After a deep dive into the data, here are five stats-based observations about what went wrong for Kentucky in its 77-71 overtime loss to Auburn in the NCAA’s Midwest Regional finals on Sunday:
1. The three-point shots would not drop
The main storyline Sunday was Auburn’s three-point shooting. The Tigers had been ridiculous from beyond the arc all tournament, and Kentucky did a good job of running the Tigers off the three-point line. Auburn was just 7-of-23 for 30.4 percent. The problem was that the Cats couldn’t make threes either.
UK was just 5-of-21 from three-point range for 23.