After upset loss, Kentucky is looking at losing streak

Year in and year out, Kentucky brings in talented freshman, but a lot of coach John Calipari’s best teams have had a few returning pieces. That’s not the case for this unit as it tries to bounce back from Sunday’s loss to Richmond in a hookup with Kansas on Tuesday in Indianapolis.

Kansas already has a loss this season, but that came to the top-ranked team in the country, Gonzaga, and the Jayhawks offense is averaging 92 points per game. After making 44.4 percent of his 3-point shots last season, sophomore Christian Braun has been even better in a larger role, accumulating 38 points while making seven of his 11 3-point shots thus far.

That’s almost double the 3-point shots that Kentucky’s entire team has made this season as the Wildcats have gone 6-for-26, including 0–for-10 vs. Richmond. Kentucky will look to control things on the boards to make up for its outside shooting shortfalls.

Isaiah Jackson has provided a lot of cleanup on the glass in his first two career college games with nine rebounds per game, while Wake Forest transfer Oliver Sarr has chipped in 12.5 points and seven rebounds per game with the pair combining for 3.5 blocks per game.

Kentucky’s backcourt issues also extend to taking care of the ball with the team averaging 18 turnovers per game. With the Kansas trio of Ochai Agbaji, Marcus Garrett and Braun combining for 5.5 steals per game, it should lead to fast-break opportunities for the Jayhawks.

While Kentucky’s freshmen get so much hype, Kansas’ five-star recruit Bryce Thompson has given the team 9.5 ppg. While that’s not quite Brandon Boston of Kentucky’s team-best 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, the experience that surrounds Thompson will be the difference in Kansas pulling out the win and cover.

THE PLAY: Kansas, -4.