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In a game that didn’t end until early this morning, Kentucky fell short in its matchup against Utah in Las Vegas by a score of 69-66. dropping the Cats to 8-2.
You could point to a lot of factors in the loss, but the most glaring is three-point shooting where Kentucky was a horrid 2-17 from behind the line, including just 1-12 from the trio of Ashton Hagans, Immanuel Quickley, and Tyrese Maxey. Kentucky simply won’t win many games when those three shoot the ball that poorly.
Meanwhile, the Utes enjoyed success shooting the ball, knocking down nearly 55 percent of their shots including 8-15 three pointers.
This isn’t a back-breaking loss by any stretch of the imagination, but it will come back to hurt during the tournament selection process. Kentucky still possesses only one quality win on their resume with the victory over Michigan State to open the season.
That said, the Cats need to bounce back quickly because they have the opportunity to pick up two high-quality wins in the next 10 days with the matchup against Ohio State on Saturday and a rivalry showdown with Louisville the following Saturday.
To me, this game isn’t a reason to sound the alarm or throw in the towel just yet. This is a team still struggling to find an identity and we see a random non-conference loss like this from time to time as the team struggles to find its way early on in the season. This team should be a better shooting team than what they’ve shpwn. Hopefully that comes to fruition, because the next two games will be critical.
Tweet of the Day
4/5 ⭐️ Offensive/Defensive Line commits in the class of 2020:
— BBNation (@BBNation15) December 18, 2019
Clemson: 9
Kentucky: 7
Georgia: 7
Oklahoma: 7
Texas A&M: 6
Alabama: 5
Florida: 5
LSU: 4
Ohio State: 4
#BBN
Just an indicator of how well Stoops and Co. did recruiting offensive and defensive line players.
Quickies
Kentucky had multiple conversations with Beau Allen about Joey Gatewood - Cats Pause
Some fans were concerned that Gatewood’s arrival might cause tension with Allen, but it seems to be the opposite.
Joel Williams set to announce today - Cats Pause
Things seem to be trending well for UK leading up to the 3 p.m. announcement.
Kentucky hits it big with O-line, D-line signees - Herald Leader
Stellar play in the trenches is needed in the SEC, so the Cats loaded up.
Walker Wood is in the transfer portal - KSR
Best of luck to Walker wherever he ends up.
Kentucky’s recruiting strategy pays dividends - SI
Sports Illustrated goes in-depth about Kentucky’s recruiting success in Ohio and Michigan.
Karl-Anthony Towns blossoming with shooting ability - Bleacher Report
Also a line about how Calipari banned Towns from shooting threes at Kentucky.
Early signing period winners and losers - Yahoo
It was a good day for most of college football’s top programs, except LSU.
Tom Coughlin fired from Jaguars - ESPN
This on the heels of the NFLPA warning players about signing with Jacksonville.
Coach Herman Boone passes away at 84 - ESPN
Sad news about the man who was the inspiration behind “Remember the Titans.”