Watch the Tape: Kentucky Falls to the Ohio State Buckeyes 85-65

That one was ugly. Kentucky survived the first few segments of the game, but the Ohio State Buckeyes started to assert their dominance down the stretch of the first half. Then, despite one early second half push from the Wildcats, it was all Buckeyes the rest of the way. Coach Diebler would go on to pull the upset over #4 Kentucky 85-65 at Madison Square Garden.

The questions, worries, and hot takes were flying on Saturday night. What is wrong with the ‘Cats? Are they not as good as we thought? How do you reconcile a 20-point loss to Ohio State with wins over Duke and Gonzaga? As usual, the answer is probably that things are never as good, or as bad, as they seem. Big Blue Nation moved the goal posts of expectations following two of the best non-conference wins in college basketball. However, in all reality, that was probably an overreaction just as it would be an overreaction to jump ship after what could easily be a one-off clunker at the CBS Sports Classic. There are causes for concern, which we will address here, but this is still a Top 15 team in college basketball. Single game results and performances are not good tools for extrapolating big picture understanding.

As always, we’ve been hard at work in the KSR Film Room breaking down Kentucky’s latest contest. This time we had to breakdown an ugly one. Ohio State dominated the ‘Cats via the ballscreen, finished at a high-level in the paint, and UK once again did not shoot it well from beyond the arc. Those issues are becoming a bit of a trend. In this breakdown we will focus on the ballscreen defense and the many breakdowns that led to the Buckeyes’ shooting 68.4% from two-point range. Let’s dive on in and take a closer look at Kentucky’s 85-65 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Poor Communication Leads to Easy Baskets

Against Duke on November 12th, communication breakdowns could have been blamed on having an entirely new roster. However, that excuse falls apart now that we are nearing the New Year. Kentucky’s guys are too old with too much experience to allow communication to be a hinderance on the defensive end. It certainly seemed to play a role on Saturday though against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

---

Coach Pope said during his post game press conference that they intended to “down” or “weak” ballscreens. That generally means that the primary defender’s job is to not allow the ball handler to use the ballscreen. Then, the secondary defender is playing drop coverage and is there to corral the ball handler while the primary defender recovers. This coverage works to dictate the direction of the ball and obviously also negates the pick-and-roll as it doesn’t allow the ball handler to actual use the ballscreen. However, it also requires early communication so that the primary defender has time to jump out and force the ball handler away from the ballscreen. You can see in this clip that Lamont Butler never moves while Amari Williams is in position for him to “weak” the middle ballscreen.

---

Kentucky actually does a good job on a couple of ballscreens and handoffs throughout this possession. Lamont Butler and Koby Brea switch the first one. Then, Brea is able to get over the top as Thornton moves to his left and cuts off any potential penetration. Butler and Brea don’t switch the second ballscreen they are involved in for whatever reason, but Butler’s aggressive on-ball defense kept anything from happening. Finally, Jaxson Robinson and Amari Williams initially cover the handoff involving #0 Mobley Jr. and #4 Bradshaw perfectly. You want to chase Mobley Jr. over the top and Robinson actually blows up the handoff all together. However, a miscommunication leads to both defenders going with Bradshaw. That cannot happen.

---

After giving up 24 points in the paint to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first half, Kentucky went to their “morphing” 1-3-1 Zone look that led the second half comeback in Seattle against Gonzaga. However, it didn’t have the same impact on Saturday night. There were too many times when after switching back to man-to-man the ‘Cats would still get scored on. Miscommunication seemed to play a role on this possession that led to a Thornton three after Kentucky cut it to six. Typically, the Wildcats would have switched to man-to-man after the initial ballscreen. They appear to be matched up with about 14 seconds on the shot clock, but Jaxson Robinson leaves #21 Royal while Andrew Carr still seems to be playing zone. Two guarding #12 Mahaffey and nobody guarding #2 Thornton is not good.

Bruce Thornton Dominated the Wildcats

There was no question who the best player on the floor was at Madison Square Garden. Ohio State Buckeyes’ junior guard Bruce Thornton was made to look like an All-American as he whipped Kentucky off of the dribble in ballscreen situations time and time again. Per Synergy, he scored 19 points as the pick-and-roll ball handler. It was certainly equal opportunity as well when it came to who he was scoring on. Seemingly ever Wildcat was on the receiving end of a Thornton bucket.

Even when Kentucky switched these guard-on-guard ballscreens they found a way to get scored on. There is certainly an argument to be made that there is miscommunication here as well because if the goal is to “weak” the ballscreen then Brandon Garrison needs to be over on the right elbow as Koby Brea keeps #2 Thornton from using the ballscreen. However, Thornton has no issue rejecting it on his own and beating Brea with a strong hand, straight line drive. The number of times he beat the ‘Cats with a simple left-to-right crossover was staggering.

