Kentucky is in a weird place right now with not much time left

More things are true about Kentucky right now and why wildcats are fighting and losing two in a row and four of the last five. This one was mostly a disaster that fell afterwards at as many as 27 points early in the second half before he clapped back to lose by only 14 points-the second worst margin of defeat this season, only behind 20-point loss to Ohio State before Christmas and the fourth double-digit loss this season.

Lamont Butler, who is out, has derailed Backcourt, Kentucky is struggling to get the ball up on the floor and watch revenue rise while defensive efficiency tanks. Kerr Kriisa’s absence is more energy-focused with wildcats that lack their switch-off-tempo guard in the other unit and pushed Travis Perry into this role, whether he was ready for it or not. He has had good days and bad days – this more positive, ended with five points, two rebounds, two assists and a block of 14 minutes – but you still want Kriisa in the back pocket.

Jaxson Robinson has been in order in Butler’s role, while others have risen as playmakers-Amari Williams became the fourth player in the Kentucky story to end with a triple double, which puts together a state line of 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists at 26 minutes -but it does not replace the gloss of Nr. 1. The SDSU transfer has the best season of its career against the best competition in his career, a total game elaborate defensively, something this team lacks desperate.

It has been a domino effect from there, Kentucky’s lack of answers that defensively leads to bad body language and energy. After taking the first punch early, the match never followed when Ole Miss came with Big Shot after Big Shot to build a massive lead, one that would take a miracle to overcome. You saw players horrified to go back to the dressing room for the break and their approach on the field no better, carry themselves with a sense of helplessness that did not look good with Kentucky across their chests.

Was defending a chicken or egg’s kind of deal? Ask the rebels’ nine First half 3-Pointers after entering the day hit only 8.8 per. gameThere ends with 13 made triangles on 30 attempts. Wildcats still hit 10 triangles, but did it on only 21 attempts, and fell under the 30- to 35-delayed barrier Mark Pope has tried to reach since the team first arrived on campus again- they are surpassed 100-68 in the last three matches from Deep. Whether Kentucky gave up far openly open to perceived non-shooters or tightly competing attempts, Ole Miss continued to hit shots with a rate that exceeded his season average by 8.5 percent. Five different players ended in double numbers, led by Matthew Murrell with 24 points on 6-11 from three. They hit all, hard buckets fell into important moments to crush the comeback effort. It was a combination of bad defense and sensational shot from the rebels.

It doesn’t help Ole Miss turned the ball over exactly once compared to 24 assists after entering the day with the No. 3 turnover margin in College Basketball and completed with the No. 1 turnover speed in the country. Kentucky, meanwhile, sits at No. 324 nationally and forces 10.14 per year. Competition with a margin of -0.5 per year, good for No. 239 overall. Eight revenue was a win for the cats, though forcing just one simply wasn’t enough.

Nine games remain in the year, and wildcats have fallen to No. 112 nationally in defensive efficiency – even with No. 2 -Law violation in College Basketball. Do you owe Butler’s absence or credit Ole Miss’ Shot-Making? What about the lack of defensive pressure, to watch the game loosen before throwing new wrinkles on the rebels? Playing without a candy of the heart in the first half did not help things either.

“It’s just us. We have all the tools and weapons to be a big defensive team, we just need to have the urgent character, ” Otega Owh told KSR. “We’ll find out, but we just didn’t have it in the first half.”

Kentucky played as a team that lost hope without his leader and waited until the game was out of reach before he woke up and asked to put together an all-time comeback effort, provided Ole Miss would not throw dagger off his Own back. Also, don’t blame the audience on the pavilion – the place was empty when it comes to hostile roadside standards. Fans showed up late and never filled the place, students the only ones in the building who stepped up to give a top-25 team the help it deserves. All other stunks loudly, and do not bother to show up on time (if at all) without hardly making a look. That’s what made the slow start so frustrating for the cats. It was the perfect environment to steal a road gain and they crumbled.

Ole Miss jumped out to a 10-point lead with 14:33 to go before led 23 points at the break using a 15-3 race to give Kentucky his third worst deficit during the break in the program history. Pope’s group just wasn’t competitive, and when it decided to be, it was too late. It should not take the level of desperation to get this team to play with an edge and avoid curved body language. Other teams should not have it more than this one. But they did, and they do.

The simple answer is perhaps just getting Butler and/or Kriisa back to run the show with some efficiency, keeping the ball moving. Maybe finding out how to avoid Ansley Almonor and Trent Noah from combining for 28 minutes with zero points, zero rebounds, zero assists, zero blocks and zero steal in the loss? I’d rather avoid the late breakdowns before half, if possible.

Either way, Kentucky has four losses in the last five with the defense, which regresses at an alarming speed, just five weeks away from the start of SEC tournament games. Clock ticking.