At the half: Kentucky trails Missouri 42-30

Positive Vibes Only night is not going well. After 20 minutes of play, No. 19 Kentucky trails Missouri 42-30. It sounds crazy to say, but it’s been even worse than that score indicates.

Mizzou kept the momentum from the big win over Illinois rolling, jumping out to a 17-7 lead five and a half minutes in. Aside from a mini-run with four minutes left in the half, Kentucky just hasn’t been able to keep up. The same issues are still plaguing this squad. The Cats are shooting 40% (12-30) from the field, but only 16.7% (2-12) from the three. The Tigers are making 48.5% (16-33) from the field and 42.9% (6-14) from three. You can’t measure it in numbers, but the spacing and communication are still all over the place.

Cason Wallace is Kentucky’s leading scorer with 10 points (4-8 FG, 2-6 3PT), but picked up his second foul at the 5:22 mark and went to the bench. Oscar Tshiebwe has 9 points and 12 rebounds. Jacob Toppin and CJ Fredrick are scoreless, with Fredrick exiting the game with a jammed finger on his right hand. He will not return. Adou Thiero, whom Calipari said will get more playing time, has yet to see the floor.

In the spirit of the day, I’m positive Kentucky needs to start hitting their shots or the Cats will be taking a loss home with them from Columbia.

Box Score