Cincinnati 24, Kentucky 31: Second Half Live Thread

I was very pleased with this half of basketball from an execution standpoint. The Kentucky Wildcats did a lot of good things on defense and missed a lot of shots on offense. The thing I like about that is Kentucky took good shots, for the most part, and just missed them. That won’t continue to happen.

The Cincinnati Bearcats, on the other hand, did exactly what they had to do to give themselves a chance to win — limit possessions and hit the offensive glass. What they did not do is take good shots every time down the floor, and that eventually caught up with them.

First half stats

HALFTIME: #Kentucky 31, Cincinnati 24. Towns with 8 to lead the Cats. pic.twitter.com/Jiwb9BOaf3

— Jeff Drummond (@JDrumUK) March 21, 2015

Kentucky did a good job of turning the Bearcats over and getting extra possessions, which they sorely needed shooting 34% from the floor. On the other hand, Kentucky gave up enough offensive rebounds to keep the Bearcats close.

Kentucky did a good job drawing fouls, and that was a big reason why they were able to get the lead. The only free throws that got missed were the two by Marcus Lee, who is an abysmal free throw shooter.

Overall, Kentucky played the right way and that’s why they have the lead. If they continue to do that, Cincinnati simply doesn’t have enough offense to catch up with them unless they do something crazy.

Let’s get this done. Go, ‘Cats!