The last time Kentucky rolled out a defensive unit as poorly-ranked as this season’s squad, the Wildcats were on a collision course to lose in the first round of the NIT to Robert Morris. That was 10 years ago now back in the 2012-13 season, the worst non-COVID stretch of the John Calipari era. That group finished 88th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom. This year’s team (16-8; 7-4 SEC) is only slightly better at 85th.
Much has been made of Kentucky’s inability to properly defend ballscreens this year, with reigning national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe constantly being called out by name in postgame press conferences as the reason why opposing teams attack the ‘Cats in that area.