Watch the Tape: Arkansas Razorbacks

It is only fitting that Kentucky’s regular season ended with one more roller coaster ride. We’ve already seen a bad home loss to South Carolina answered with six straight SEC wins. Then, a beatdown at home against the Arkansas Razorbacks with a subsequent loss at Georgia was answered with four straight victories. Now, a tough Senior Day home loss to Vanderbilt was followed by a short-handed 88-79 win over the Razorbacks in Fayetteville. Just when you least expect it the Wildcats seem to prove they are not to be counted out in the month of March.

Expectations couldn’t have been much lower across Big Blue Nation going into Saturday’s contest at Arkansas. The ‘Cats had just lost at home to Vandy on Wednesday and starting point guard Cason Wallace was ruled out with a lower leg injury. Couple that with no Sahvir Wheeler and a hampered CJ Fredrick and this team was officially the walking wounded. However, a 37-point performance by Antonio Reeves helped spark one of the best wins of the season. In the absence of a true point guard, Reeves, along with Adou Thiero and Jacob Toppin, handled point guard duties and did a great job filling in. Kentucky was actually able to use Arkansas’ pressure defense against them to create easy baskets. It was an all-around gutty performance by the ‘Cats.

Kentucky finished off the regular season with a record of 21-10 overall and 12-6 in the Southeastern Conference. Saturday’s win also secured a #3 seed and double bye in the SEC Tournament. The Wildcats will play the late game on Friday night in Nashville against #6 Vanderbilt or #11 Georgia/#14 LSU. There will be NCAA Tournament seed lines to earn down at Bridgestone Arena this coming week. Currently sitting as a #7 seed, Kentucky could certainly improve to a #6 or even a #5 with a couple of tournament victories. However, most important will be getting Cason Wallace healthy for March Madness.

As always, we’ve been breaking this one down in the KSR Film Room. The Wildcats dominated offensively against an elite defense despite not having a true point guard. Execution was high, Reeves and Toppin dominated, and the defense executed the best game plan of the season. It was a true team win for both the players and the coaching staff in Fayetteville. Now, let’s dive on in and take a look at what led to Kentucky taking down the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Antonio Reeves Game

When you go into a game short handed you need someone to step up. However, you don’t really ever expect someone to go off for 37 points in a game against a Top 20 defense. On Wednesday night Antonio Reeves played one of his worst games as a Wildcat shooting 4-17 from the floor and 5-8 from the free throw line. He answered though by pouring in his 37 points against the Arkansas Razorbacks on 12-17, 2-4, 11-11 shooting. It was an incredibly efficient performance while playing all 40 minutes and turning the ball over just once. Let’s take a look at what will become known around Lexington as the Antonio Reeves game.

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You can start to become really dangerous offensively when you settle into some go-to actions. That is exactly what Coach Calipari has done with this zoom action for Antonio Reeves. He plays with such good pace and explodes out of his cut to get open. Then, he displays excellent athleticism and balance to stop on a dime and nail the three-point jumper. Not much you can do here defensively if you are the Arkansas Razorbacks.

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When playing on the road against a good team you have to make some shots like this to come away victorious. The Arkansas Razorbacks are going to pressure the ball and force you to break away from your offense to go make a play. On Saturday afternoon, the Wildcats made enough plays to win the game. #4 Davis was heating up the ball and pressuring Reeves all the way out near half court. Just about all he could do was put his head down and drive it hard to the rim. This admittedly isn’t a super high percentage shot, but it is one Reeves can make and it was the type of shot it took to beat Arkansas.

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It is plays like this that make you an All-SEC caliber guard. Antonio Reeves attracts so much attention beyond the three-point line because of his high-level shooting ability. However, he is also good enough off of the bounce that it is hard to guard him 30 feet from the basket. The Razorbacks learned that the hard way on Saturday as Reeves torched them in multiple ways on Saturday afternoon. When he was pressured away from the basket he made them pay by attacking the rim.

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Coach Calipari and his staff have gotten very deserved credit for their defensive game plan. However, they also schemed very well on the offensive end of the floor. The Arkansas Razorbacks apply pressure both on the ball and in the passing lanes. That means there isn’t always a lot of help in the middle of the floor. Off-ball screening and cutting can be effective if you play towards the middle of the floor. You see that here with the screen at the wing for Antonio Reeves. He curls it right towards the free throw line where he is wide open for the pull-up. That is beautiful offensive execution.

