Kentucky basketball needs to learn new way to win. How about winning ugly?

Kentucky basketball needs to learn new way to win. How about winning ugly? | C.L. Brown

Posted by Admin December 22, 2024 Basketball

NEW YORK — We’ve seen how well Kentucky basketball plays and how high it can soar when it’s running on all cylinders. They lead the NCAA in scoring, averaging 91.3 points per game, and reeled off 10 wins in nonconference play.

Those aren’t the kind of games the Wildcats will always have entering SEC play and definitely not when the postseason rolls around and every possession matters in the NCAA Tournament.

Ohio State just exposed what happens when the 3-pointers aren’t falling and the shots aren’t coming easy for UK during its 85-65 win over the Cats in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.

The Cats haven’t figured out an alternative way to win games.

They’d better figure that out before too long.

These are the kind of neutral-site games that determine how soon the season ends in March. UK fans who turned Madison Square Garden into Rupp Arena Northeast with many Buckeyes fans presumably watching their football team in the playoffs couldn’t even help the cause.

The game resembled in some ways their only other loss of the season.

Kentucky didn’t crack the 70-point mark in its 70-66 setback at Clemson, in its first true road game of the season.

The Tigers played more physically than any other UK opponent, and the Buckeyes seemed to duplicate some of that tough play.

It led the Cats to a couple season lows, shooting 29.8% from the field and making just four 3-pointers en route to 18% shooting from behind the arc. The previous field-goal percentage low was 38.1% against Clemson, and they were held to seven 3s against Clemson, Gonzaga and Georgia State.

This column will be updated.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.