Kentucky's defense showing signs of improvement in last 2 games

It’s only a two-game sample size, but Kentucky’s defense has looked much improved compared to most of this season.

The Wildcats currently rank third in the country in points per game at 86.3. But over the last two contests, home games against South Carolina and Tennessee, Mark Pope‘s team has failed to score more than 80 points. And yet, Kentucky has come out with wins in both behind motivated defensive performances.

To be totally transparent, South Carolina and Tennessee aren’t exactly offensive juggernauts. The Gamecocks own the Southeastern Conference’s worst offense, one that ranks 145th nationally, per KenPom. The Volunteers are better as a Top 40 offense in the country, but still among the lower half in the league.

All that being said, you have to play the team next on the schedule. Kentucky’s defense has been just as important in the last two wins as the offense. After giving up 98 points to Ole Miss last week, something was going to have to change. It appears it has. Let’s look at some numbers.

South Carolina scored just 57 points in Tuesday’s 23-point loss to the Wildcats, its second-fewest of the entire season. Lamont Paris‘ group shot 32.8 percent from the floor and went 4-22 (18.2 percent) from beyond the arc — both well below their season averages. The Gamecocks had just 19 first-half points. A team that averages over 13 assists per game finished with only seven.

Meanwhile, Tennessee posted a mere 64 points on Tuesday night. The Volunteers managed a solid overall shooting percentage of 42.6, but a 3-18 (16.7 percent) mark from deep proved too tough to overcome. Tennessee had just 26 first-half points. The Vols’ 11 assists were far below the season average of 15.8. Tennessee’s leading scorer, Chaz Lanier, finished 3-13 shooting.

This is the first time all season Kentucky has kept back-to-back opponents under 65 points. The ‘Cats have done a great job setting the defensive tone from the opening tip.

“We got stops early, that’s where our whole focus was defensively the last few games, just trying to lock in on the defensive side,” Senior wing Ansley Almonor said after the Tennessee win. “I thought we did that great today. Especially those (early) possessions, we got a lot of stops and that’s what helped win us the game.”

Having Lamont Butler, a defense-first guard and one of the best defenders in the country, back in the lineup for these last two wins certainly helped, but we should also note how Kentucky’s defense performed once he aggravated his shoulder against Tennessee. Butler missed the final 8:40 of Tuesday night’s matchup with the Vols. At the time, UK led 54-52. The ‘Cats outscored Rick Barnes‘ team 21-12 the rest of the way as UT shot 4-14.

Pope specifically highlighted Koby Brea‘s effort on defense after the South Carolina win. The two had a deep conversation about defense after the loss to Ole Miss. Brea, who will take on an even larger role if Butler and Jaxson Robinson miss extended time, was good again on that end of the floor against Tennessee, even snagging two steals for the first time all season.

“(Pope) was like, ‘Are you gonna bring that same energy today?'” Brea said Tuesday night. “And I’m like Coach I’m doing this every game, every practice now.“

Kentucky’s defense still has plenty of work to do. KenPom ranks that unit at 82nd in the country. But the last couple of outings have been encouraging. The Wildcats’ next two opponents, Texas and Vanderbilt, sit inside the country’s Top 35 best offenses. Even with the possibility of not having Butler, we’ll have a better idea of just how improved the defense is come next Wednesday.