Offensive Execution Against a Top 20 Razorbacks Defense

Over the last six weeks or so we have seen this Kentucky offense become a Top 20 group in the country. Coach Calipari has settled into a seven or eight man rotation that has worked. The offense has become comfortable with a handful of set plays and actions that work in the half court. Then, above all else, guys like Antonio Reeves and Jacob Toppin have started to play at a very high level. Per Bart Torvik, the Wildcats have the seventh best offense in the country since January 14th. If you shrink the sample size down to February 15th the ‘Cats jump to fourth best. They are officially hitting their stride at the right time of year here in March.

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Kentucky came out of the gate successfully using the Arkansas Razorbacks pressure against them. With as much as they are up on the ball and in the passing lanes it leaves entries into the post pretty open. Also, with an undersized #11 Graham at the five he was trying to front Oscar Tshiebwe down low. That opened up the high-low opportunity and Jacob Toppin delivered a perfect pass. This was really good execution to get Tshiebwe going early in the game.

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The Wildcats got meaningful contributions from all eight guys that stepped on the floor on Saturday. Without a point guard, freshman Adou Thiero was thrust into playing over 24 minutes in a hostile atmosphere against a Top 20 defense. He showed no fear against the Arkansas Razorbacks finishing with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and just 2 turnovers. This is another perfect example of using their defensive pressure against them. Coach Musselman dialed up the half court trap, but Jacob Toppin just passes over the top to Thiero who attacks the rim for an extremely athletic finish.

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We have focused a lot over the last several weeks on Kentucky’s offensive improvements in the half court. However, they are still at their best when they can run in transition. That remained true against Arkansas on Saturday. After the big rebound by Chris Livingston, Jacob Toppin pushes the ball up the floor in a hurry before tossing it back to a cutting CJ Fredrick. Then, Fredrick attacked the baseline as Lance Ware circled to the front of the rim and Antonio Reeves slid to the corner for the drift pass. Beautiful execution both in transition and on the baseline drive.

Best Defensive Game Plan, Execution of the Season

Coach Calipari and the Kentucky Basketball staff deserve major credit for their game plan on Saturday. After allowing the Arkansas Razorbacks to shoot 28-42 from two-point range while attempting just nine three-pointers at Rupp Arena they came in determined to pack it in this time around. That game plan worked to perfection forcing the Razorbacks into 22 three-point attempts and holding them to just 18-48 shooting from two. It was absolutely one of Kentucky’s best defensive performances of the season at Bud Walton Arena. Let’s take a look at the film.

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Pack it in, stay in front of the ball, and force Arkansas into jump shots. That is the recipe for success against one of the worst three-point shooting teams in college basketball. Kentucky executed that game plan very well on Saturday afternoon on their way to a big road win. On this possession you see the Wildcats playing underneath the ballscreens and handoffs, sagging off of non-shooters, and then forcing #13 Walsh, a 27.3% three-point shooter, into a contested step back as the shot clock winds down. You can’t get much better defensive execution than that.

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Back in Lexington #13 Walsh went 4-4 against the ‘Cats and scored 13 points. Staying in front of the ball due to poor closeouts was an issue despite Walsh’s poor shooting ability. However, this time around, Kentucky forced him into taking six three-point attempts as he finished 4-12 overall from the field. This was a great job by Lance Ware closing out short, waiting for Walsh to drive it at him, and then being physical on his left shoulder to force the miss. Those are the sort of personnel-specific decisions that help you win games in the month of March.

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The Wildcats put the game on ice with one last big defensive stop in the final minutes. Defense is all about making decisions on what you are willing to give up. Against the best teams you can’t cover everything. When you are playing the Arkansas Razorbacks you want to stay between the ball and the basket and try to contest everything. Also, even at the high-major Division I level, guys are generally much better going to their strong hand. If you can make guys finish contested two-pointers going away from their strong hand you will give yourself a good chance of winning. Here, Adou Thiero jumped underneath the initial ballscreen to meet #13 Smith Jr. on the other side and cut off the drive. Then, he kept him going left and forced the missed runner. We will live with that shot every single time.