ve seen so far, the prep games haven’t not carried over to better opponents.

      We played Duquesne before the Mich St game, cats played well played well shot…

      45.9% fg
      57.9% 3 pt
      22 assist/ 15 to
      46 reb
      9 st
      11 blks

      Played MSU, did not play well, shot poorly
      38.6% fg
      28% 3 pt
      -10 Reb
      17 assist/15 to
      +5 blks
      +6 st

      Then we played S Carolina St. that I happened to attend, they played well, shot well flew up and down the court with great energy… basically had a blast, playing everyone.
      57.4% fg
      47.7% 3 pt
      25assist/13 to
      +4 blk
      +7stl

      After which we played Gonzaga, played tight/scared. Shot horribly, only 3 players were productive.
      30.1% fg
      24% 3 pt
      11assist/11to, we did have 10stl
      -2 blk
      +7 stls

      Bottom line, our cupcake prep games aren’t transferring to the big games following them. We now have N Fl, followed by Bellarmine. We all know Bellarmine is well coached, they play hard and don’t stop, play good defense and shoot the ball well… I suspect we’ll beat Bellarmine but it won’t be a cupcake…then it’s off to play Mich.

      Sure hope we improve.


      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Quote Originally Posted by blueboss View Post
      What we’ve seen so far, the prep games haven’t not carried over to better opponents.

      ....


      Bottom line, our cupcake prep games aren’t transferring to the big games following them.
      That's why I think it's important to focus not on the result, but the process. We can win these games with talent alone. It's more important to watch the "how" rather than the end result.
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Quote Originally Posted by UKFlounder View Post
      This is another SEC Network+ exclusive game
      Wait - I get confused. Does that require a separate subscription?
    1. UKFlounder's Avatar
      UKFlounder -
      I thought if your tv provider included the SEC network, you get the SEC Network+ but it hasn’t worked for me in the exhibition games. Maybe that’s an issue with my provider

      Otherwise, an ESPN+ subscription is necessary.
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Quote Originally Posted by UKFlounder View Post
      I thought if your tv provider included the SEC network, you get the SEC Network+ but it hasn’t worked for me in the exhibition games. Maybe that’s an issue with my provider

      Otherwise, an ESPN+ subscription is necessary.
      I'll probably be out of luck. I have YouTubeTV and every time I look for something special, it seems I get screwed. Netflix and Hulu don't provide anything like that, I'm sure.

      I think we have Disney Plus, though. Maybe it's in that.
    1. takmashfan's Avatar
      takmashfan -
      Espn+ to me is definately worth 99.99 a year. You can also pay for it monthly for 9.99 and cancel anytime. I enjoy all of the documentaries and 30 for 30 episodes they have and can watch them anytime. Plus I have been able to watch WKU EKU and Murray basketball games that I never would have without it. It can be bundled with Disney plus for 4.99 a month.
    1. bigsky's Avatar
      bigsky -
      Apparently I’m not watching for anything in this game.
    1. kingcat's Avatar
      kingcat -
      I hope the starting lineup is adjusted.
    1. DanISSELisdaman's Avatar
      DanISSELisdaman -
      I wont be able to watch it either.
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Quote Originally Posted by bigsky View Post
      Apparently I’m not watching for anything in this game.
      Yeah, me too. I guess I'll be listening for it. Hope Tom Leach reads the comments and relays his thoughts.
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