A few things became evident in Kentucky’s 63-51 win over Virginia on Thursday night in Rupp Arena.
Chief among them: Misses don’t matter. Not anymore. Not to UK.
Hustle matters.
Crashing the offensive glass matters.
And defense matters — a lot more to this team than, maybe, what the program put on the court last season.
Kentucky shot a paltry 33.3 percent from the field against the Cavaliers and were an even worse 26.7 percent from the field in the first half.
Yet, UK led by as many as 18 against a team that reached the second round of last season’s NCAA Tournament.