A promising start is turning into a rough patch and threatening to derail No. 14 Kentucky, leaving coach Mark Pope and his players to search for answers as they head into the homestretch of the Southeastern Conference schedule.
Pope is optimistic about a turnaround, and the Wildcats (15-7, 4-5 SEC) hope to find some solutions Saturday afternoon in Lexington, Ky., where they will host South Carolina (10-12, 0-9), the only winless team in conference play this season.
Kentucky started conference play with three wins in four games — all against ranked teams as the Wildcats knocked off Florida, Mississippi State and Texas A&M. Since that quick start, however, Kentucky has gone 1-4 in five games, including a 98-84 loss at No. 25 Ole Miss on Tuesday.
“I’m glad I get to do this with these guys, and we’re going to go find answers,” Pope said. “We’re going to have unbelievable success as we go, but this is certainly a hard space for us right now.”
The Wildcats allowed 90 points for the fourth time in SEC games, but unlike its 106-100 win over Florida or its 102-97 loss to Alabama, Kentucky did not have enough consistent offense to keep pace.
The Wildcats scored at least 80 points for the 14th time this season as Otega Oweh, who scored 24 points, topped 20 points for the third time in five games. Kentucky played without Lamont Butler (shoulder injury) for the third straight game, though the point guard took part in non-contact practice Thursday and might be able to play Saturday.
If Butler is unable to go, the Wildcats hope to see another strong showing from Amari Williams, who produced a triple-double of 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Ole Miss.
Regardless of what the lineup looks like, the Wildcats are hoping to avoid a reprise of Tuesday, when they trailed by 23 at halftime and allowed 54.7 percent shooting after giving up 55.2 percent against Arkansas.
It was the third time in SEC play that the Wildcats allowed their opponent to shoot at least 50 percent. Again, though, unlike its win over Florida, Kentucky faltered by shooting 38.7 percent in the opening half before shooting 63 percent in the second half.
“We’re going through a tough stretch right now,” Pope said.
No team in the SEC is experiencing a tougher time than South Carolina, which has five conference losses by five points or fewer. The latest was a 76-72 setback at home against No. 13 Texas A&M on Saturday, during which the Gamecocks recorded their most points in a conference game this season.
Four of South Carolina’s close losses are against ranked teams, including three of the past four. The Gamecocks fell by one point against Florida on Jan. 22, followed by a five-point setback against No. 14 Mississippi State three days later and then the four-point loss against Texas A&M.
“My goal always is, when you look up and it’s crunch time, that one way or another you’re right there with an opportunity to make a couple of plays and win the game,” South Carolina coach Lamont Paris said. “We did it again today. We found ourselves in that situation, and then we just struggled to make those plays.”
South Carolina is hoping for a third straight productive showing from Collin Murray-Boyles. Boyles is averaging 20 points over the past two games while shooting 18-for-27 from the field.
“It’s very much an internal thing. We just have to figure it out – whatever that takes,” Murray-Boyles said of the losing streak. “We’re going to have to figure it out somehow, because the clock is ticking.”
–Field Level Media
