Watch the Tape: Illinois State Redbirds

Friday night’s basketball game was a good way to remove the bad taste left over from a frustrating football loss. The Kentucky Wildcats sputtered a bit early on again, but would go on to win 96-70 against the Illinois State Redbirds. Offensively, it was more of the same from the ‘Cats. Six players scored eight or more points led by Antonio Reeves with 27. As a team there were 23 assists on 36 made field goals and only six turnovers. Also, Kentucky connected on 11 of 25 three-point attempts. They are now shooting 41.6% from deep on the season which is third nationally behind only Baylor and Dayton. It was more of the same that we’ve seen all season from the Wildcats offensively. However, the same could largely be said defensively as well.

Illinois State came into Rupp Arena as a team that had really struggled offensively this season. They were 288th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency and were near the very bottom in terms of three-point shooting percentage. To Kentucky’s credit, the Redbirds didn’t exactly light it up from the field. They were held to just 32.9% shooting overall and shot 8-35 (22.9%) from three-point range. However, the Wildcats front court was completely outplayed by Myles Foster who came in averaging 9.6 points per game. The senior forward would go on to score 20 points and pull down 15 rebounds in Lexington. In total, the Redbirds collected 24 offensive rebounds. Straight line drives from the perimeter remained an issue too.

As always, we’ve been hard at work inside of the KSR Film Room breaking down Kentucky’s most recent contest. The Wildcats went a lot of true dribble-drive offense in the half court which spread Illinois State out and led to a bunch of opportunities to finish at the rim. 5-Out concepts remained, and even shined, with lineups that featured two big men. We will highlight some of how Coach Calipari is running offense with Tre Mitchell and Aaron Bradshaw playing together. Additionally, we will touch on how the offense can still improve even more with one small tweak. Finally, yes, we will address the continued concerns on the defensive end of the floor. Let’s dive on in and take a closer look at Kentucky’s 96-70 win over the Illinois State Redbirds.

Maintaining 5-Out Spacing With Two Big Men

When Aaron Bradshaw returned there was plenty of discussion about what it would do to Kentucky’s offense. Big Blue Nation had grown accustomed to the 5-Out style and wasn’t ready to see it go away. Then, Ugonna Onyenso returned creating even more potential concern. Despite some overreaction to certain press conference soundbites, there has been nothing to worry about. The Wildcats offense is largely unchanged even when they play two front court pieces together. We got to see quite a bit of that against the Illinois State Redbirds due to the absence of Adou Thiero. Let’s take a look at how Coach Calipari and company has maintained the offensive spacing while playing two big men at the same time.

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This possession begins with a clear out for Antonio Reeves to try and play one-on-one with the entire left side of the floor open. Then, when he gets cut off, the ‘Cats flow right into a high ballscreen for DJ Wagner. Using Aaron Bradshaw as a ballscreener helps to maintain great spacing. Wagner rejects this one and drives it left for an easy layup. You can see how Illinois State won’t help off of Reeves at all. Excellent offensive structure while playing Mitchell and Bradshaw together.

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Ugonna Onyenso is an elite rim-runner. You can always count on him busting it down the middle of the floor in transition. That is his way of spacing the floor as it pulls a defender with him and flattens out the Redbirds defense. When Antonio Reeves cuts off of the Rob Dillingham drive he has Onyenso open for a lob at the rim. Kentucky needs to start getting more comfortable throwing it up to their lob threats. However, this time, Reeves finishes the floater.

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This isn’t a play that would traditionally jump off of the screen as a highlight. However, this is what makes Ugonna Onyenso a potential NBA player. It takes really good hands and athleticism to catch this pass on the roll and immediately get up to draw the foul. He can be useful as a roll man because he rolls so hard. Coach Calipari has gone to this fake ballscreen, downscreen action several times of late and it should open up scoring opportunities for guys like Onyesno and Aaron Bradshaw at the rim. It is a great way to utilize them and maintain spacing when they are at the 5.

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Anytime Kentucky is able to force a switch and get a 5-man guarding DJ Wagner it is game over for the defense. The Illinois State Redbirds got stuck on an island a couple of times thanks to early ballscreening action from the ‘Cats. This time it was Ugonna Onyenso who also cleared the lane for Wagner with his hard roll to the rim. Tre Mitchell is Kentucky’s best screener overall, but Onyenso is becoming very effective in his own way.

