Saturday, January 23, 2021

Kentucky 82 - 69 Louisiana St. (No. 2,323)

Cats pick up their fifth win of the year, move to 4-3 in the SEC.  They are currently number 53 on Ken Pom.  Here is UK by the numbers:


Record:  5-9 overall, 4-3 in the SEC

Rank:  53

Offense Adjusted Efficiency:  105.7 (No. 100 in the country)
3-point shooting percentage:  28.2 percent (No. 322 in the country)
2-point shooting percentage:  47.5 percent (No. 241 in the country)
Offensive turnover percentage:  21.3 percent (No. 266 in the country)
Offensive rebound percentage:  35.8 percent (No. 16 in the country)

Defense Adjusted Efficiency:  90.8 (No. 14 in the country)
Block percentage:  15.5 percent (No. 5 in the country)

"Luck" (the difference between your expected record, given your offensive and defensive efficiencies), and your actual record:  No. 342 in the country

K-Pom's predictions for the season: 10-15 overall, 9-8 in the SEC 

So basically, here's the story.  UK is a top 20 team on defense.  On offense, it's one of the worst teams in any Power 5 conference, due in large part to the fact that UK's players can't shoot and commit a lot of turnovers.  What the Cats need to do is keep playing defense, and on offense just shoot the ball and go for rebounds.  And then they need to hope that their luck evens out.

13 comments:

  1. I'm now listening to the Tennessee radio network calling the UT-Missouri game. Every time UT makes a three-point shot, the UT color commentator yells "MONEY!" It's very annoying, but also very UT.

    With 7:38 left in the first half, Mizzou leads UT 25-16.

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  2. I still think having Missouri in the SEC is silly. Here's my proposal: Missouri, Nebraska and Colorado go to the Big XII, which also picks up SMU and Rice. West Virginia goes to the ACC. Louisville goes to the American. Tulane joins the SEC.

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  3. I have the radio broadcast synced to the TV broadcast, and I've done it so well that the sound of the dribble on the radio matches exactly with the dribble on the TV. A good sync job always cheers me up.

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  4. By the way, the complete collapse of Vandy's basketball program hasn't gotten enough attention. From 1997 through 2020, Vandy had the 55th best program in the country. Between 2004 and 2017, Vandy went to the NCAA Tournament eight times, had two trips to the Sweet 16, and one SEC Tournament championship. Here is Vandy's last four seasons:

    2018: 12-20 overall, 6-12 in the SEC (No. 91 in Ken Pom)
    2019: 9-23 overall, 0-18 in the SEC (No. 155 in Ken Pom)
    2020: 11-21 overall, 3-15 in the SEC (No. 169 in Ken Pom)
    2021: 4-7 overall, 0-5 in the SEC (No. 148 in Ken Pom)

    Meanwhile, Vandy's football team lost every game it played, and Vandy's women's basketball team has already cancelled the rest of its season due to COVID. They have some major problems in Nashville.

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  5. In Knoxville, Missouri leads 40-34 at the half.

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  6. Also, Navy should leave the American Conference and be independent again.

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  7. Missouri leads 44-37 with 15:49 left.

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  8. Actually, I would also split up the ACC and Big 10 to create a new East Coast Conference. The ECC would consist of Miami (Fla.), Rutgers, West Virginia, Boston College, Pitt, Virginia Tech, Penn State, and Syracuse. Maryland would go back into the ACC.

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  9. Missouri leads 58-45 with 10:17 left.

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  10. Mizzou leads 58-47 with 7:16 left. There have been a lot of missed shots.

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  11. Meanwhile, Western hammered MTSU 82-67 in Murfreesboro. The Hilltoppers are now 5-2 in C-USA, 12-4 overall, and number 84 on Ken Pom.

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  12. Missouri closes out UT 73 to 64. That was a surprisingly easy win. The Vols are now 4-3 in the SEC -- the same record as UK. Mizzou goes to 4-2.

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