KSR Today: Kentucky issues statement on the Plains

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adou-thiero-set-the-tone-for-intensity-against-auburn — (Photo by Jake Crandall | USA TODAY NETWORK)

Is Kentucky basketball back? It certainly felt like it on Saturday evening at Neville Arena. We even got to have some fun with a certain Dallas Cowboys gif following the game after Kentucky went into Auburn and controlled the contest for 40 minutes against Bruce Pearl’s squad.

The Quad 1A victory was arguably Kentucky’s best win of the year and has also re-opened a path to a double-bye at the SEC Tournament. Kentucky’s defense has seemingly turned the corner over the last 80 minutes of basketball, and two-game run has setup another big week for the Wildcats.

KSR Today is here to get this beautiful Victory Sunday started.

Kentucky’s defense is the story

Against a top-40 Ole Miss offense on Tuesday, Kentucky held the Rebels to 63 points and less than 0.9 points per possession. Chris Beard’s team shot just 22.7 percent from three (5/22) and had 12 turnovers. For the first time seemingly all season, Kentucky found a way to slow down a good offensive team.

The Wildcats responded to that performance by delivering its best defensive game this season.

A top-25 Auburn offense shot 39.4 percent from two (13/33), 18.2 percent from three (4/22), and had 11 turnovers. The Tigers managed only 59 points in one of their worst offensive outputs of the year. SEC Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome was limited to 14 points on 13 field goal attempts. The game was a total team effort from Kentucky.

Ugonna Onyenso and Adou Thiero combined for 15 defensive rebounds, Reed Sheppard logged five steals, and Onyenso chipped in two blocks. Kentucky forced Auburn into some tough shots and the result was the best performance of the year.

Over the last week, we’ve seen Kentucky improve just over 40 spots in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency rankings. The Wildcats are up to No. 81 overall and continued improvement on that end of the floor will make this a scary team in March.

KSR recaps Kentucky’s win over Auburn

Need some morning reading after the big SEC road win? KSR has everything you need to know from the best performance on the season. With the latest defensive improvement, March expectations in the Bluegrass are beginning to grow again.

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The SEC race heats up

There were two significant developments in SEC basketball over the weekend. LSU beat South Carolina and Kentucky knocked off Auburn. Those outright upsets have created a mess in the middle of standings while Alabama and Tennessee continue to roll.

Alabama (10-2)
Tennessee (9-3)
Auburn (9-4)
South Carolina (9-4)
Kentucky (8-4)
Florida (8-4)
Ole Miss (6-6)
Mississippi State (6-6)
Texas A&M (6-6)
LSU (5-7)
Georgia (4-8)
Arkansas (3-9)
Vanderbilt (2-10)
Missouri (0-12)

The top four teams at the SEC Tournament receive double byes. Kentucky is now a half game back of South Carolina for that final spot. It’s worth noting that tiebreakers could not be on the Big Blue’s side. Due to an 0-1 record against the Gamecocks and a season split with Florida, things could bounce a bad way for Kentucky in a three-way tie scenario.

The race for seeding is wide open with three weeks left in the regular season.

More college basketball on Sunday

The hoops weekend is not over yet. We have the NBA All-Star game on Sunday night after Damian Lillard won the three-point contest, Mac McClung brought home another slam dunk title and Jaylen Brown gave a very nice tribute to former Kentucky guard Terrence Clark on Saturday night in Indianapolis.

Jaylen Brown opens the #ATTSlamDunk final round with a tribute to Terrence Clarke 💙#ATTSlamDunk x #StateFarmSaturday on TNT pic.twitter.com/hzEYsWb1AO
— NBA (@NBA) February 18, 2024