Free throw shooting saves the day in Nashville

[caption id="attachment_339167" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Photo via SEC[/caption] That's two in a row for Kentucky as they went on the road to extend their winning streak against Vanderbilt to 10 games with a 82-78 triumph at Memorial Gym. UK rode a strong first half to go with 15 free throw makes in the second half to improve to 4-7 in games decided by three possessions or less. It's back-to-back close game victories and now the Wildcats are now just a 1/2 game back of Missouri for the No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament. It was another very strong offensive performance, but it's pretty clear at this point that the defense needs some work with UK being committed to this faster style of play.

Offense

Kentucky scored 82 points in 73 possessions posting 1.12 points per trip. UK made 52.4 percent of their two-point attempts and that's even stronger when you consider they were 5-of-13 on layups. The Wildcats were 8-of-26 from three with 26 paint points and 12 points off 15 offensive rebounds. However, the story of the game was the work at the charity stripe. Kentucky scored 24 of its 82 points from the free throw line and it only took 25 attempts to get there. The Wildcats were a perfect 15-of-15 in the second half with Jacob Toppin leading the way with five makes. Six different players attempted free throws and in the end it is what won UK the game. Davion Mintz led the team with 18 points with four makes from three-point land. In 36 minutes, the grad transfer had just one turnover while dishing out three assists and continues to make some big shots in the crunch time for this offense. In the block, Isaiah Jackson put together his second consecutive outstanding offensive performance. The freshman big scored 15 points on five field goal attempts with five makes at the free throw line. Jackson had three of UK's six dunks while grabbing nine total rebounds in 20 minutes. The numbers would've been much bigger if it wasn't for foul trouble. Devin Askew played 34 minutes, but it was a bit of a struggle. The freshman point guard was just 1-of-6 from the floor and had four turnovers to go with just three assists. However, he was 6-of-6 from the free throw line with four of those makes occurring in the last three minutes. Perhaps the surprise performance of the game came from Jacob Toppin who scored a career-high 16 points in 22 minutes. Toppin was surprisingly effective in some pin down actions while playing a ton of minutes at the three. He was 5-of-9 from the field, had zero turnovers and was a perfect 5-for-5 at the free throw line. These were huge minutes off of the bench. The hot shooting from Brandon Boston Jr. ended as he needed 14 field goal attempts to get to 12 points while going 2-of-7 both from two and three. Boston is shooting just 35.3 percent from two in SEC play on a lot of shot attempts. Kentucky needs that number to go up. Meanwhile, Keion Brooks Jr. had just two points on six shots, but did grab five offensive rebounds and dish out five assists. UK needs more scoring from these two and are fortunate to get any win when they contribute just 14 points on 20 field goal attempts. Olivier Sarr was the fifth Wildcat to reach double figures scoring 10 points on eight shots in 27 minutes. Sarr was 4-of-7 from two which is an improvement, but had just one rebound in the game and that cannot happen. Lance Ware played six or less minutes for the fourth game in a row while Dontaie Allen was only seen in the first half. Overall it was a solid offensive performance and a lot of it had to with the free throw shooting. UK got 15 of its 40 second half points from the charity stripe. The makes at the line saved the day and allowed the blue team to hold on to the victory.

Defense

Vanderbilt scored 78 in 74 possessions posting 1.05 points per trip. For the sixth game in a row, UK's opponent scored over a point per possession and that has led to the defense slipping 31st in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom and seventh in the SEC. That's not great. The Commodores labored in the first half scoring just .083 points per trip as Scotty Pippen Jr. scored zero points with five turnovers, but that all changed after half. The sophomore point guard turned it on for 21 points on 14 shots in the second half with three assists and zero turnovers. The likely All-SEC performer sliced up UK and hit 10 free throws in the half. After a solid first half, the Wildcats couldn't find an answer in the next 20 minutes. During the rough first half, Dylan Disu helped keep the Commodores above water. The sophomore big recorded 17 points before half and finished the game with 29 points on 20 field goal attempts with eight makes from the line and 16 total rebounds. He has had his way in four career games against Kentucky and that continued last night in Nashville for the former three-star recruit from Texas. However, no other player on the Vanderbilt roster reach double digits and the home team got just 10 points from the bench. The Commodores were able to scored= on half of their possessions, but it is hard for them to win games when the three doesn't fall and they were ice cold going just 4-of-23 from distance. Vanderbilt did pull in 17 offensive rebounds for a rate over 40 percent as Kentucky still really struggles to end possessions on the defensive end. These boards led to 15 second chance points and when Isaiah Jackson is not on the floor this weakness is glaring for the defense. UK was able to do a very good job defending the rim with 11 blocked shots in 65 field goal attempts for Vanderbilt. UK made the Commodores isolate by giving up just 10 assists with 14 turnovers, but they have to start clearing the glass to end successful defensive possessions.

Outlook

It was another very solid offensive performance from Kentucky and they did it in another way. UK wasn't hot from three, but they found ways to be effective from two-point range and were surgical at the free throw line. The pace transition continues with the Wildcats recording over 70 possessions for the seventh game in a row and this move has certainly led to better offense. Kentucky has opened up the attack and is playing with more confidence as it has created free-flowing basketball for this young and inexperienced roster. However, there have been some side effects to this as it has altered the defense. Once again, the Wildcats had a subpar performance on the defensive end and that is a concern moving forward. UK loses a lot when Isaiah Jackson is not in the lineup and the defensive boards have been a real struggle. The Wildcats had successful defensive game plans in both the wins over Auburn and Vanderbilt, but they suffered due to their inability to end possessions with rebounds. That must change moving forward.