Hoyas Too Physical for Kentucky in Exhibition Game

Alabama transfer Mo Dioubate was the only UK player not overmatched by Georgetown's physical play. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Data collection is what Kentucky coach Mark Pope said was the biggest advantage of playing high-profile exhibition games because it would show not only what his team was doing well but also what the weak points might be.

Pope and his staff certainly will have a lot of teaching points after Thursday night’s surprising 84-70 loss to Georgetown in Rupp Arena. While everything went well for UK a week ago in a win over preseason No. 1 Purdue, this time the Hoyas were the dominant team almost from the start.

Purdue was experienced, but the Boilermakers were not nearly as physical as Georgetown.

“Kentucky is having to adapt to a lot more physicality than they did against Purdue,” SEC Network analyst Travis Ford, a former UK point guard, said. “It has forced them into some tough shots, which has put a lot of pressure on the defense.”

The numbers were ugly for Kentucky.

— Kentucky had 15 turnovers, including five by Collin Chandler, and only 14 assists.

— Of course, it’s hard to get assists going 20-for-60 from the field, and UK had only three field goals in the first 13 minutes of the second half.

— Georgetown outscored UK 23-12 in points off turnovers, 38-24 in paint points, 27-17 in bench points, and 12-6 in fast break points.

Certainly, it did not help that UK was down two point guards. Pittsburgh transfer Jaland Lowe missed his second straight game with a shoulder injury, while Florida transfer Denzel Aberdeen, Lowe’s backup, was “nursing a little leg deal” according to Pope and also did not play for precautionary reasons.

“The offense just does not look good when you do not have a really good point guard running it,” UK Radio Network analyst Jack Givens said late in the game. “Kentucky just is not moving. If you cut, you are going to get hit, and that is bothering Kentucky.

“When Georgetown sets a screen, there is aggressiveness. Kentucky sets screens, but there is no contact, and that never throws the defense off. The two Kentucky point guards on the bench know how to use those screens. There has just been too much dribbling and not enough passing. The ball movement has not been there, but credit Georgetown. They have been good defensively.”

Otega Oweh, named the preseason SEC Player of the Year by conference coaches on Thursday, led UK with 17 points but was just 4-for-12 from the field. He went 8-for-11 at the foul line.

Alabama transfer Mo Dioubate added 13 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field and 4-for-5 at the foul line. He also had seven rebounds in 25 minutes and was the one UK player not impacted by the physical play.

“Give Mo a lot of credit. He is the only one fighting on the glass,” Givens said. “Everyone else is standing around watching, and you can’t play that way. Sometimes you just have to want to go get it (the ball) and that’s what Dioubate does.”

That attitude worried Givens about what might lie ahead for the Cats.

“It hasn’t been good to see Kentucky shy away from that physical play. That is the SEC every night, what we are seeing here,” Givens said.

Ford had the same worry.

“What we saw Kentucky do to Purdue, now Georgetown is doing it to Kentucky. Georgetown’s defense is much more aggressive than Purdue, trying to create turnovers,” Ford said. “Kentucky’s offense is predicated on cutting and ball movement. They were allowed to do that against Purdue. Georgetown was just more aggressive.”

Givens knows Pope and his staff will point that out and more before Kentucky officially opens its season Tuesday by hosting Nicholls.

“Mark has a lot of stuff to point out to his players about how it was supposed to be done and how Kentucky did it. You are going to learn from this. There is a lot of opportunity to learn from this, too,” Givens said.