Potential “Tweak” to Improve Offense Even More

Let’s get into the weeds a little bit. Obviously Kentucky’s offense has been elite to this point in the season. A legitimate argument can be made that they have the best offense in college basketball. Scoring 91.1 points per game means you are doing a lot of things right. However, the last two games, Aaron Bradshaw has been essentially a non-factor. In his first two games of full action he scored 17 points against Penn and 12 points against North Carolina. Then, he was held to just two points against the Louisville Cardinals and Illinois State Redbirds. Concerns over maintaining 5-Out spacing have led to neutralizing his ability around the rim. There are ways you can allow him to play more inside without disrupting spacing.

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When you are the forward in the dunker’s spot as a ballscreen happens on the opposite wing you have two options. You can either “punch” which means slam into your defender at the front of the rim for a duck-in. This also clears the lane for the ball handler as the rim protection is sealed. The other option is to “euro” which means to space away towards the perimeter. Aaron Bradshaw does the latter here. Concern over playing two big men and maintaining spacing has caused Bradshaw to spend more time away from the rim. That neutralizes him as a scoring threat and removes him from offensive rebounding position. Punching more at the rim doesn’t necessarily hurt spacing either as it opens up that driving lane to the rim.

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This ballscreen to downscreen action has become an offensive staple for Kentucky. We’ve already shown a clip of Ugonna Onyenso catching it on the roll as the cutter curls. Now, we get a look at Aaron Bradshaw as the screener. Justin Edwards is able to curl the screen and has Bradshaw wide open for a lob at the rim. However, he settles for the mid-range jump shot. Utilizing the lob threat can unlock another level to this dominant Kentucky offense. There is both traditional spacing in the sense of having players spread throughout the floor, but there is also vertical spacing. That is where Bradshaw and Onyenso can still help this offense. The Wildcats need to allow them to play above the rim more often.

Addressing the Defensive Concerns + Flashes of Improvement

As we enter 2024 the concerns about Kentucky’s defense are real and warranted. They currently rank 53rd in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency when a Top 20 number is historically needed to win a championship. The Illinois State Redbirds were held to just 32.9% shooting on Friday night, but it still wasn’t a great defensive showing from the ‘Cats. There are far too many straight line drives, Myles Foster had his way with Kentucky’s big men inside, and the Redbirds collected a staggering 24 offensive rebounds. Scoring 96 points, blocking shots, and forcing turnovers is a great way to combat otherwise poor defense. However, growth is still absolutely necessary on that end of the floor.

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Right out of the gate Kentucky got exposed guarding the ballscreen against the Illinois State Redbirds. In our scouting report we talked about how much they would ballscreen so a good plan should have been in place. When there is so much time at the point of the screen you have to be able to contain it better. Aaron Bradshaw needs to provide more resistance if he is going to hard hedge. He doesn’t make #3 go away from the basket enough. Also, Tre Mitchell needs to be all the way over to the midline to deflect or steal this pass. Nobody on the floor was ready enough to guard this simple side ballscreen action.

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Two things can be true at the same time. Ugonna Onyenso is an excellent shot blocker. However, Ugonna Onyenso is not a very good defender. #4 Myles Foster, despite being just 6’7″, absolutely buried Onyenso underneath the rim on this play. Also, Onyenso never gets on his right shoulder. Foster is a left hand, right shoulder finisher, but there is absolutely no resistance here defensively keeping him from getting to his spot.

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This is where Kentucky’s defense is able to play at a level above where the metrics place them. They are excellent at turning opportunistic defense into offense. The Wildcats did some really good things in this clip. DJ Wagner was good on the ball. Tre Mitchell corralled the ball handler at the point of the screen. There were sound rotations and closeouts on the perimeter from everyone on the floor. However, Justin Edwards helps for no reason when #1 takes one dribble to his left. You don’t need to help on the left hand drive. That ends up leading to a baseline drive from Edwards’ man, but Reed Sheppard is there to save the day. His steal leads to a dunk on the other end of the floor. Also, credit to Edwards sticking with the play after his defensive lapse.

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This is a nearly perfect defensive possession from Kentucky. The Illinois State Redbirds offense doesn’t put a ton of pressure on you, but it still was good to see how sound all five Wildcats were in their responsibilities. Rob Dillingham fights over the downhill ballscreen and Tre Mitchell helps to corral the ball. Then, DJ Wagner contains a dribble drive while Dillingham makes an aggressive play to come help. Dillingham should have recovered more quickly to #3 in the corner, but Mitchell does a good job of stunting at him without flying to the perimeter. Justin Edwards has an excellent stunt on the ball reversal as well. Finally, Mitchell gets vertical to contest the runner and Edwards cleans up the miss. That is a complete possession.