Watch the Tape: Texas Longhorns Escape Due to Kentucky's Late Collapse

Multiple things can be true at the same time. It is really hard to win road conference games in college basketball. It is even harder to win Quad 1A road games. Those are pretty clear, factual statements. It is also very hard to win any college basketball game without your second leading scorer, third leading scorer, and backup point guard who also are your three primary ball handlers. It is even harder to win a Quad 1A road game with that sort of depleted roster. Those are also pretty clear, factual statements. However, it can also still be true that what happened at the end of Kentucky’s collapse against the Texas Longhorns is unacceptable. The Wildcats were incredibly short-handed and had guys playing out of position, but they are still Kentucky Basketball players.

Simply entering the basketball to begin running offense, executing a free throw box out, and inbounding the basketball requires minimal talent. Those aren’t things that become inherently more difficult just because Lamont Butler, Kerr Kriisa, and Jaxson Robinson aren’t in the game. Travis Perry needs to be able to get the Wildcats into offense or else there is no sense in playing him. Amari Williams has to be able to box out in the biggest situation of the game or ranking fourth in KenPom’s defensive rebounding percentage feels pretty empty. The ‘Cats have to be able to be able to inbound the ball against token pressure or the problems run much deeper than a few injuries. Kentucky deserves a ton of credit for being in a position to win the game, but criticism for the ending is equally justified.

As always, we’ve been hard at work in the KSR Film Room breaking down Kentucky’s latest contest. This one hurt to watch. There was so much to be encouraged about when watching the first 36 minutes of the game. The Wildcats were dominating the offensive glass and found a way to be in position for a big Quad 1A road victory despite a depleted roster. However, turnovers, missed free throws, and a lack of defensive rebounding led to a late collapse. You could triage a lot of this game into the good, the bad, and the ugly. Unfortunately, after that loss, we will only be focusing on the bad and the ugly. Let’s, reluctantly, dive on in and take a closer look at Kentucky’s 82-78 loss to the Texas Longhorns.

The Bad – Unforced Turnovers and Poor Execution

Offensive execution was a big reason why Kentucky was in a position to beat the Texas Longhorns. Amari Williams was having success on the low block. Otega Oweh was able to penetrate some and score in the paint. Several different Wildcats got offensive rebound putbacks. Hard cuts to the basket off of screening action netted some easy interior looks as well. However, in the final moments, it seemed like the ‘Cats went away from what had been working best. Then, on the defensive end, Kentucky just came up a couple of stops short. Per KenPom, Texas had just a 16.6% win probability with 3:51 when they trailed 69-64. The Longhorns went on a 14-1 run from that point to flip the game in their favor.

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Travis Perry has a 23.8% turnover percentage. He wasn’t expect to play in the games this season so it is hard to judge him too harshly. However, for him to ever be a role player at Kentucky that will have to improve. This is a spot where you simply cannot have a turnover. The Wildcats are just trying to enter the ball to the elbow area to begin their offense. In hindsight, if the plan was for Amari Williams to get the ball just above the elbow, he probably should have just brought the ball up himself and backed down to that position. When you don’t have a true point guard in the game limiting the numbers of unnecessary passes is critical. Coach Pope probably wishes he could have this possession back.

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Koby Brea is one of the best shooters in college basketball. It is really hard to manufacture open looks for shooters of his caliber because the defense is so keyed up on taking him away. That was certainly true on this possession as the Texas Longhorns were ready for the elevator doors action. Amari Williams had a significant mismatch with #25 Kent, and then #12 Mark, on him. The ball probably needed to touch his hands at some point on this possession. No three-point attempt by Brea is ever a bad shot, and Williams ultimately offensive rebounded it, but attacking the mismatch could have led to an easy two points here.

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Kentucky took many steps forward defensively in their wins over South Carolina and Tennessee. The Texas Longhorns scored 82 points on the ‘Cats, but the truth is the defense was pretty good once again. Second chance points and points off turnovers were a big part of the number you see on the scoreboard. However, the actual defensive execution was much better than that. Kentucky played 26 seconds of solid defense on this possession, but then just needed to be a bit more aggressive on #20 Johnson at the end. Otega Oweh needs to get all of the way in there and both Johnson. Amari Williams needs to step up and block the shot. Both guys are close, but they are essentially executing half-measures. They aren’t ACTUALLY impacting anything. That is often the story of the Wildcats defensively.

The Ugly – Free Throw Rebounding and Embarrassing Turnovers

There are plenty of caveats that you could make about Saturday’s game that provide important perspective and context to the loss. It was a Quad 1A road game. Even at full strength those are, by definition, very hard to win. Kentucky closed as a +4.5 point underdog in the begging markets. Therefore, they were clearly not expected to win the game. Also, as we all know, the ‘Cats were without their second leading scorer, third leading scorer, and backup point guard. However, Amari Williams is the one who didn’t execute a simple free throw box out in arguably the biggest moment of the game. Williams and Otega Oweh were the guys who can’t inbound the ball against the Texas Longhorns’ token pressure. The built in excuses fall flat at that point.

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Amari Williams has been absolutely excellent for Kentucky this season. The Wildcats wouldn’t have been in a position to beat the Texas Longhorns without him. However, that does not excuse what we see in this clip. This is a lack of toughness, concentration, and urgency. After blowing a late lead, everyone in blue should be MORE locked in at this moment. Instead, one of the best defensive rebounders in college basketball lazily walks towards the rim because he assumes #20 Johnson will make the free throw.

Here is another angle of the same play. Williams never made contact with #5 Shedrick. You don’t move towards the rim to rebound a free throw. Instead, you have to put your body into the man next to you and carve out space AWAY from the basket. Amari Williams isn’t a soft basketball player, but this was a soft play in a critical situation.

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This is just downright embarrassing. The Texas Longhorns are applying a little bit of initial pressure, but they let both Travis Perry and Koby Brea cut towards the end line. Both guys are wide open, but Otega Oweh throws it right between the two of them. It is hard to know exactly who is at fault, but regardless it is an embarrassing turnover for Kentucky. You don’t need Lamont Butler, Kerr Kriisa, and Jaxson Robinson in the game to not throw it away on an uncontested inbound.

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The first turnover inbounding the basketball was bad enough. Allowing it to happen a second time is completely unacceptable. Toughness, attention to detail, and urgency. They are all lacking when mistakes like this happen multiple times. Otega Oweh is asking for the ball while Travis Perry cuts right into the same space. Then, after asking for it, Oweh turns his head and runs away from the ball. Luckily, Kentucky avoided disaster and didn’t turn it over on this play. However, it is equally embarrassing to watch on film.