Watch the Tape: Georgia Bulldogs

Nothing that happened on Saturday night at Rupp Arena was normal. The Georgia Bulldogs came in allowing just 70.0 points per game. However, Kentucky scored their 70th point with 15:00 minutes remaining in the second half. The Wildcats won 105-96, but they led by 28 points at the under eight minute media timeout. Then, you have Zvonimir Ivisic. Big Z was finally freed by the NCAA early Saturday afternoon. By Saturday evening, not only did the 7’2″ Croatian check into his first game as a Wildcat, but he put together one of the most memorable debuts in college basketball history. Ivisic finished with 13 points, including 3-4 shooting from beyond the arc, to go along with five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three blocked shots.

By next week, let alone years down the road, Saturday night’s win over the Bulldogs will be remember as the “Big Z game.” However, in the moment, it was hard to not let what happened down the stretch steal some of the joy from an otherwise amazing night. Kentucky committed 14 turnovers, allowed Georgia to score 95 points on 50% shooting, and put them at the free throw line 35 times. The ‘Cats were outscored 27-9 after the under eight minute media timeout. It was downright ugly for that final stretch and made it to where it seemed like the game simply wouldn’t end. Regardless of the ending though, Kentucky hung 105 points on a Top 50 defense, moved to 4-1 in the Southeastern Conference, and introduced Big Z to the world.

As always, we’ve been hard at work in the KSR Film Room breaking down Kentucky’s most recent contest. There was a lot to like about the first 32 minutes of Saturday’s performance. The offense continued to execute at a “best in the country” level and Zvonimir Ivisic exceeded even the wildest of expectations. However, we do once again have to address the defensive issues. Let’s dive on in and take a closer look at the Wildcats’ 105-96 win over the Georgia Bulldogs.

Kentucky’s Offense Continues to Dominate

Mississippi State was ranked ninth in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency before the Wildcats scored 90 points on Wednesday. On Saturday, the Georgia Bulldogs came to Rupp Arena ranked 44th in the same metric and gave up 105 points. There simply isn’t much left to say about Kentucky’s offense. They once again put five scorers in double-figures led by Tre Mitchell with 23 points and Antonio Reeves who added 21 points. DJ Wagner has come into his own contributing 18 points and 10 assists while finishing at a much higher percentage than he was during some of his early season struggles. Then, on top of all of that, you add Zvonimir Ivisic to the mix as he immediately goes 3-4 from deep scoring 13 points. This is the best offense in college basketball.

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There have been a lot of positive developments this season for the Kentucky Wildcats. Better spacing, improved three-point shooting, more playmakers, etc. However, one of the overlook year-to-year improvements has been Antonio Reeves’ ability to score from inside of the arc. That is what has taken him from being the SEC Sixth Man of the Year to a legitimate All-American candidate. Reeves is shooting an incredible 60.5% from two-point range this season. His previous career best was 51.5% as a junior at Illinois State. Last season, he was just 43.3% from two. The Georgia Bulldogs tried to be aggressive at the point of the ballscreen, but Wagner handled the pressure and the ball found Reeves in a closeout situation. Game over.

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Coach Calipari ran this set play quite a bit last season, but this is the first time it has surfaced this year. From a box set, the cross screen for Ugonna Onyenso to bring him to the ball side block while setting a double backscreen for Aaron Bradshaw. The first look is to throw the lob to Bradshaw, but then you also have two shooters popping after setting backscreens. That is really hard action to guard. Antonio Reeves draws a help defender on his initial drive which leads to a wide open Reed Sheppard three. This is truly beautiful offensive execution.

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Kentucky plays at such a fast pace that late shot clock execution rarely comes into play. However, when it does, having playmakers like DJ Wagner comes in handy. The Wildcats displayed some good patience offensively on this possession before Wagner needed to make a play at the five second mark. After Georgia switched the ballscreen it left 6’8″ forward RJ Sunahara on an island against Wagner. That is going to go well for the defense very often. He is such a high-level finisher going to his left.

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Game planning for Kentucky’s offense is nearly impossible. No matter what opposing coaches turn to the ‘Cats seem to have an answer. That certainly was true on Saturday night for Coach Mike White and the Georgia Bulldogs. Here, midway through the second half, you see the ‘Dawgs in a 2-3 Zone. Their 2-3 Zone clearly leans towards some matchup principles so they went ahead and switched the high ballscreen. However, that allowed Mitchell to roll Georgia’s guard down into the post. Reed Sheppard found him with a beautiful pass and Mitchell finished the And-1. Opponents will continue to mix things up against Kentucky, but the execution doesn’t ever seem to waver.

