Every night is a battle in the Southeastern Conference, and tonight was no different when Kentucky Basketball took the floor against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
While Kentucky was expected to win, South Carolina didn’t go down without a fight. The two traded blows from the first tip until late in the second half when the Wildcats managed to pull away and win, 72-63.
Advertisement
It was a quiet night for Otega Oweh, who had been hot all season long. Instead, Mark Pope’s team was led by veterans Denzel Aberdeen and Mohamed Dioubate, along with a pleasantly surprising performance by Andrija Jelavic.
Here are four things to know following Kentucky’s season-saving win at South Carolina.
Pope Avoids Disaster
Coming into tonight’s game, Kentucky had lost three consecutive games, starting with a close loss at Florida, followed by a stunning home loss to Georgia, and then this past Saturday’s heartbreaker at Auburn. The three-game losing streak nearly sucked all of the air out of this season, but thankfully, the Wildcats came through in a must-win situation.
Advertisement
While some fans may very well call this season somewhat of a disaster, Pope and his team winning on Tuesday night avoided a four-game losing streak and will hopefully fuel a late run before the SEC Tournament begins in a couple of weeks.
Cats Start Strong
Kentucky has had a not-so-great habit of having poor starts to games this season, especially on the road or at a neutral site. That trend has led to several bad defeats and caused Kentucky to now have to fight for its NCAA Tournament bid.
While the Wildcats came out in the first few minutes and were ice cold, they rallied midway through the first half to take a lead into the locker room at halftime. Denzel Aberdeen’s 11 first-half points played a major role in a run to take the lead and offset a four-point first half from Otega Oweh.
Advertisement
Kentucky Bigs Dominate Boards
So far this season, Kentucky has been in the middle of the pack when it comes to total rebounds per game. But luckily for the Wildcats, this South Carolina team has been dead last in that category, and Pope’s team was able to capitalize on that weakness, outrebounding the Gamecocks by 20.
Kentucky’s bigs owned rebounding at both ends, and that allowed for the team to offset what was a somewhat poor shooting night. When it’s this close to March, it’s not how you win but if you win the game, and that’s exactly what Kentucky did tonight.
Defense Barely Holds On
Kentucky has put together pretty consistent defense during SEC play, and that continued tonight in the first half when the Wildcats held the Gamecocks to just 25% shooting from both the field and the three-point line.
Advertisement
However, in the second half, South Carolina managed to shoot the basketball at a much more efficient rate, which allowed them to come back from their first-half deficit and tie the game with just over eight minutes left. Kentucky made enough plays at the end of the game to win, with the defense holding on at the end.
Now, let’s discuss the skid-ending victory!
