Was Our Defense Better?

revcort

Heisman
Feb 20, 2003
32,522
30,904
113
I don't care who attempts to give credit to what. It was a great win for this team. We really didn't play all that well offensively, either. The defense was much better and yes, Auburn missed some shots. The psychology of this game was in UK's favor. Odds makers said it was Auburn in a landslide. Auburn coming off a 40pt win over a good team in SC that beat UK earlier, and they couldn't miss in that game. UK being questioned by everyone and a loss was expected by all. A road win was very unlikely. So, I'll take that all day. It's been a long time since UK won a game when I was expecting a loss.
 

K_TIME

Heisman
Jan 2, 2003
18,417
25,757
113
1. Ugo 36 minutes…and 2 for Bradshaw…
2. T Thiero thrives for this team in physical games
3. I liked the adjustment the not try to cheat on a side on those ball screens…stay in front..go under screen and recover
4. Feels lkke dilly and Edwards are playing strong
 

CincyUKFan

All-American
Dec 1, 2009
4,585
7,578
66
We played better defense, for sure. But that will change when Cal runs Tre out there for 33mpg again.

Wagner playing big minutes hurts us offensively, and Tre playing big minutes hurts us defensively (and also offensively lately).
 

megablue

Heisman
Oct 2, 2012
16,332
16,890
113
They could not stop our floppy stuff, but we contained their flex stuff for most of the second half, I thought.
 
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Nov 15, 2008
38,645
57,515
0
1. Ugo 36 minutes…and 2 for Bradshaw…
2. T Thiero thrives for this team in physical games
3. I liked the adjustment the not try to cheat on a side on those ball screens…stay in front..go under screen and recover
4. Feels lkke dilly and Edwards are playing strong
Now we need to work on

5. DJ stick to dribble drives and lane jumpers and leave the triples to Reeves, Shep and Dilly
 
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westerncat

Heisman
Feb 19, 2012
15,923
20,891
0
I thought our defense was much improved tonight. If we can keep playing defense like tonight we will be fine. Plus I think this is one game this year that we lead from start to finish. Good to see.
 
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Rockfly78

Heisman
Nov 20, 2014
7,927
10,877
0
Or was it a combination of slightly better defense and Auburn missing all their open shots? A lot of both, I think.
Grest road win!
With our athletes we don’t even have to be great on D. But we can’t be atrocious as we have been.
 

mcwildcats04

Heisman
Jul 19, 2003
9,212
12,831
93
Both Pearl and one of their players (Jones) specifically credited our guards' ball pressure in the post-game presser. Something to watch moving forward.
 
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Ash Williams

Heisman
Aug 3, 2022
8,485
26,838
113
1. Ugo 36 minutes…and 2 for Bradshaw…
2. T Thiero thrives for this team in physical games
3. I liked the adjustment the not try to cheat on a side on those ball screens…stay in front..go under screen and recover
4. Feels lkke dilly and Edwards are playing strong
Edwards still can't outrebound the guards.
 

4Frusciante#

All-American
Jan 15, 2021
3,280
5,483
113
Auburn definitely missed some open looks, but we did play better D overall
It was absolutely the combo platter. We did play better but could have still lost if they'd hit a decent % on their wide open threes. We still need to get better on defense but there has been encouraging improvement.
 

*Fox2Monk*

Heisman
Jun 10, 2009
47,055
86,046
113
Yep. I was one of the few in the offseason that thought he would be huge for us. I wanted him to start before the foot injury and envisioned Bradshaw as the 4.
I didn’t care who it was as long as one got healthy but he’s 2000% better than he was last year. Imagine if he got the summer healthy.
 

Bratkartoffeln

All-Conference
Jan 1, 2003
3,642
2,033
113
Or was it a combination of slightly better defense and Auburn missing all their open shots? A lot of both, I think.
Grest road win!
Damn right it was better.

I give a hell of a lot of credit to DJ Wagner for being right at the defensive point of attack. He came out and IMMEDIATELY told his man and the rest of Auburn that he wasn't taking their Scheisse. I loved that!

Our whole team played with the kind of championship effort that it takes to send a proper message right from the beginning: you're in for the fight of your lives tonight. Nothing will be easy. DJ imposed his will on his man--it was super important to get maximum ball pressure and he did that exceedingly well tonight. Auburn was off all nighgt because we initially made them uncomfortable and it didn't stop until the final seconds. We weren't supposed to be that good!

DJ led the way. He got in a stance and maintained it. He had great footwork and positioning. His man was not effective offensively like he has been this year and ultimately got into major foul trouble, and huge key to this win. DJ's offense will be better, although he did very well knocking down free throws and driving to the basket. For the first time this year, we played championship caliber defense. DJ was the leader of that and it's the reason he starts and should continue to start.
 

true-blue1

Heisman
May 15, 2007
12,865
11,356
93
Damn right it was better.

I give a hell of a lot of credit to DJ Wagner for being right at the defensive point of attack. He came out and IMMEDIATELY told his man and the rest of Auburn that he wasn't taking their Scheisse. I loved that!

Our whole team played with the kind of championship effort that it takes to send a proper message right from the beginning: you're in for the fight of your lives tonight. Nothing will be easy. DJ imposed his will on his man--it was super important to get maximum ball pressure and he did that exceedingly well tonight. Auburn was off all nighgt because we initially made them uncomfortable and it didn't stop until the final seconds. We weren't supposed to be that good!

DJ led the way. He got in a stance and maintained it. He had great footwork and positioning. His man was not effective offensively like he has been this year and ultimately got into major foul trouble, and huge key to this win. DJ's offense will be better, although he did very well knocking down free throws and driving to the basket. For the first time this year, we played championship caliber defense. DJ was the leader of that and it's the reason he starts and should continue to start.
The Kid has a long way to go but he has upside. I hope he keeps working hard to improve his game.
 

Wildcats1st

Heisman
Sep 16, 2017
18,949
28,911
0
They didn’t kill us in the paint with their guards. Something that has happened all year. They missed shots we missed shots. Our defense played a huge role in the reason for victory tonight
 
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Dec 9, 2006
752
202
0
Good defense doesn't mean you have to be in your guys face all the time, but if you are half the time, the other half when your not he is expecting it. That can and often times will upset their rhythm and timing which leads to misses.
 

RACdad

Heisman
Mar 8, 2005
10,060
10,135
113
The defense was tons better. It all boils down to physicality and discipline. This team was more physical yesterday than it has been all yr and its not even close.
They were more disciplined in their help defense. I didn't see as much crashing the lane keaving open shooters on the weak side as previous games.
 
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UKAlum84

All-Conference
Aug 4, 2022
1,587
1,186
66
We were more focused on controlling possession of the basketball.

Whether it was offense or defense, we were the aggressor and wanted that basketball more than auburn.
 

fatguy87

All-American
Oct 8, 2004
13,764
9,093
0
We had a bit of good luck with regards to Auburn’s shooting. I think they were like 2010 West Virginia game levels of bad shooting from more than 5 feet from the hoop.

Forcing them to take those bad jumpers is good though. We load the dice in our favor that way.
 
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