KSR's quick takeaways from Kentucky's win over Miles College

Kentucky is now two for two in exhibition games, with the Wildcats knocking off Miles College by a final score of 80-71. It was the team’s final exhibition matchup leading up to its regular-season opener against Duke on Tuesday.

What were the biggest takeaways from the win? And what should fans expect as the team prepares for its trip to New York City for the Champions Classic and beyond?

A first half performance to forget

An ugly start quickly turned into an abysmal half, with Miles College taking a 46-39 lead at the break. Through 20 minutes, the Golden Bears managed to shoot 11-15 from three, good for an absurd 73.3%. They shot 58.6% from the field overall in that span.

As for the Wildcats, they didn’t even shoot it poorly. They still managed to hit 54.5% from three (6-11) and 46.7% overall (14-30), with Kellan Grady leading the way with 11 points at half. Elsewhere, UK matched the total number of turnovers with nine, outrebounded Miles 16-14, doubled the points in the paint, and had more fastbreak points.

The issues simply came down to a hot shooting start for the Golden Bears.

Sahvir Wheeler is a hooper

With Kentucky’s back against the wall at the break, Sahvir Wheeler was the first player to fight back and shift the momentum back the opposite direction.

Wheeler finished the day with 15 points on 6-9 shooting and 2-4 from three to go with six assists, three rebounds and two steals. He still finished with four turnovers — a number Coach Cal said was too high for him during the preseason — but it was undoubtedly a strong performance for Kentucky’s starting point guard.

It was an effort that earned praise from Miles head coach Fred Watson after the game.

“(He brings) energy,” said Watson. “I told them, “He’s going to wear down eventually,” and he never wore down. You just can’t get past him. … He’s a pro defender, you can’t get by him. I don’t care what you do. … He’s strong as an ox, can’t bump off of him. He’s a strong defender.”

Between the tough defense, strong finishes at the rim, and made jumpers, it was Wheeler’s best performance as a Wildcat to date.

Kellan Grady finally gets rolling

The Davidson transfer was the glue holding things together in the first half, putting up 11 points (4-5 FG, 3-3 3PT) at the break. To close things out, he finished with 13 points (5-8 FG, 3-3 3PT) to go with one rebound, one assist, one steal and zero turnovers in 22 minutes.

At Pro Day, John Calipari said Grady hadn’t been able to adjust to the speed and athleticism of SEC basketball. There was a point he wasn’t sure if the Davidson transfer would ever come around.

“This is all new to him because he’s playing faster than he’s ever played,” Calipari said at the time. “He’s been so well-coached in the game of basketball (at Davidson), but the speed, the athleticism, the length, it’s different for him. It took him a while. I’ll be honest with you, three weeks ago, you started looking like, ‘Man, I’m not sure.’”

After struggling in the team’s first exhibition game — he finished with just seven points on 3-8 shooting and 1-4 from three — it was a strong turnaround in game two. He was efficient and comfortable in the catch-and-shoot, certainly a bright spot for the team as it prepares for Duke.

Interior struggles continue

The backcourt was strong, as expected. Kentucky’s three starting perimeter pieces combined for 43 points on 17-30 shooting overall to go with 13 combined assists. No real issues there.

The frontcourt, though, remains a major question mark. Oscar Tshiebwe finished with 12 rebounds, but added just four points on 1-3 shooting and 2-5 from the line. He also had three fouls and two turnovers in 23 minutes.

Outside of Tshiebwe, Daimion Collins and Lance Ware weren’t able to provide much of anything. The two frontcourt pieces combined for zero points on 0-5 shooting to go with five rebounds and one blocked shot in 23 total minutes. Collins was a -8 in 12 minutes and Ware was a -1 in 11 minutes, two of just four players on the roster with a negative plus/minus in the win.

If Tshiebwe deals with foul trouble or injury — he missed four days of practice this past week — Kentucky has yet to prove it has enough in the frontcourt to make up for his absence.

Looking for more

Let’s face it, Kentucky didn’t show nearly enough to spark optimism going into its matchup against Duke. For a team that dominates inside and is led by arguably the most impressive freshman in America in Paolo Banchero, a nine-point win over Miles College just four days before the Champions Classic is worrisome.

First it was interior defense to open exhibition play, now it’s perimeter defense. Offense doesn’t appear to be an issue — UK did shoot 50% from the field and 58% from three in the win — but defensive struggles have been glaring in back-to-back exhibition matchups against inferior competition.

No more tune-up games to work through the kinks. Real competition begins Tuesday, and it doesn’t get bigger than the Champions Classic vs. Duke at Madison Square Garden.

Time to hit reset and get back to work.