I’m not even sure what to say about that game.
Through the first six or seven minutes, things looked somewhat promising. After that, the train went off the tracks. Kentucky basketball managed to score just
27 points in the first half and trailed by 15 to Michigan State headed into the break.
The Cats had a promising stretch in the second half where they trimmed the lead to 10. Trailing 60-50 with about 9:30 left in the game, the Spartans dominated again down the stretch to pick up the 83-66 win.
The Cats are now 3-2 five games into the season, and there is a lot of frustration and confusion in the fanbase with how this season has started. Mark Pope needs to get things turned around, and turned around quickly.
Let’s look at some things to know from tonight’s game.
Another big game, another poor performance
Tonight served as an opportunity for this team and the fan base to get rid of the bad taste leftover from the Louisville game.
Instead, we just got a second helping of the thing that put the bad taste there in the first place.
The issues from the Louisville game were present once again tonight, and were even worse in a lot of ways. The Cats struggled offensively to get anything going. They looked lost in the halfcourt, couldn’t knock down shots from deep, and couldn’t finish at the rim.
Defensively, they gave up way too many open looks and struggled to keep the Spartans off the glass.
This team lacks an identity on both ends of the court, and that’s a major problem.
Another atrocious first half
In some ways, this game closely resembled the Louisville game. The Cats started out fine, leading 17-14 at the TV timeout with 13:15 remaining in the first half. From there, the team pretty much fell apart, as the Spartans outscored the Wildcats 30-10 over the next 13 minutes.
The Wildcats started shooting 6-11 from the floor and then proceeded to go 2-18 the remainder of the half.
On top of that, it seems like someone told the Wildcats to simply not worry about guarding the three-point line, and while Michigan State had not shot the ball well coming into the game, they made Kentucky pay for giving up wide-open looks.
It was a brutal first half for Kentucky, and that is beginning to become a recurring theme for this group.
Michigan State dominates the glass
Going in, we knew that this Michigan State team would be physical and tough on the glass, a hallmark of Tom Izzo teams.
The Spartans lived up to their reputation, decisively winning the rebounding battle with a +14 margin.
Michigan State was more physical, grabbing key offensive rebounds and creating second-chance opportunities, and cleaning up on the defensive glass.
Spartans have their best shooting performance of the season
We probably won’t see Michigan State shoot the ball like that the remainder of the season.
The Spartans lit Kentucky up from deep, knocking down 11-22 attempts from three.
A lot of it falls on Kentucky’s defense. They did not guard the perimeter well, and the Spartans had plenty of good looks from deep.
But credit Michigan State. They got hot and were able to make Kentucky pay from deep after coming into the game shooting under 22 percent from three.
Things don’t look good for this team
I’m not trying to be doom-and-gloom here, but things do not look good for this team right now.
The Cats have faced two tests in the non-conference and have failed both. Things don’t get much easier from here either.
The Cats still have non-conference matchups against North Carolina, Gonzaga, Indiana, and St. John’s before heading into an SEC slate that is going to be a challenge week in and week out. That includes a pair of matchups against the defending national champion Florida Gators, as well as two games against Tennessee. The Cats also have to travel to Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, and Vanderbilt.
Can Kentucky get things figured out? I believe so. I don’t think the season should be written off five games in.
However, things need to be figured out, and they need to be figured out quickly if Mark Pope is going to have success in Year 2.
