Kentucky gave up 96 points and still improved its defensive numbers

Kentucky jumped 44 spots in KenPom’s defensive efficiency ratings over two weeks, moving from No. 112 nationally after the 98-84 loss at Ole Miss to No. 68 overall after the 82-61 win over Vanderbilt. It was one of the biggest talking points entering the Wildcats’ matchup at Alabama, set to take on the nation’s top-ranked scoring offense also ranked No. 3 in offensive efficiency. Could they keep it up against the Crimson Tide after giving up 102 points in the same matchup back in January?

They would allow 96 points in the rematch with Alabama shooting 52.5 percent overall, 35.5 percent from three and 84.0 percent at the line, scoring an impressive 1.247 points per possession.

Setback or a product of the competition? Mark Pope gave credit where it was due — Mark Sears is the reigning SEC Player of the Year and the Tide are coming off a Final Four, after all — while also acknowledging his group did not meet expectations in Tuscaloosa on that end of the floor.

“Alabama’s a terrific team and they put us in tough situations that we didn’t respond well to on the defensive end,” Pope said. “It’s a work in progress. This is growth, guys. We talk about this all the time. This was not our best defensive performance tonight. Mark Sears had a lot to do with that, and Alabama had a lot to do with that, and we had a lot to do with that.

“We’re getting down the stretch run, and us getting better on this end is something that we’re obsessing about and we’re determined to do. If we do it well, then we’re going to have a good stretch.”

Sears went for 30 points on 17 shots while Aden Holloway added five 3-pointers, plus three more from Chris Youngblood. The latter two average 2.4 and 1.9 makes from deep per game on the year, respectively. As a team, they outpaced their season scoring average, despite coming in ranked No. 1 nationally in that category as is. A good offensive team played well.

What makes them so difficult to slow down?

“They play really fast, they have a lot of skilled guys,” Koby Brea said of the Tide. “I feel like everybody knows their role and they play as a team, guard pretty well. Offensively, they’re getting out and running, they help each other play to their own skills. When you have a group like that, it’s kind of hard to slow something down. You have new guys coming off the bench able to do the same thing.”

What if I told you, though, Kentucky actually improved defensively in the loss? Seems crazy, I know, but the Wildcats moved up another five spots in KenPom’s defensive efficiency ratings to No. 63 overall.

UK had the 14th-best defense in the country in that four-game span post-Ole Miss and pre-Alabama. When factoring in the performance in Tuscaloosa, plus the rest of the college basketball landscape, the Wildcats are now 11th-best nationally since that trip to Oxford.

Only UNLV (1), Clemson (2), New Mexico State (3), Liberty (4), Dartmouth (5), Saint Mary’s (6), Arkansas (7), Texas A&M (8), Iowa State (9) and St. John’s (10) have been better. That’s sixth among high-major teams, folks.

That’s a product of putting defense at the top of the priority list since the no-show against the Rebels, Kentucky committed to rebranding its reputation on that end of the floor.

“Our main focus has just been guarding the ball. I feel like we’re more focused on the defensive end,” Brea said. “If we do that well, the offense takes care of itself. When we come and guard, we’re going to win games.

“For this group, I feel like defensively is where we’ve got to take the next step. I feel like we’ve been doing a good job of that, we’re just hungry to keep working.”

The Wildcats must be better than they were down the stretch in Tuscaloosa, obviously, but don’t discount the team’s overall defensive growth over the last three weeks. The numbers suggest they’ve not only been solid, but among the best in the country.