Kentucky Wildcats Basketball

The status of the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament has been sewn up for the better part of a week, but the final few days of the regular season weren't short on intrigue.

Kentucky cinched up its sixth SEC regular-season title this decade with a 73-66 win over No. 15 Auburn, avenging one of its three conference losses. On the other end of the standings, losses Saturday by Arkansas, Ole Miss and Georgia moved Missouri into the No. 10 seed, and Cuonzo Martin's squad now avoids the dreaded Wednesday night play-in game.

The loss for Arkansas, as well as Tennessee's defeat at the hands of Auburn and South Carolina's loss to last-place Vanderbilt, didn't do anything for the league's NCAA tournament bubble hopes. Mississippi State, meanwhile, moved itself onto the bubble with its season-ending win over Ole Miss.

To see the full bracket, click here.

     

Key Storylines to Watch

Who Plays Their Way In or Out of the NCAA Tournament?

Any of the four SEC bubble teams—Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina and Mississippi State—will almost certainly need a minimum of two wins in Nashville, and most likely three, to guarantee themselves an at-large bid.

For the Razorbacks, making the tournament off the 11-line would have seemed like a pipe dream a month ago when guard Isaiah Joe went down with an injury and Arkansas lost five straight games. But with Joe back in the lineup, the Razorbacks have won three of their final five games and have a chance to play their way in by beating Vanderbilt on Wednesday, South Carolina on Thursday and LSU on Friday.

Meanwhile, Tennessee, South Carolina and Mississippi State, despite having better SEC records than Arkansas, will almost certainly need to win a minimum of three games in three days to lock themselves into a berth.

As the No. 4 seed, Mississippi State will wait until Thursday night to learn its fate, though a showdown with the fifth-seeded Gators, whom the Bulldogs beat in their only matchup this season, is likely.

For the Vols, if they can top Alabama on Thursday, a date with Kentucky awaits in the quarterfinals. The teams split their two matchups in SEC play, with the Vols getting a rare road win at Rupp Arena on Tuesday.

     

Does Ashton Hagans Return to Kentucky's Lineup?

Speaking of Kentucky, shortly before the Wildcats tipped off against Florida on Saturday, head coach John Calipari announced on Twitter that starting guard Ashton Hagans did not travel with the team and would be taking a brief leave of absence because of personal reasons.

Kentucky pulled off a somewhat miraculous comeback over Florida without him, getting big contributions from Nate Sestina, Johnny Juzang and Keion Brooks Jr. The win was undoubtedly impressive, considering how heavily the 'Cats rely on him, but the question then becomes whether he'll be available when Kentucky opens play Friday against the winner of Alabama and Tennessee. Hagans is the team's offensive catalyst from the point guard spot—averaging 6.4 assists per game—and arguably its best perimeter defender.

     

Below is the complete 2020 SEC tournament schedule (note that all times are Central):

Wednesday, March 11

First round

Game 1—No. 12 Ole Miss vs. No. 13 Georgia, 6 p.m., SEC Network

Game 2—No. 11 Arkansas vs. No. 14 Vanderbilt, approximately 8:30 p.m., SEC Network

     

Thursday, March 12

Second round

Game 3—No. 8 Tennessee vs. No. 9 Alabama, noon, SEC Network

Game 4—No. 5 Florida vs. Winner Game 1, approximately 2:30 p.m., SEC Network

Game 5—No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Missouri, 6 p.m., SEC Network

Game 6—No. 6 South Carolina vs. Winner Game 2, approximately 8:30 p.m., SEC Network

     

Friday, March 13

Quarterfinals

Game 7—No. 1 Kentucky vs. Winner Game 3, noon, ESPN

Game 8—No. 4 Mississippi State vs. Winner Game 4, approximately 2:30 p.m., ESPN

Game 9—No. 2 Auburn vs. Winner Game 5, 6 p.m., SEC Network

Game 10—No. 3 LSU vs. Winner Game 6, approximately 8:30 p.m., SEC Network

     

Saturday, March 14

Semifinals

Game 11—Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, noon, ESPN

Game 12—Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, approximately 2:30 p.m., ESPN

     

Sunday, March 15

Championship game—Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, noon, ESPN

     

Follow Keegan on Twitter @ByKeeganPope.

Kentucky played Saturday's regular-season finale against Florida without Ashton Hagans.

Hagans and head coach John Calipari announced on Twitter the sophomore guard would be out for personal reasons:

Let’s Get this Win Fellas!!! Love y’all boyss💙Be back & Better!!! https://t.co/kRwLyDDzh0

— ashton hagans (@H23Ash) March 7, 2020

Following the Wildcats' 71-70 win, Calipari told reporters that Hagans said he was "in a bad way" when he asked for time away.

"Here is what I tell you about these kids: In the last three years, this has totally changed," Calipari said. "What is on these players? The clutter that they gotta deal with. The lists, what's out there. Not being able to stay in the moment. The anxiety of worrying about a year from now. Everyone around them."

