Photo by Phil Ellsworth, ESPN Images
Phil Ellsworth | ESPN images
Kentucky’s offensive woes continued for the second game in a row, but in the first half fans thought the Cats were about to turn a corner.
For a few minutes, Kentucky Basketball was back. The Wildcats scored at will, moving up and down the pitch and choking the Jayhawks with incredible length of defense. After the 15-0 run in Kentucky ended in the middle of the first half, the offensive slowly returned to its defeats and fell 65-62 against Kansas in the 2020 edition of the Champions Classic in Indianapolis.
A few things to illustrate how badly Kentucky’s offense went:
- Kansas shot 29% and won.
- Isaiah Jackson made a bucket of 4:20 to play before half time. Kentucky would only make one shot over the next 12:20 pm of game action.
- Kentucky returned to the game in Richmond, missing 19 straight threes before Donatie Allen scored a goal from long range. They only finished 3 out of 21 which means the UK is 3 in 31 (9.6%) behind the three-point line in the last 40 minutes of basketball.
Despite all the offensive fights and the incredible bad problems, Olivier Sarr nearly gave Kentucky a four-point lead with less than four minutes to play. Instead, he missed a put-back dunk that Kansas turned into a transition bucket to tie the game. Kentucky somehow still had a chance to tie it, playing three with 10.2 seconds, but Davion Mintz’s three fell off the iron.
The lackluster offensive performance overshadows Isaiah Jackson’s incredible night. The rookie striker recorded almost double-doubles on ricochets and blocked shots, ending the night with 12 boards, 8 blocked shots and 7 points.
Kentucky fans haven’t seen much good in 2020. It doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon.
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