Photo by Jeff Houchin
Following a narrow win over VMI on Sunday night, John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats will host the Winthrop Eagles at Rupp Arena. The Wildcats have rebounded from their season-opening blowout to the Duke Blue Devils, winning three in a row.
However, despite the winning streak, Kentucky has been far from reaching their full potential. Offensively, they’ve owned much smaller/non-athletic teams and haven’t been able to incorporate much in a half-court set.
Defensively, the team’s efforts have been even worse. Specifically, their defense in regards to the three-point line has been nearly nonexistent.
On Wednesday, Kentucky has yet another chance to capitalize on a lesser opponent and solidify the status of their backcourt.
Though last season’s star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, didn’t fully come onto the scene until halfway through the year, Kentucky’s depth and amount of veteran players leaves a small margin for patience.
As the 2017-2018 team was far less talented, it was mostly understood that Kentucky wasn’t a serious title contender. However, this 2018-2019 team gives multiple reasons to believe that their end-of-season fortunes could differ for the better.
While Wednesday’s game against Winthrop may seem like just another game on Kentucky’s early-season schedule, the 40 minutes of action are significant for Calipari and his staff to further prepare their team for SEC play.
Tip-off for Wednesday’s game is set for 1 P.M. EDT.
