Kentucky might have perimeter defense issues after another big performance

For the third game in a row, Kentucky’s defense saw an opposing perimeter player have a huge day scoring the basketball. A trend seems to be developing.

Against Alabama, off-guard Keon Ellis went for a career-high 28 points in 37 minutes with seven makes from downtown. With a big performance in the first half, the junior college product helped Alabama build a 41-28 lead with just over five minutes left in the first half.

Against LSU, lead guard Xavier Pinson went for a season-high 26 points with eight assists in 34 minutes. The Missouri transfer needed 20 field goal attempts to get there, but a hot start allowed LSU to build a 27-16 lead before Kentucky took over in the second half.

Again on Saturday, it happened again. Redshirt senior JD Notae went for 30 points with eight assists in 38 minutes on 26 field goal attempts. The former Jacksonville transfer lit the Bud Walton crowd on fire with an early flurry of shotmaking as Arkansas went on an early 15-0 run to set the terms of the game.

As Kentucky heads into March, there is plenty to like about the offense, and the lineup is finally back to full strength. However, the Wildcats seem to have a major defensive issue.

Getting TyTy Washington back should help

Even back in the preseason, everyone knew that Kentucky did not have a true defensive stopper on the perimeter. Both TyTy Washington and Sahvir Wheeler are a bit undersized and Kellan Grady was never really known for his defense at Davidson. However, with just one piece missing, the defense has kind of fallen apart.

After a sluggish first half against Arkansas, both Washington and Wheeler seemed to get their legs under them in the second half. The latter was aggressive on offense, and the former was assigned to Notae on defense for a good chunk of the half. Kentucky responded by holding Notae to 12 points on 12 shots with three turnovers after halftime.

Getting healthy should help. However, Tennessee’s starting backcourt trio went for 49 combined points with seven three-point makes in the 76-63 win against a Kentucky team that had everyone in the lineup.

The Wildcats have some legitimate defensive issues, and those are concerning heading into a tournament that is often defined by guard play.