Kentucky lost by playing South Carolina basketball

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Kentucky vs. South Carolina — (© Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports)

Second-year head coach Lamont Paris got his signature win at South Carolina on Tuesday night at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks had a great game plan, hit open shots, and sent notice to the SEC and college basketball at-large that this is a legitimate team that will be dancing in March.

For the first time really all season, South Carolina did what everyone else on Kentucky’s schedule had struggled to do. Make the Wildcats play a half-court game with long possessions.

Turns out that is not a winning recipe for John Calipari’s squad.

In the 79-62 road loss in Columbia, we saw Kentucky play its lowest possession total of the season. According to KenPom data, the game finished at 63 possessions. This was only the second game since the first week of the season to finish under 70 possessions. South Carolina played the game they always play. The Gamecocks currently rank No. 351 in adjusted pace. This is a team that plays at a snail’s pace. Paris’ group has now played 15 games in a row under 70 possessions.

Kentucky got lured into playing a style that they are not suited for.

South Carolina walked the ball up the court, bumped cutters, posted a solid defensive rebound percentage (66.7%), and contested shots at the rim (9/22). Kentucky was unable to counterpunch. The Wildcats failed to speed the game up, got two-point shot heavy (79% field goal attempt distribution from two-point range), and played too much isolation basketball (8 assists on 25 made baskets).

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There are only three other teams in the SEC that play near as slow as South Carolina. Kentucky has played two of them. The Wildcats lost an overtime game at Texas A&M and built a huge lead against Mississippi State before securing a 13-point home win. The return trip to Starkville on Feb. 27. could be difficult. Then there is Vanderbilt who might be so bad it doesn’t matter what tempo the game is played at.

Kentucky likely won’t face many games like Tuesday night, but there is a chance that the Wildcats could see this style of play in the postseason. Calipari’s team must not get sucked into playing on someone else’s terms in a high-leverage spot.