---

The Ohio State Buckeyes won at the point of the ballscreen throughout Saturday’s game. Regardless of what Kentucky’s plan was, the Buckeyes seemed to be able to do whatever they wanted to do. Here you see #2 Thornton use the simple left-to-right crossover and beat Otega Oweh on a strong hand, straight line drive. These “layups” with two feet in the paint were a stark contrast to the shots the Wildcats got throughout the game. That is why one team shot 66.7% on layups while the other shot just 35%. The lack of rim protection provided here by Amari Williams is disappointing as well.

---

Ohio State got down the floor in a hurry and was right into their ballscreen and handoff action. That had the Wildcats on their heels as confusion set in early in the possession. Amari Williams was a bit too aggressive stepping out to #2 Thornton and the guard was able to turn the corner for a layup. Again, not that Williams should be expected to block every shot, but opponents have too easy of a time finishing around the rim against him. Rim protection, which was presumed to be a strength of this team, has instead become a weakness.

---

Trying to get underneath this ballscreen, since it is set so far out, makes sense. However, if you aren’t going to “weak” it then you can’t let #2 Thornton reject the ballscreen. That is especially true when rejecting it lets him drive it to his strong hand. Otega Oweh is too good of a defender to get beat like this. However, it was equal opportunity when it came to Thornton scoring on the ‘Cats. He consistently got downhill to his right hand and it was a big reason why the Ohio State Buckeyes won the game.

Trying to be Aggressive

Coach Pope mentioned how he was looking for the big men to play a little bit higher in ballscreen coverage. Kentucky didn’t come out and hard hedge the ballscreens by any means, but they were a bit more aggressive at the point of the screen at times. However, the Ohio State Buckeyes used that aggressiveness against the ‘Cats.

---

This ballscreen from early in the game is a good example of what Coach Pope talked about with the big man playing higher at the point of the screen. Instead of being back in drop coverage, Amari Williams is up at the three-point line. This forces the ball handler to make a quicker decision. However, #2 Thornton is able to thread the needle with a pocket pass to #4 Bradshaw on the roll. No matter what the Wildcats threw at the Buckeyes on Saturday they had an answer for it.

---

Koby Brea jumped out like he wanted to trap this ballscreen and Jaxson Robinson kept coming with #0 Mobley Jr. as well. However, Mobley Jr. was able to turn the corner and drive from 30 feet all of the way to the rim for a layup. If you are going to get out and be this aggressive you at least have to cut off the right hand drive. Also, Mobley Jr.’s ability to drive it from that far out all of the way to the rim without any resistance from an interior defender is worrisome.

Leftover Clips

Unfortunately, the Ohio State Buckeyes scored so many times, in so many different ways, off of the ballscreen that all of the clips don’t fit cleanly into specific categories. Here are two final clips that are worth breaking down.

---

Again, Coach Pope talked about Kentucky being a “down” or “weak” team. In the middle of the floor that means sending the ball handler away from the ballscreen. At first, Jaxson Robinson does a good job of that. He is out on #0 Mobley Jr.’s right hand forcing him to his left away from the screen. However, a left-to-right crossover was enough to beat Robinson. He needed to be more aggressive about getting out and sending Mobley Jr. to his left. You can’t get beat on the “weak” because the defense is not in position for him to come off of the ballscreen. That led to late help and an easy dunk off of the baseline cut.

Here is another example of Kentucky showing the 1-3-1 Zone only to switch to man-to-man and get scored on. Those ballscreens at the elbow are too low for Otega Oweh to be going underneath. Amari Williams needs to step up and switch these ballscreens when they are set that low. The ‘Cats allowed #6 Glover to be far too comfortable for this pull-up jump shot.

What Does All of This Mean?

It has been a steady decline of late for Kentucky on the defensive end of the floor. Per KenPom, they are down to #62 in adjusted defensive efficiency. The Wildcats don’t force turnovers, don’t protect the rim, and allow dribble penetration far too easily. Of the Ohio State Buckeyes’ 34 points in the paint the vast majority came via dribble drive layups. There are schematic issues to clean up in ballscreen coverage, but the lack of one-on-one accountability is frustrating. That can be tough to overcome. The issues at the rim are difficult to change at this point as well. The Wildcats still have a Top 10 offense and that will continue to be where this team hands their hat. However, there are now some real concerns if the defense is good enough. Southeastern Conference play will answer those questions in a hurry.