John Clay: How much has Kentucky improved on the defensive end? We'll find out Saturday.

John Clay, Lexington Herald-Leader on Feb 20, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — They are not Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars. Or Rick Barnes’ Tennessee Volunteers. Or Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm. But Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats are starting to show up a little more on the defensive end of the floor.

“We’ve got a lot of room for improvement because we aren’t great,” the Kentucky basketball coach said Wednesday after UK’s 82-61 win over visiting Vanderbilt to improve to 18-8 overall and 7-6 in the SEC. “But we’re getting better.”

How much better? We’ll find out Saturday when the No. 17-ranked Cats roll into Tuscaloosa for the SEC rematch with the offensive machine that is Nate Oats’ high-flying No. 4-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide at Coleman Coliseum. It’s a 6 p.m. tip on ESPN.

It’s the same Alabama that outscored Kentucky 102-97 in an old-fashioned shootout at Rupp Arena on Jan. 18. It’s the same Alabama that leads the nation in scoring at 90.3 points per game — Kentucky is third at 85.9 — and ranks third nationally in kenpom’s adjusted offensive efficiency metrics.

“We’ve got the epic challenge of all challenges going to Alabama and seeing if we can deal with that insanity down there,” Pope said Wednesday.

Bama’s 102 is the most points the Cats have allowed the whole season. Tide forward Grant Nelson scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds that game. Preseason SEC Player of the Year Mark Sears added 24 points and nine assists. Oats’ club made 14 of its 27 shots in the second half, shooting 7 of 15 from behind the 3-point line, on the way to 55 points.

Saturday, the Tide will be trying to patch its own defensive holes. Now 21-5 overall and 10-3 in the SEC, Alabama has lost two straight. No. 1 Auburn beat then No. 2-ranked Alabama 94-85 last Saturday in the SEC’s historic first matchup between the top two teams in the AP Top 25. Wednesday night, the Tide fell behind Missouri 12-0 out of the gate and lost 110-98 at Columbia as a frustrated Oats earned a technical foul for slamming a clipboard onto the court.

Missouri shot a sizzling 60.3% overall, including 74.3% from 2-point range, making 26 of 35 shots. Even Sears’ 35 points were not enough to overcome Mizzou’s bundle of baskets.

“Obviously not one of our best defensive games,” Oats said. “Getting our guys ready to go is part of my job as a head coach, and I didn’t do a very good job of that tonight.”

Meanwhile, Kentucky’s defensive efficiency ranking dropped into the triple digits after a 98-84 loss at Ole Miss on Feb. 4. The Cats have been stingier since, allowing less than 65 points in three of their last four games. They are now 68th defensively, according to kenpom.

They have done so largely without their two starting guards. Jaxson Robinson (wrist) has missed the last three games. Lamont Butler (shoulder), the team’s best defender, has missed the last two.

“We are learning as fast as we can with this new roster,” Pope said Wednesday.

UK carried a slim 41-40 lead over Vandy into the locker room. Then Pope’s club proceeded to outscore the Commodores 41-21 in the second half. Vanderbilt shot 29.8% over the final 20 minutes. Coach Mark Byington’s team made only one of its 10 attempts from 3-point land. It ended up averaging 0.921 points per possession, only the third SEC team this season to fail to reach the 1.0 mark against UK’s defense.

“I thought Kentucky was at a high level today,” the Vanderbilt coach said afterward.

Interestingly enough, some of Kentucky’s most “high-level” games have come against the league’s best foes. The Cats are 5-2 against teams with winning records in SEC play. It owns two wins over Tennessee (8-5), one each over Florida (10-3), Texas A&M (9-4) and Mississippi State (7-6). One of the losses was to Ole Miss (8-5). The other was to Alabama (10-3).

Just how much has Kentucky improved defensively since its first meeting with the Crimson Tide? We’ll find out Saturday.