Texas Tech basketball: Scouting the Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky makes fewer 3-pointers than almost any team in the nation

It’s ironic that a program that has come to symbolize the modern game in that it was the pioneer of the current one-and-done trend is playing an old-school style of offense.  But that’s the case with Kentucky as the Wildcats are shunning the current fab of relying on the 3-point shot as a primary means of scoring.

On the season, they have averaged just 15.1 attempts per game from deep, that’s 342nd out of 350 teams.  What’s more, they have hit on average just 4.7 per game, 343rd in the nation.  When they do shoot it, they are connecting 31.6% of the time, ranking just 259th in the country.

In their most recent game, they were just 1-9 against Georgia.  Still, the Wildcats managed 89 points in a 10-point victory.   Prior to that, they were just 9-29 combined against Arkansas and South Carolina.

But they can get hot at times.  In the four games prior to that, John Calipari’s team nailed 26 of 58 3-point attempts (44.8%).

The UK head coach has said he wants his team to attempt around seven 3s per game and get offense more through transition buckets and dribble penetration.   But at times, that formula hasn’t worked, as in a 69-66 loss to Utah when the Cats hit only 2-17 shots from behind the arc.

There are two players on the UK roster shooting nearly 40% from deep and Tech will need to be on guard when either is on the floor.  Immanuel Quickley is a 39.5% shooter from deep and Nate Sestina shoots it at a 39.4% rate.

But those two players have made just 43 shots from distance combined this season.  Meanwhile, Davide Moretti has made 40 by himself.

The Red Raiders are averaging 6.8 3s per game this season and they likely need to hit more than that to offset what is expected to be a huge edge for the Wildcats inside.  If that happens and Tech has a dominant advantage from 3-point range,  it could be a rather fun evening in Lubbock.