Watch the Tape: Florida Gators

What a difference 11 days can make. On February 11 the Kentucky Wildcats lost at Georgia to fall to 16-9 on the season with a 7-5 record in the Southeastern Conference. Their only Quad 1 win at the time was the road victory at Tennessee. Now, after the game on February 22nd, the ‘Cats are 19-9 overall, alone in third place in the SEC with a 10-5 record, and have five Quad 1 victories. Kentucky took care of business at the O’Connell Center on Wednesday night defeating the Florida Gators 82-74 to earn their third straight win. Less than two weeks ago it did not look like the Wildcats would make the tournament. However, the only question now is what seed line they can climb to.

Florida is absolutely not the same without Colin Castleton. Even after the last two games playing without their star 5-man opponents shoot just 45.1% from two-point range. However, Arkansas and Kentucky have combined to shoot 63-98 (62.2%) from inside the arc. That is what happens when you lose one of the nation’s best rim protectors. The ‘Cats were led in scoring by Oscar Tshiebwe who finished with 25 points on 12-13 shooting. Jacob Toppin and Chris Livingston each added double-doubles of 19 points and 11 rebounds and 10 points and 15 rebounds respectively. Antonio Reeves added 16 points as well including 11 in the second half. Kentucky struggled some defensively, which we will touch on in the film room, but offensively they continue to excel.

We have once again been hard at work in the KSR Film Room breaking down the Wildcats’ latest victory. The ‘Cats executed at a high level offensively and have really settled into their favorite half court actions. However, the defense faltered too often on Wednesday night which allowed the Gators to hang around. Coming home with a Quad 1 victory is all that mattered though before a big test against Auburn on Saturday at Rupp Arena. Let’s dive on in and take a look at Kentucky’s win over the Florida Gators.

Kentucky’s Offense Executed at a High Level Once Again

The Kentucky Wildcats offense continues to put up impressive numbers during a stretch of playing some of the best defenses in college basketball. Per KenPom, the ‘Cats now have the #15 offense in the country after scoring 71 points in 59 possessions at Mississippi State, 66 points in 63 possessions against Tennessee, and 82 points in 70 possessions in a win over the Florida Gators. Despite playing without two rotation guards this group is playing their best offense of the season as March approaches. The ball is moving with a purpose, on and off ball screening has drastically improved, and guys are playing to their strengths consistently. It is a pretty simple recipe, but it has certainly been working for Coach Calipari and the Wildcats.

---

There is a lot to like about this possession. First of all, the ball is in the scoring area already with 26 seconds still on the shot clock. That gives your offense a great head start. Then, the ball quickly changes sides of the floor not once but twice within the first 10 seconds of the possession. Cason Wallace ends up calling a play that begins with a staggered double set for Chris Livingston out of a Horns alignment. Livingston back cuts the double which allows Wallace to come off of the single downscreen which he curls. The curl essentially turns the downscreen into a ballscreen so Oscar Tshiebwe smartly rolls directly to the rim where he receives the pass for a dunk. Great ball movement, great action, great screening, and great overall execution.

---

One area where Kentucky has drastically improved offensively is in their late clock execution. They were very deliberate against the Florida Gators in getting the ball in Cason Wallace’s hands and calling a play as the shot clock got around 10 seconds. This is in stark contrast to some of the early season struggles where it would just be Sahvir Wheeler trying to make a play off of the dribble. Here, Wallace comes and gets the ball with about 13 seconds on the clock and the ‘Cats get into a Horns ballscreen action. Wallace comes off to his left and Oscar Tshiebwe rolls to the front of the rim. Tshiebwe is able to pin #33 Jitoboh deep inside the restricted arc and finishes an And-1. This is beautiful execution as the shot clock winds down.

---

Antonio Reeves has continued to emerge as a go-to scoring threat for the Wildcats. His ability to shoot from beyond the arc opens up his skills off of the dribble. He doesn’t need to be actually making threes for his three-point shooting to make an impact. This is a simple downscreen action in the middle of the floor that is more so meant to get Oscar Tshiebwe a duck-in at the rim. He certainly does his part by burying his man at the front of the rim. However, Reeves gets his defender in a long closeout situation which is bad news for the Florida Gators. He attacks the closeout downhill for a floater while Tshiebwe has his man sealed. Once again, beautiful execution off of simple offensive action.

