Jerry Stackhouse says Kentucky has team "full of guys to be concerned about"

Kentucky’s high-octane offense is what dreams are made of for fans of the team, but nightmares for those forced to gameplan against it. Just ask UK assistant Chin Coleman, he made that quite clear to open the week.

“We hope it’s a big challenge,” Coleman said Tuesday. “We hope that they have nightmares before they play against us with the fact that we’ve got so many guys that are capable and it’s hard to scout against.”

Currently ranked No. 4 in offensive efficiency by KenPom and No. 9 overall in total scoring averaging 81.9 points per contest, the Wildcats are firing on all cylinders as a team. Individually, five players are averaging over ten points per game and seven are averaging at least five.

“Most teams, you can put a few guys on top of the scouting report and then you can worry about the relevant guys and try to keep the irrelevant guys irrelevant,” Coleman added. “For us, because we have so many guys that are capable of impacting a game, it’s tough for teams.”

Tough, indeed, as shown in Kentucky’s win over Vanderbilt on Wednesday. The Commodores tried to muck things up and slow down the pace of the game with physicality, and for the most part, it worked. The Wildcats shot just 38.6 percent from the field, with Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington, Oscar Tshiebwe and Jacob Toppin combining for just 23 points.

The only problem? Davion Mintz, Keion Brooks Jr. and Kellan Grady combined for 53 points.

It was that all-around effort that again proved why this Kentucky team is so dangerous.

“Our focus is shutting down Kentucky,” Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse said following his team’s 77-70 loss on Wednesday. “We know that (Oscar Tshiebwe) is a huge part of that and that he’s going to give them some points. … He had a pretty good game for them, no more important than Kellan Grady. We were aware of him and what TyTy Washington did to us last game. We knew what (Davion) Mintz was capable of even though he’s been struggling, and (Keion) Brooks was good tonight as well. That kid’s a pro.

“They have a roster full of guys to be concerned about.”

Despite the loss, one that pushed Vanderbilt to 11-10 on the year and 3-6 in conference play, the Commodores are proud of their effort in Lexington. UK came out on top, but nothing came easy for the Wildcats.

“I mean they’re a top-five team in the country,” Vanderbilt star Scotty Pippen Jr. said after the loss. “Thought we came out and we were right there with them. I feel a little banged up and all but we competed and fought. I’m so proud of my guys today and a couple more things we need to clean up and I think we’ll be there next time.”

Kentucky now sits at 18-4 on the year and 7-2 in conference play, good for second in the SEC.