Big Z Makes His Presence Felt

What Zvonimir Ivisic did on Saturday night at Rupp Arena will be remembered forever. After months of waiting, he was finally ruled eligible by the NCAA in the afternoon. Then, just hours later, he was hitting threes and blocking shots against the Georgia Bulldogs. He finished with 13 points, including 3-4 shooting from beyond the arc, to go along with five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three blocked shots. Rupp Arena was absolutely electric as Big Z had his moment. What we experienced was fun, but Ivisic’s impact going forward is what matters more. Kentucky’s spacing, skill, shooting, and rim protection all improved with his insertion into the rotation. One of the country’s best teams just got a mid-January shot in the arm.

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Setting a staggered drag ballscreen with two guys that are 7’1″ and 7’2″ and can pop or roll to the rim seems almost unfair. Georgia’s 5-man stayed with DJ Wagner to help corral him while their 4-man dropped to cover up Aaron Bradshaw on the roll. That left Zvonimir Ivisic wide open on the left wing for a three. Going forward, teams will have to treat him as a legitimate shooting threat. All that will do is open up the lane even more for Kentucky’s guards.

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We will remember the made three-pointers and blocked shots, but the fluidity with which Ivisic moves around is perhaps his most impressive quality. 7’2″ 20-year olds don’t move like this in college basketball. Ivisic controlled the rebound, started the fast break, and ran to the wing were he burned his second three-point attempt. The level of footwork it takes for a guy his size to make this shot is really, really impressive.

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The first thing that stands out in this clip is Kentucky’s offensive alignment. There isn’t another team in the country that can effectively run a 5-Out concept with a pair of 7-footers on the floor. Early in the possession, Zvonimir Ivisic set a ballscreen for DJ Wagner and forced the Georgia Bulldogs to switch. That allowed Wagner to attack a clear mismatch in the second high ballscreen set by Aaron Bradshaw. Then, as Wagner got downhill, Ivisic’s man helped just an enough to give up a clean look from three. It is hard to contest a 7’2″ shooter.

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Zvonimir Ivisic came out of the gate popping to the wings and hit his first three three-point attempts. Then, he capped off his excellent debut rolling to the rim for a big dunk. His ability to do both so effectively will make it hard to keep him off of the floor going forward. This is a simple Horns ballscreen that the Georgia Bulldogs hard hedge leaving Ivisic wide open on the roll. Another important note, look at how Georgia’s defender closes out to Justin Edwards instead of fulling tagging the roll. Edwards still is shooting just 28.9% from three, but he had hit two in this game and is clearly willing to let it fly. That is why it is okay for him to shoot the open ones. It creates situations like this where his defender doesn’t know what to do.

Defensive Concerns Continue

If you wanted to replace the word “continue” with “grow” it would certainly be understandable. For those keeping track at home, Kentucky’s adjusted defensive efficiency is plummeting. Two weeks ago they were in the Top 50 on KenPom. Now, the Wildcats are down to 73rd. They are obviously winning games which is most important, but the threat of what happened in College Station happening again, namely in March, gives a lot of fans some understandable pause. Whether it is getting beat off of the dribble, over helping off of the ball, or simply losing concentration it is pretty much equally opportunity right now in terms of defensive breakdowns. The concerns are real and it is disappointing to see the same mistakes happen game after game. Let’s take a closer look.

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Not being matched up after a free throw is unacceptable. However, it is made even worse when the player you fail to match up to is #1 Abdur-Rahim. This was the second of his seven made threes of the game. That simply cannot happen.

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Tre Mitchell led Kentucky in scoring with 23 points, but he probably gave up just as many defensively against the Georgia Bulldogs. It wasn’t a good film session for him. Early in this clip he is doing a pretty good job and showing some real urgency guarding #1 Abdur-Rahim. However, Mitchell then aggressively jumps much too far into the gap for no reason leaving Abdur-Rahim wide open for three. There was absolutely no reason to be that far off of him. These lapses in concentration need to start happening less.

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The Georgia Bulldogs scored at least three times directly off of out-of-bounds under plays. Kentucky continuously got caught chasing their man too far from the basket and left the rim completely unprotected. DJ Wagner had no reason to chase #4 Demary Jr. off of this screen. Just meet him on the other side of the screen. You shouldn’t be worried about him catching it out there. Then, you have Antonio Reeves completely abandoning the paint to jump out towards the corner. The attention to #1 Abdur-Rahim is admirable, but you have to protect the basket first.

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For all of Kentucky’s defensive issues, their inability to guard ballscreens remains the most glaring. There has to be at least some attempt to dictate what the ball handler does. Do you want to “weak” the ballscreen and force him left? “Strong” the ballscreen and send him right? Play underneath it and just wait for him to drive it at you? When #1 Abdur-Rahim sets it you should probably just switch the ballscreen anyway. However, none of that happens in this clip. DJ Wagner is on his heels and gets smoked downhill to the rim. The Bulldogs also did a great job of sealing their man at the front of the rim.