---

So much of the time offense can be as simple as putting the ball in your best playmakers hands. You don’t have to run the Princeton or old-school Blocker-Mover Motion to run “good offense.” Letting Cason Wallace attack downhill off of a high ballscreen is equally as good of offense. Down the stretch against the Gators Kentucky’s star freshman made some masterful plays including this left-handed scoop layup to put the ‘Cats up six.

Coach Calipari Has Found Go-To Offensive Actions

Earlier this season it didn’t seem to matter what Kentucky ran because none of it was working. The ball didn’t move well enough, players didn’t execute well enough, and there was constant indecision both on the sidelines and on the court. However, Coach Calipari and the staff seem to have settled in to some offensive actions that work. High ballscreens, specific sets for Antonio Reeves and Chris Livingston, or post up opportunities for Oscar Tshiebwe. The Wildcats executed all the above at different times against the Florida Gators on Wednesday night.

---

One of Kentucky’s recent go-to offensive actions has been this double stack high ballscreen. You can see Coach Calipari or Cason Wallace signal the play by tapping their fists together atop each other. There is so much good offense that can come from this one simple action. First and foremost, Wallace can get to the rim off of the dribble as you see here. However, you also have Oscar Tshiebwe rolling to the rim off of the Antonio Reeves backscreen. Then, you can also get Reeves popping to the three-point line after setting the backscreen. It is hard to guard because Reeves’ man doesn’t want to help on the backscreen at all for fear of giving up a three. Great offensive structure and execution off of this play by Kentucky on Wednesday night against Florida.

---

Chris Livingston has really experienced a breakout over Kentucky’s last five games. The five-star freshman is averaging 11.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game during that span. He truly can be an X-Factor for how far the Wildcats go in March. Part of his strong play has come from Coach Calipari starting to really exploit opposing defenses with his size. When he can get around the rim he is too big, too strong, and too athletic for opponents to match up with. That certainly was true against the Florida Gators once again. This 1-4 High Iverson Cut to curl can be something he scores off of once or twice a game going forward. Beautiful offensive structure with perfect execution.

---

This Floppy action has become a staple of Coach Calipari’s half court offense. It is a very simple action, but also very effective when you have the right personnel. Antonio Reeves attracts a ton of attention when he is running off of a screen. That is the benefit of having a 41.6% three-point shooter on the floor. Reeves is especially dangerous though because he is so much more than just a shooter. His ability to curl the downscreen when his man chases and finish with the little floater makes this action nearly impossible to guard.

Defensive Miscues Kept the Florida Gators in the Game

Unfortunately, we can’t just bury our heads in the sand and act like everything went perfectly Wednesday night. While Kentucky dominated on the offensive end, they did struggle to keep the Florida Gators from consistently penetrating their defense. Containing the dribble has been a persistent problem for the Wildcats’ defense this season. Part of the more recent issues have come from a tweak in ballscreen defense that still hasn’t improved the ‘Cats struggles in that area. Let’s take a look at some of the breakdowns from Wednesday night in Gainesville.

---

Icing ballscreens can be effective when you are deeper on the wing and you know the screen is coming. However, it is really difficult as you move towards the middle of the floor and the ballsceen gets on you quickly. There simply isn’t time to communicate and be positioned correctly. After struggling mightily game after game with their drop coverage, the Wildcats have started to try and ice more ballscreens of late. However, it does open you up to dribble penetration like this when you don’t execute the coverage correctly. Chris Livingston jumps out to force #24 Kugel away from the screen, but Oscar Tshiebwe doesn’t have time to get into position to contain the dribble. The result is an easy right hand drive and dunk.

---

Kentucky continues to apply too much perimeter ball pressure when guarding opponents that cannot shoot. #11 Lofton is a 27.6% three-point shooter on the season. There is absolutely no reason to be out on the perimeter chasing him around. If you are able to pressure him while staying in front then that is fine. However, if you are going to get beat off of the dribble then you just need to back up. This is bad footwork and bad positioning by Cason Wallace. It would also serve the ‘Cats well to back off on the perimeter some due to the lack of an elite rim protector. Oscar Tshiebwe provides next to no resistance at the end of this drive.