No. 19 Kentucky has had to adjust on the fly this season while overcoming myriad injuries, including guard Jaxson Robinson’s season-ending wrist surgery.
Coach Mark Pope believes the Wildcats (20-10, 9-8 Southeastern Conference) will take an effective rotation into their regular-season finale Saturday against No. 15 Missouri (21-9, 10-7) in Columbia, Mo.
“I think we’re on the uptick,” Pope said. “I think we have a vibe for the first time. It feels like we are going to have the same guys out on the floor Saturday as we did (Tuesday), as we did on last Saturday, which we haven’t had that in almost two months.
“So we are really excited about that and we are really excited about getting back focused in this late stretch to continue getting better and to continue bringing pace to the game is really important to us. We will figure it out.”
Robinson is Kentucky’s second-leading scorer this season, averaging 13.0 points to go with 3.5 rebounds per game. But the Wildcats regained guard Lamont Butler (12.0 points, 4.5 assists per game) in late February to an attack that includes guard Otega Oweh (team-high 16.0 ppg), guard Koby Brea (11.0) and center Amari Williams (10.9 ppg, 8.7 rebounds per game).
“The guys are devastated for Jax and really sad for us because he is such a massive part of this team,” Pope said. “At the same time, resolved that we know what we have today and we are going to try to find a way to win with what we have.”
The Wildcats steadied themselves with a 95-64 blowout of visiting LSU on Tuesday behind Oweh’s 24 points and eight rebounds. Now they will get a big test against the Missouri Tigers, who are 18-1 at home.
Missouri will try to rebound from its 96-84 loss at Oklahoma on Wednesday. The Tigers, who have lost three of their last four games, trailed the Sooners by double digits for much of their game.
“(The Sooners) wanted it more,” said guard Caleb Grill, who averages 14.3 points to lead the Tigers. “They were fighting more. They were more desperate. We weren’t desperate. Last couple of games we’ve played, we’re playing teams that, you have to win — if you don’t win, season’s over. And we’re not coming out with the same level of intensity as other teams.”
Missouri has suffered stark defensive regression as the postseason nears. The Tigers allowed 92 or more points in four of their last five games.
The Sooners pounded the ball inside against them with drives and rolls to the basket. Missouri coach Dennis Gates rotated through 13 players while trying to find effective defensive combinations, to no avail.
“We’re fouling too much,” Grill said. “We’re not guarding, keeping people in front of us right now. We’re not rotating proper rotations. You put that all together and you ain’t keeping anybody out of the paint. You aren’t stopping anybody.”
Now the Tigers must face the Wildcats, who ranked third in Division I scoring through Wednesday’s games with 85.6 points per game. Missouri will counter with its own offensive depth.
Forward Mark Mitchell (14.1 points per game) and guard Tamar Bates (13.1) are the leading scorers among the starters and Grill comes off the bench. Seven different players have led the team in scoring this season.
–Field Level Media
