Last shorthanded meeting with LSU told us plenty about Kentucky

To begin the 2022 portion of the schedule, Kentucky made the trip to LSU for the first conference away game of the season following four consecutive 25-plus point blowout wins. The Wildcats were rounding into shape and beginning to look like a team that could compete for a national title thanks to what was looking like an elite offense.

However, the Tigers beat the Wildcats by five on a Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, and that result told us a lot about what the rest of the season would be like for the 2021-22 Kentucky team.

Lineup health has been a major storyline

Early in the first half against LSU, a hard screen knocked Sahvir Wheeler out of the game as the point guard only played four minutes. Wheeler would miss the next two games against Georgia and Vanderbilt. Later in the year, the transfer would suffer a wrist injury against Tennessee and just missed the Alabama win at home.

Late in the LSU game, TyTy Washington would suffer an injury and be pulled from the lineup as Kentucky was outscored 24-10 after taking a 50-41 lead with just over 13 minutes remaining in the second half. Washington would return to the lineup the next game but would get hurt against Auburn and only play nine minutes leading to another absence against Mississippi State. Washington would then get hurt again versus Florida and would be pulled early in the next game against Tennessee as the freshman recovered from a lower leg injury.

The LSU game was a sign that fighting through injuries was unfortunately going to be a season-long battle for Kentucky.

In the non-conference, Keion Brooks Jr. missed the North Florida game with an illness. Davion Mintz sat out three consecutive games in November. Jacob Toppin has had lingering injury issues forcing five game absences this season.

You cannot tell the story of the 2021-22 Kentucky men’s basketball team without mentioning the bad injury luck, but the Wildcats do have a chance to get healthy before a March run begins in a couple of weeks.

Playing without a major contributor

Due to all of the injury attrition, Kentucky has been forced to play at less than full strength more times than not. We’ve seen both good and bad when this has happened.

Facing both Florida and Alabama at home, the lineup was not faced. The Wildcats scorched the Rupp Arena nets in both games averaging 1.32 points per possession against the Gators and 1.41 points per possession against the Crimson Tide. Both matchups were games where the tempo slowed down as possessions were limited.

However, Alabama and Florida have not been good on defense this season. The Gators are No. 10, and the Tide is No. 11 in SEC defensive efficiency with each ranking outside of the top-50 nationally. However, against good defenses, there have been some issues when the lineup is shorthanded.

In the loss to LSU, Kentucky finished with 0.85 points per possession and a turnover rate of 21.1 percent in the 65-60 loss where both Sahvir Wheeler and TyTy Washington missed time. The Tigers currently rank No. 3 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency.

With a hobbled TyTy Washington, Kentucky scored 0.93 points per possession with a turnover rate of 20.6 percent in the 13-point loss to Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena. There have been some issues with good defenses away from home.

However, Kentucky gets LSU at home on Wednesday night. The Wildcats have been excellent on offense when playing at Rupp Arena this season. The status of the two lead guards is unknown, but the contest presents the team with another excellent quality win opportunity.

However, the results tell us that Kentucky must be healthy when the team travels to Bud Walton Arena on Saturday. Arkansas has the best defense in the SEC, and the Wildcats need their entire roster to be high-quality defensive teams.

Get 100 percent healthy, and there might not be a team that can stop Kentucky in March.