Good Plan, Poor execution

Ed Cooley and the Friars came into this game with the right game plan. It was a similar game plan to what they used in the Big East Championship against Creighton last season where they took long possessions to try and shorten the game. 

In this game it was working, the Friars were in the game, led for 10 minutes in the first half. However, in the second half the turnovers continued to pile up and the offense stalled allowing Kentucky to pull away with about 15 minutes left.

Next time the Friars use this type of game plan, expect the execution to be better after learning from this game against Kentucky. 

Rebounding

The Kentucky Wildcats are a much bigger team then the Friars and so it is not surprising that they won the rebounding battle 33-29. 

Tyler Harris and Kris Dunn had six rebounds each to lead the Friars while Carson Desrosiers had four rebounds in the game. 

Desrosiers looked like he had chances to grab a few more rebounds in the game but he let the bigger Kentucky players take it away. 

Paschal Chukwu got limited minutes in the game and grabbed two rebounds and poured in seven points. Ben Bentil also had two rebounds in the game for the Friars. 

Kris Dunn

Kris Dunn returned after missing the Yale game with an injury and he did not have a great game. Dunn had 10 turnovers in the game while the Friars as a team had 18 turnovers. Dunn added six points and six rebounds but only three assists in his return. 

While Dunn was back, he did not look 100% with his ankle, did not look fully confident with it. 

Credit the Wildcats defense as well, Kentucky full court pressed the Friars nearly the entire game and even pressured them in the half court. Learning experience for Kris Dunn and the rest of the Friar guards in this game. 

LaDontae Henton

No question this was easily the worst game of the season for the Friars leading scorer, LaDontae Henton. Henton came into this game averaging 24 points per game and in this game against Kentucky had three points on one of eight shooting. 

Henton was blanketed just about the entire game by Kentucky big man Willie Cauley-Stein and had trouble getting open. When Henton was able to get open, Cauley-Stein was right there to block or alter the shot. 

Tough day for Henton but credit the Kentucky defense for an impressive performance as well. 

Good showing overall

Overall, it was a good showing for the Friars on the road against the top team in the country.They competed hard and countered Kentucky runs on numerous occasions. 

The Friars led the game for ten minutes in the first half and had Kentucky playing at their pace for the majority of the half. 

This was the first game where the PC guards saw pressure for an extended period of time, just about the entire game. Other then Dunn's 10 turnovers, they handled it pretty well, getting the ball up the court and setting up the offense.

This game will make the Friars a better team down the road.