At Tuesday’s news conference, Kentucky Coach John Calipari all but called for fans to start chanting “defense-defense-defense” beginning with Wednesday night’s game against winless Monmouth.
Kentucky (5-1) will score enough points to be successful, he said. Ultimately, UK’s destiny this season will rest on how much pride the players take in defense.
As of Tuesday, Kentucky’s defensive numbers were not pretty. The Cats ranked No. 256 nationally in average points allowed (75.5), No 279 in opponents’ shooting accuracy (45.8 percent) and No. 350 (that’s fourth from dead last in the United States) in opponents’ three-point shooting accuracy (43.