KSR's takeaways from Kentucky's 63-53 loss to UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic

Where do you even begin with a performance like that? Suppose it’s best to start with the final score, 63-53 in favor of the UCLA Bruins in the CBS Sports Classic. Under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Kentucky Wildcats crumbled, failing to score a single point in the final 4:31 of the game to secure a third loss on the year.

Four minutes. 31 seconds. Zero points. In a real-life college basketball game. 53 points overall, 37 combined for the starters in 153 total minutes played. Can you tell me what Kentucky’s offensive identity is right now, even loosely? Remember all the talk about execution this week and how much improvement the Wildcats have made in that area? Launching difficult shots down the stretch with no rhyme or reason proves otherwise — especially with the game within reach.

0-11 FG to close out the game

Let’s start there, the finish. Following Sahvir Wheeler‘s pull-up jumper to cut the deficit to just two points with 4:31 to go, Kentucky didn’t put the ball in the hoop a single time to close out the game. Not a jumper, not a layup, not even a free throw. Six different players missed shots in that stretch, with nine of the 11 field goal attempts being jumpers.

And it’s not like UCLA caught fire offensively, either. The Bruins didn’t make a field goal between the 4:11 and :42 marks and missed five of eight attempts at the free-throw line in the final 5:37. Kentucky was down just four with 2:26 to go, five with 1:52 to go and six with :42 to go. The chances were there to win this game, but execution could not have been worse.

Hell, if you want to take a step back even further, UCLA hit just 10 of its 25 field-goal attempts and seven of 14 attempts at the line in the second half. Only two made 3-pointers overall, just one per half.

The Bruins weren’t any good offensively. 45.8% overall (27-59), 25.0% from three (2-8) and 46.7% at the line (7-15) is actually pretty bad, especially for a team that entered the day with the third-most efficient offense in college basketball. Unfortunately, the Wildcats were just that much worse.

No offensive identity

Just how much worse? Kentucky finished the day shooting 32.8% from the field (21-64), 28.6% from three (6-21) and 38.5% at the line (5-13). John Calipari was quick to call this team a top-15 offense in college basketball last week vs. Yale, brushing off the eight points scored in 10 minutes to close out the first half (which included a 6:29 stretch of zero made field goals). In reality, the Wildcats ranked No. 93 overall in offense vs. top-50 opponents. That matched the eye test.

Following today’s loss vs. UCLA, Kentucky’s offensive efficiency vs. quality foes took yet another hit, dropping all the way down to No. 157 in the nation. That, too, matches the eye test.

What’s more concerning is the panic the Wildcats played with down the stretch. They fought hard, secured offensive rebounds and got defensive stops, did everything to put themselves in position to pull off the comeback. When it came time to score, though, ball movement stopped and untimely jumpers were launched.

Maybe the worst part of it all? Zero called timeouts during that scoring drought. Clearly in need of a reset and guidance, the players never got it. Instead, the mind-boggling offensive struggles continued through the final buzzer.

At the end of the day, this team has no offensive identity, and it doesn’t appear it’s any closer to finding one.

The four spot is holding this team back

With Keion Brooks Jr. and Bryce Hopkins hitting the transfer portal this past offseason, Jacob Toppin was handed the keys at the four spot, given every opportunity to emerge as the star his potential suggested. He’s gotten the minutes, touches and shots, but through ten games, he hasn’t capitalized. The latest example came against the Bruins, where he was virtually unplayable for much of the game.

Finishing with five points on 2-10 shooting and 0-2 from three to go with three turnovers, Toppin was a liability on both ends of the floor. UCLA standout Jaime Jaquez Jr. torched him defensively while the missed shots and continued on offense, leaving Calipari no choice but to look to the bench for help. Chris Livingston played 24 minutes splitting time at the three and four, while Lance Ware played 14 minutes splitting time at the four and five. One of Kentucky’s best stretches came with both Livingston and Ware teaming up alongside Oscar Tshiebwe at the three, four and five. Nightmare in theory, but hey, they produced.

In fact, those two were arguably the team’s brightest standouts in an otherwise dark and gloomy performance overall. The +/- confirms that, too, with Ware finishing as a +8 and Livingston a -1, the two best on the team. The latter was the team’s leading scorer with 14 points on 5-8 shooting and 2-3 from three to go with four rebounds and a block, while the latter added two points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal.

It’s telling that Toppin didn’t score a single point until Livingston’s second-half explosion, one that saw the freshman forward drop 11 points in the first seven minutes. From there, Toppin scored all five of his points (2-6 FG, 0-2 3PT) and pull down four of his seven total rebounds. The double-digit deficit didn’t trigger his aggressive play, the internal competition did.

The fact of the matter is Toppin simply hasn’t stepped up. Daimion Collins — seen as Toppin’s backup at the four going into the year — just isn’t ready. Hell, he didn’t even play on Saturday. It’s past time to take a long, hard look at that position and figure out a new plan of attack moving forward. If tonight’s play is any indication, Livingston may have to be the answer.

Shooting struggles continue

The situational numbers are what they are, but the individual shooting struggles should be noted. Entering the game shooting 57.1% from the field and 51.6% from three, Cason Wallace had his worst offensive performance of the season, knocking down just two of 13 attempts overall and one of seven on 3-pointers. It was also another big-game letdown for Antonio Reeves, who added six points on 2-13 shooting and 2-8 from three. Outside the Michigan win in London, the Illinois State transfer has really struggled in the spotlight.

And then you have CJ Fredrick, who continues to be a mystery to open his Kentucky career. After scoring at least 14 points in three of his first four games, he’s scored just three total in his last three games, zero in back-to-back games vs. Yale and UCLA. On Saturday, the senior guard played just six total minutes with zero shot attempts. Only Ugonna Onyenso played fewer minutes in the loss.

In the frontcourt, Toppin was just 2-10 and Oscar Tshiebwe was 4-12, including 0-4 from the line. The latter’s struggles are even more frustrating considering UCLA’s entire frontcourt struggled with foul trouble, something Kentucky simply couldn’t capitalize on. The Bruins also entered the day as a team that struggled immensely with interior defense, specifically on post-ups. Rather than having a field day in this regard, Tshiebwe only posted up twice in the entire game, scoring once. Inexcusable from a game-planning perspective, especially with UCLA bigs Adem Bona and Kenneth Nwuba combining for nine total fouls and just 25 minutes.

Free throws haven’t been free

To keep it short and sweet, 5-13 isn’t good enough at the line. Kentucky drops to No. 304 in the country in free-throw shooting with a 66.3% hit rate through 10 games.

“We’re not a bad free-throw shooting team,” Calipari said after the loss. “We were today.”

The season numbers directly contradict that.

Kentucky now 4-13 vs top-25 foes

We’ll keep this one short, too. There’s not much explaining necessary, the stat speaks for itself.

Kentucky is 4-13 vs. AP Top 25 opponents since 2019-20, matching a stretch between Feb. 17, 2007 to Dec. 5, 2009 where Billy Gillispie was the program’s head coach. It also brings the program’s losing streak against ranked opponents to four games, second-longest of the Calipari era. Three losses prior to Christmas is also tied for second-worst in that span, behind only 2020-21 with five — the 9-16 season.

Simply not good enough.