One Run and Done, Kentucky falls 65-62 to Kansas in Champions Classic



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Photo by Phil Ellsworth, ESPN Images

Phil Ellsworth | ESPN Images

Kentucky’s offensive woes continued for the second game in a row, but for a period in the first half fans thought the Cats had turned a corner.

For a few minutes, Kentucky basketball was back. The Wildcats were scoring at will, going up and down the court and smothering the Jayhawks with incredible length of defense. With Kentucky’s 15-0 run over midway through the first half, the offense slowly returned to its losing lanes, ultimately falling 65-62 to Kansas in the 2020 Champions Classic. in Indianapolis.

A few things to illustrate how poor Kentucky’s offense has been:

  • Kansas shot 29% and won.
  • Isaiah Jackson made a bucket with 4:20 to go before halftime. Kentucky would only make one hit during the next 12:20 game action.
  • Getting back to the Richmond game, Kentucky missed 19 straight threes before Donatie Allen scored one at long distance. They finished just 3 of 21 which means the UK are 3 for 31 (9.6%) behind the three-point line in the final 40 minutes of basketball.

Despite all the offensive struggles and the incredible foul problem, Olivier Sarr almost gave Kentucky a four-point lead with less than four minutes to go. Instead, he missed a handed dunk, which Kansas turned into a transition bucket to tie the game. Kentucky sort of had one more chance to tie him up, losing three with 10.2 seconds left, but Davion Mintz’s three fell short.

The lackluster offensive performance overshadows Isaiah Jackson’s incredible evening. The first-year forward nearly recorded a double-double in rebounds and blocked shots, ending the night with 12 targets, 8 blocked shots and 7 points.

Kentucky fans haven’t seen a lot of good offensives in 2020. It doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon.

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