FINAL: No. 6 Kentucky embarrassed on the road in 79-62 loss to South Carolina

Kentucky has been able to hang its hat on offense all season long. If the Wildcats give up 80 points, 90 points scored on the other end would mask most of the issues. The was not the case on Tuesday night — the furthest thing from it, in fact.

No. 6 Kentucky (14-4; 4-2 SEC) suffered an embarrassing 79-62 loss at the hands of the South Carolina (16-3; 4-2 SEC) Gamecocks down in Columbia. The Wildcats’ usually potent offense was miserable from start to finish. Kentucky shot 40.3 percent from the field and a putrid 4-13 from beyond the arc (including just three attempts from deep in the entire second half). A mere seven assists was one off a season-low.

There was no rhythm on either end of the floor. South Carolina used its physicality and some impressive outside shooting (11-24 from deep, their second-most made triples all season) to punk the ‘Cats. 62 points is Kentucky’s fewest of the season.

Fifth-year veterans Tre Mitchell (15 points) and Antonio Reeves (13) did what they could in the second half to try and mount a comeback, but it wasn’t anywhere near enough. Reed Sheppard, DJ Wagner, Justin Edwards, Aaron Bradshaw, Ugonna Onyenso, and Zvonimir Ivisic combined to score just 18 points on 7-22 shooting. Rob Dillingham‘s 16 points were one of the few bright spots.

It was an ugly loss for Kentucky. No other way to slice it.

South Carolina is one of the slowest teams in the country. They influenced Kentucky to play the same way. It was a sign of things to come.

The Wildcats started the night at a snail’s pace. It became a halfcourt affair, which immediately gave the edge to South Carolina. Kentucky had just nine points after eight minutes of action, but a mini offensive spurt allowed them to go in front 20-15 midway through the opening half. The Gamecocks responded though, rattling off an 8-1 run over the next few minutes to take a lead they would control until halftime.

South Carolina closed the first half on a 10-2 run, taking a 33-25 lead into the break. Had it not been for Dillingham’s 11 points, it could have much been worse. Kentucky had just two assists through 20 minutes while Reeves and Wagner were a combined 2-14 from the field. The Gamecocks’ defensive physicality clearly bothered UK. South Carolina shot 6-12 from deep in the first half.

The locker room adjustments didn’t seem to work either.

Although Reeves and Mitchell came out of the intermission looking to score, the rest of their teammates continued to struggle. The two veterans kept Kentucky within striking distance to get the second half rolling, even making it a two-point game five minutes in, but South Carolina continued to fire (and hit) from deep.

The Gamecocks reeled off a 10-2 run over the ensuing stretch to make it a double-digit advantage for the first time all evening. Carolina’s 10th three-pointer made it a 13-point game soon after. It would only get worse for Kentucky the rest of the way.

At the under 8-minute timeout, UK was down 18 points following a devastating 22-6 South Carolina run. The Gamecocks eventually pushed it to 20 points just to rub it in. Even the tough shots were hitting nothing but net. The end result was, without a doubt, Kentucky’s worst performance of the season so far and a tough-to-swallow conference loss on the road.

Up next: Kentucky will stay on the road for a showdown against Arkansas (10-8; 1-4 SEC) on Saturday in Fayetteville. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. EST on ESPN with the College Gameday crew in attendance.