Alabama head coach Nate Oats didn’t mince words when breaking down Kentucky Basketball’s offense after the Crimson Tide’s convincing 89-74 win Saturday, offering a blunt assessment of where Mark Pope’s team stands at this point in the season.
The loss dropped Kentucky to 9-5, with a resume that now includes lopsided defeats to Gonzaga and Michigan State on neutral floors, a home loss to North Carolina, a road loss at Alabama that was never truly competitive, and an eight-point road loss at Louisville.
Speaking postgame, Oats questioned Kentucky’s ball movement under Pope, noting a stark contrast between the Wildcats’ assist numbers against weaker opponents and their struggles versus quality competition.
“When I watched them play, I didn’t feel like they moved the ball great,” Oats said. “You look, and their assist rate is pretty high. Do a deeper dive — 27 assists, 27 assists — against bye games that play a lot of zone. When they played high major teams that were really good, their assist rates were very low.”
That trend showed up again against Alabama. Kentucky finished with just nine assists on 25 made field goals. Similar patterns have followed the Wildcats against top opponents: 13 assists on 28 makes in a win over St. John’s, 10 assists on 22 field goals against Indiana, 12 assists on 16 makes in a blowout loss to Gonzaga, eight assists on 23 field goals in a home loss to North Carolina, 13 assists on 20 makes against Michigan State, and 14 assists on 32 field goals in the loss to Louisville.
“They throw it into the bigs, they’re not really passing,” Oats added.
For Kentucky, the numbers back up the concern. Against physical, well-prepared teams, the Wildcats have struggled to create consistent offense through movement and sharing the ball, which is an issue Pope will need to address quickly as SEC play continues.
