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Kentucky’s defense didn’t suddenly just get better in wins over Ole Miss and Auburn last week even if that’s what it looked like to most UK fans.
The Cats had been one of the Southeastern Conference’s worst defensive teams before holding Ole Miss to 63 points and Auburn to only 59.
“I think we’ve been hammering on the defense for months now,” assistant coach John Welch said Tuesday. “Right from the beginning, we thought our offense was ahead of our defense, so defense has been an emphasis for a couple of months and it’s starting to show.”
Hopefully it continues to show because the Cats were on the verge of letting the season get away after losing three straight home games. Now they have a chance this week if they win tonight at LSU and then beat SEC leader Alabama in Rupp Arena Saturday to climb back into the Final Four conversation.
Welch said one “tweak” helped the defense improve.
“We picked our pressure up some, our pickup point is higher. Also, getting D.J. (Wagner) back. We felt that set the tone. How hard he plays, how well he guards the ball is a big difference,” the UK assistant said
“I think the players are learning. We’re working on it constantly. I think the hard work is starting to show. D.J.’s pressure on the ball makes a difference and the harder he plays makes other guys want to play harder, too.”
Kentucky did seem to play much harder on defense last week, especially against No. 13 Auburn. UK Radio Network analyst Jack Givens said the players finally put the same emphasis and effort into defense that they have on offense most of the season.
“I think they’re developing a pride in their defense,” he said. “I think they took it personal, what was being said about them.”
9 Responses
We will certainly know for sure this week.
Final 4 conversation, if serious, is for the top 8 teams, and this UK team is not a 1 or 2 seed.
Dream on.
Not a single team that made the Final Four last year were in the top 3 seeds of any region and only one was a 4.
No one said they were a 1 or 2 seed. The seeds are getting pointless any more just too much parity in college basketball landscape. I know we haven’t had much success in March in the last few years, but I feel that will change this year.
Well be doing good to beat LSU tonight.
Doesn’t take a tweak to play defense. You just need the desire to stop your man
from scoring, more than his desire to score.
Regardless something has help. Go Cats!!
The “tweak” phrase has been worn out at KY.
If they have trophies for tweaks we would be the “Gold Standard”
I don’t care how the NCAA decides to seed the teams, because they are senseless fools. The top 8 are the top 8 teams based on efficiency.
That is where nearly every champion has been since 1997.
This UK team is not anywhere close to that class of teams in 2024.
As for parity, it is a great myth.