Off the mark: UK's poor 3-point shooting against Ole Miss highlights weakness

LEXINGTON – A roar of relief erupted from the Rupp Arena crowd with 40 seconds left in the first half of No. 12 Kentucky’s tilt against Ole Miss on Saturday. The Wildcats had finally — finally — hit a 3-pointer, after starting 0-for-11 from deep.

That made trey by Johnny Juzang proved only to be the eye of the storm, though, as the Wildcats continued to struggle into the second half. The drought wasn't over, as UK finished 2-for-22 from the arc in a 67-62 win.

The Wildcats became only the third Division I team this season to take at least 20 3s, shoot less than 10% (9.1), and still win.

A roar of relief rang out after the game, too, as UK (20-5, 10-2 SEC) escaped with a victory in a game in which the Wildcats’ 3-point shooting was abysmal, and center Nick Richards “wasn’t really good,” according to coach John Calipari. UK players highlighted the fact that — even on an off night — they were still able to scrape together a victory.

However, it’s also a disconcerting reminder of a fate that could await this team come March.

“You hear it all the time, in the tournament, one bad shooting night and your team is out for the season,” UK sophomore Immanuel Quickley said, “so for us to be able to miss shots and still have defense travel and things like that, it’s really big for us.”

Away from friendly Rupp Arena, and against a foe better than Ole Miss (13-12, 4-8), the Wildcats might not be able to win on a night when they shoot a single-digit percentage from beyond the arc.

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Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis entered Saturday’s game preparing to play a 2-3 zone, but used it even more than he had planned to protect some of his players, who got in early foul trouble, from fouling out. So, the Wildcats faced a zone for the bulk of the game, and — just as Davis hoped — attempted by far more 3-pointers than they have in any other SEC contest.

UK entered the contest averaging 12.6 3-pointers per game, but fired off 22 against Ole Miss.

“We tried to make them shoot it from the perimeter,” Davis said.

The plan worked. UK shot 57% from inside the arc, but could not hit the broad side of Rupp Arena from beyond it. Even when the Wildcats penetrated and then found an open shooter — often a recipe for success — the tries wouldn’t stay true.

“They were all pretty much wide open, good shots,” UK freshman Tyree Maxey explained Saturday. “We just didn’t hit today.”

Despite the fact that most of UK’s attempts were truly good looks, Calipari said his team settled too often for 3s against the zone.

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UK has been restrained in its 3-pointers this season. The Wildcats take the fewest of any high-major school, and their previous conference-high was 16 attempts. That’s a range that Calipari prefers.

“This team, I’d probably tell you, let’s shoot 15 or 16. Let’s not get the 22,” Calipari said.

Saturday was a back-and-forth finish, and with 1:40 left in the game, UK trailed Ole Miss by one. That’s when Maxey, who finished 0-for-5 from deep, stepped into an open 3-pointer.

“If I’m gonna be completely honest with you, I thought I made it,” Maxey said.

The ball caught nothing but backboard, which Calipari harped upon postgame. But after E.J. Montgomery corralled the loose ball, Maxey attacked the basket and scored at the rim through contact, giving UK a lead.

On Saturday, and to some extent, the whole season, those 2-pointers have been better looks for UK than shots from beyond the arc. When the Wildcats take 16 or more 3s, their record is now 4-4 on the season; when they take 14 or fewer, they’re undefeated: 11-0.

There are many factors that go into that, of course, but 3-point shooting has not been especially kind to the Wildcats. So much so, that Ole Miss essentially encouraged it.

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“A lot of times teams get in a zone, hoping that you just take jump shots, take 3s,” said Quickley, who made 1-of-8 from distance. “But you wanna get in the lane, penetrate, and then find open shots.”

UK’s offense against the zone was occasionally stagnant, but often resulted in open looks. Even still, those open looks didn’t often result in made shots. And if UK had tried many more 3s, there might not have been a roar of relief after the game, at least not in Calipari’s mind.

“If we’d got to 30 (attempts), we’d have lost this game,” he said. “We almost lost it shooting 22.”

Hayes Gardner can be reached at hgardner@gannett.com; Twitter: @HayesGardner; Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.