Watch the Tape: Kentucky Beats the Bucknell Bison 100-72

Kentucky has put up 100 points in each of their first two games to begin the Coach Mark Pope era. We believed that an up-tempo, analytically friendly, and fun style of basketball was coming to Lexington. However, this first week has served as an encouraging proof of concept. After dismantling Wright State 103-62 on Monday night, the Wildcats beat the Bucknell Bison 100-72 on Saturday. Duke will certainly offer a different level of resistance on Tuesday, but so far Big Blue Nation has liked what they’ve seen.

It was another story of balance in Kentucky’s second win of the young season. A new leading scorer stepped up while the ‘Cats placed five scorers in double-figures. A sixth Wildcat finished with nine points while three more posted six points. It was Koby Brea who led the way against Bucknell finishing with 20 points on 6-8 shooting from beyond the arc. He is now an incredible 10-12 from deep this season. Amari Williams posted his second double-double in as many games putting up 13 points and 14 rebounds against the Bison. Kerr Kriisa was a star off of the bench as well dishing out 12 assists in just over 21 minutes of play. It continues to look like it will be a different guy on a game-to-game basis who steps up and leads this Kentucky team.

As always, we’ve been hard at work inside of the KSR Film Room breaking down Kentucky’s latest contest. Despite a couple periods of sloppy play, the Wildcats still scored 1.27 points per possession thanks in large part to dominating the offensive glass. After being challenged by Coach Pope this week, the Wildcats answered by rebounding an incredible 48.9% of their own misses. Kentucky was also excellent in transition which is what we will be focusing on in this breakdown. Per Synergy, the ‘Cats scored 1.750 points per possession in transition against the Bucknell Bison. Through two games they rank 10th nationally in transition scoring efficiency. That will very clearly be a big part of what this team does this season.

Defense Leads to Offense

We hear a lot about Coach Pope’s offense and have now seen it translate to Kentucky with a pair of 100-point performances. However, the defense has been the most impressive takeaway from the first week. This team is very far ahead of schedule on that end of the floor. Forcing turnovers, led by ball hawks Lamont Butler and Otega Oweh, has been a big part of that. Kentucky forced 14 turnovers against the Bucknell Bison, including nine steals, and turned that into 22 points. The Wildcats collected 11 steals in their opener on Monday. With as dangerous as this team has already proven to be, getting extra opportunities created by the defense will only lift the offensive ceiling.

Andrew Carr did an excellent job using his length to reach in and disrupt the ball handler as he drove towards the middle of the floor. Then, the Wildcats were off to the races with Koby Brea leading the break. Jaxson Robinson did a great job of getting out wide to the wing to provide some spacing. Andrew Carr was occupying his man on the rim-run as well. Brea delivered a perfectly time pass to Robinson who attacked the baseline and finished with the smooth reverse layup. Having so many different pieces who can lead the break will allow Kentucky to play even faster.

Unselfishness, Passing, and Shooting is a Deadly Combination

The Wildcats actually took a small step back in the assist column but still assisted on more than 60% of their made field goals. This group has already proven to be very unselfish and clearly don’t care who ends up getting the points. When you consistently play fast, maintain great spacing in transition, and share the basketball good things are going to happen. Kentucky did that time and time again on Saturday night against the Bucknell Bison.

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Six passes, just a few dribbles, and Koby Brea nails the three-point shot on the left wing. It was 4-on-4 when the ball crossed half court with Amari Williams quickly trailing the play to create an advantage for the ‘Cats. Once he got the ball around the SEC logo and the Bison’s defense converged on him the possession was essentially over. It was just a matter of who was going to ultimately take the shot. Each subsequent pass just led to a higher percentage shot. Elite unselfishness displayed on this possession by Kentucky.

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Don’t forget about the big men in transition. Koby Brea and Jaxson Robinson splashing three-point shots is fun, but there is a lot of value in what you see from Amari Williams in this clip as well. After getting the block defensively, Williams was right into sprint mode on the rim-run. A key piece of the puzzle to point out here is how Ansley Almonor helps to get Williams the layup. Having a shooter like Almonor spotted up on the wing held that defender for an extra second from sliding in and taking Williams away. Even without the ball, Kentucky’s plethora of shooters has an impact on offensive spacing. Kerr Kriisa delivered a perfect pass, one of his 12 assists, as Amari Williams finished the And-1.

Scoring in Transition From a Made Basket

Between the two exhibition games and the two regular season games we have seen how fast this offense can go. Whether it is a quick three-point shot from Jaxson Robinson, Otega Oweh attacking coast-to-coast, or Amari Williams on the rim-run we know this team is going to play fast and have success in transition. However, in order to take it to the next level, you also have to be able to play fast after made baskets. The Wildcats have certainly flashed that ability and did so again in Saturday’s win over the Bucknell Bison.

The Bucknell Bison worked really hard to get a bucket on this possession. It ended with a tough, physical finish by #1 Motta. To work that hard to score only to have the opponent answer back within literal seconds is a crushing blow. The Wildcats have the ability to throw haymakers like that this season. It starts with Kerr Kriisa getting the ball on the run and pushing it up the floor. Then, you also have Koby Brea sprinting along the sideline before recognizing he is ahead of the defense and peeling in towards the rim. Kriisa delivers a perfect pass and Brea has the ball up on the glass with 27 seconds still on the shot clock. That is how you truly become one of the best transition offenses in college basketball.