LEXINGTON — Points come easy for her Kentucky This season, they were at their highest on Saturday vs UNC Wilmington.
The Wildcats, rarely sloppy with the ball, struggled to make decisions against the team’s stout Seahawks. Coastal Athletic Association.
Both factors are doomed to fail in the UK on Saturday afternoon Rob Arena.
After trailing 41-33 at halftime, Kentucky couldn’t muster a comeback in the final 20 minutes, falling at home for the first time this season in stunning fashion, 80-73.
“We couldn’t stay in front of the ball,” UK coach John Calipari said. “And you can plan and do all these things, but when you get the lead and they go and take one corner kick on a straight line? It’s difficult.”
Those defensive mistakes, combined with turnovers, were too much for the No. 12 Wildcats (6-2) to overcome. Especially when the Seahawks (6-2) kept knocking down shots from the perimeter. UNC Wilmington sank 11 3-pointers, more than double Kentucky’s five.
But it wasn’t just three-point shooting that killed the Cats in the seven-point loss.
Saturday was an uncharacteristically sloppy outing when compared to Kentucky’s high standards this season.
The Wildcats entered Saturday with just 8.1 turnovers per game; Which ranked third nationwide; They had nine at the 6:37 mark of the first half. UK finished with 14 turnovers.
“It all happened because we’re trying to make the toughest plays possible instead of just the easy plays,” Calipari said. “We have things to learn.”
Not only has Kentucky avoided giving up the ball over the first seven games, but it has also shown crisp ball movement, averaging an SEC-best 20.9 assists per contest. Sixth highest in Division I. But the Wildcats had just 14 assists against the Seahawks.
Saturday was the first time this season that Kentucky failed to score at least 81 points. Reaching that mark in each of their first seven games was the Wildcats’ longest streak to start a season since 1970–71 team.
“We came into this game selfishly, I think. In the first half, we weren’t swinging the ball to each other as much as we normally do,” said sophomore guard Ado Thero, who had seven points, six rebounds and three assists. . … Guys were trying to do things on their own — we just got out of it.
Freshman guard Reed Sheppard was in the zone, though, as he scored 25 points, leading the Wildcats in the loss and matching his personal best set last month against Stonehill. He also tallied a career-high nine rebounds and a team-high six assists.
“Any time you lose, it feels bad. Nobody likes to lose,” said Sheppard, who was 9 of 17 from the field (3 of 6 on 3s) and 4 for 4 at the free throw line. You have to give credit to UNC Wilmington. They played a great game, they made shots. “They did what they had to do.”
Freshman forward Aaron Bradshaw, who made his college debut Saturday after being sidelined since earlier this year with a foot injury, had three points, two rebounds and a block in 13 minutes off the bench. Freshman guard DJ Wagner, Bradshaw’s teammate Camden High In New Jersey, he sat out Saturday after injuring his ankle in Tuesday’s win over No. 8 Miami.
While Calipari didn’t provide an update on Wagner afterward, the coach was happy with what he saw from Bradshaw in a limited role, noting the 7-plus-11 in the box.
“That means he was OK,” Calipari said. “He’s still not into that stuff yet. But he’s done some good things. It’s a good start for him.”
They won’t play Kentucky again until they head to Philadelphia for a showdown Pennsylvania next Saturday. The loss to the Seahawks was the first in a comfortable part of the Wildcats’ schedule, as they play around exams.
Kentucky only has five games in December: UNC Wilmington in the rearview mirror, Ben on deck, followed by matches with North Carolina (Dec. 16), in-state competitor Louisville (December 21) and State of Illinois (December 29).
This leaves the Wildcats plenty of practice time to correct their mistakes.
The same people who raised their heads at inappropriate times on Saturday.
“This is part of what this team is going to go through. Now you guys know we can play anyone in the country,” Calipari said, referring to his team’s 95-73 win over No. 8 Miami earlier this week. “And we can lose to any team in the country. We’ll play the right way. We’ll get better defensively. We’ll bounce back. We’ll be fine.”
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Contact Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