Hagans has struggled recently, including a 2-of-13 shooting performance in a 73-66 win over Auburn on Feb. 29.

Things seemed to get heated for the Wildcats in the second half of Tuesday's 81-73 loss to Tennessee. Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald Leader noted Hagans and Nick Richards exchanged words late in the game.

"Heat of the moment, some of that stuff," Calipari told reporters at a news conference Friday. "When you coach young kids, this is what pops out sometimes. And you won't believe this: I get emotional, so I don't mind when other people get emotional. I get it."

Expectations were high for Hagans this season after his solid freshman campaign. He averaged 7.7 points and 4.3 assists per game and shot 46.7 percent in 2018-19.

The Georgia native is averaging 11.5 points and 6.4 assists per game this season, but his field-goal percentage has dropped to 40.4 in 30 games.

Kentucky (25-6, 15-3) wrapped up the SEC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

Ashley Lyles will not be going to any more Kentucky Wildcats games after she used a racial slur leaving Rupp Arena following the team's Tuesday game against the Tennessee Volunteers. 

Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart tweeted the program "permanently revoked ticket privileges for all UK Athletics events from the person who made the abusive remark":

We have permanently revoked ticket privileges for all UK Athletics events from the person who made the abusive remark at Tuesday night’s game, effective immediately. This misconduct is unacceptable, unwelcome at the University of Kentucky and not reflective of our values.

— Mitch Barnhart (@UKMitchBarnhart) March 5, 2020

Shelby Lofton of WKYT noted video of Lyles using the slur after a Tennessee fan asked her why she was leaving the game circulated on social media.

Lyles issued the following statement, per Lofton:

"I messed up. I did something I terribly regret. My reaction after the game was unacceptable, period. It was against all values of the University and State of Kentucky. I humbly apologize to the individuals at which my words were directed. My words were hurtful and hateful and have no place in this world. I apologize to the University and state of Kentucky for the embarrassment I have caused. I want my apology not just to be in words, but in actions moving forward."

As for the game, the Volunteers prevailed in an 81-73 upset victory over the sixth-ranked Wildcats behind 27 points and six rebounds from John Fulkerson.

University of Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart announced Wednesday that Kentucky fan Ashley Lyles will face consequences for using a racial slur to refer to a Tennessee fan during the Volunteers' 81-73 win over the Wildcats at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, on Tuesday:

An incident like the one that took place last night at Rupp Arena has no place at the University of Kentucky. There will be consequences for this unacceptable behavior and they will be announced once communicated to the offending party.

— Mitch Barnhart (@UKMitchBarnhart) March 5, 2020

We also have reached out to the patron who was the victim of this abusive and inexcusable language to apologize personally. That’s not who we are as an athletics department.

— Mitch Barnhart (@UKMitchBarnhart) March 5, 2020

After video of the incident circulated across the internet and went viral, Lyles identified herself and apologized in the following statement to LEX 18:

"My reaction after the game was unacceptable, period. It was against all values of the University and state of Kentucky. I humbly apologize to the individuals at which my words were directed. My words were hurtful and hateful and have no place in this world. I apologize to the University and state of Kentucky for the embarrassment I have caused. I want my apology not just to be in words, but in actions moving forward."

Video of Lyles using a racial slur was posted by Tennessee fan Ethan Williams, who was the subject of her abusive language. Williams explained the decision to post the video to TMZ Sports:

"There is no excuse for her actions. There were plenty of Kentucky fans around before her that said good game and headed out, but she made a conscious effort to make the comments that she made. I felt like it needed to be shared and that the university needed to be made aware of the incident, because it's 2020 and competitions should be able to be enjoyed by all fans."

Lyles is the founder of Sparkle Bright, which is a nonprofit that supports brain cancer patients. The website states that Lyles started the foundation after surviving an aggressive form of brain cancer.

In 2017, Tyler Thompson of Kentucky Sports Radio reported how Kentucky basketball inspired Lyles to start Sparkle Bright.

While Lyles has deep ties to Kentucky basketball, Barnhart's comments suggest the university will punish her in some capacity.

The Wildcats have no home games remaining this season before closing out their regular-season slate on the road against Florida on Saturday.

After that, the SEC regular-season champions will be the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament and then go on to partake in the NCAA tournament.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari wasn't happy with the Wildcats' physical play after blowing a 17-point lead in the second half of an 81-73 loss to Tennessee on Tuesday night. 

"We got manhandled. I got manhandled," Calipari told reporters. "This is one that I know I gotta watch the tape."

The unranked Volunteers outscored the No. 6 Wildcats 50-31 in the second half, won the rebounding battle 31-26 and shot 57.1 percent (20 of 35) on shots from inside the arc.

"The game got physical, and we couldn't compete," Calipari said. "It just got physical. We tried different ways to score, and we just had nothing. We couldn't throw it to the post; we tried to open up the court and couldn't get by people. But give credit to Tennessee; they could've gone away down 17, but that's [Volunteers coach] Rick Barnes."

Vols junior forward John Fulkerson led the charge with 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting.

"We just kept fighting," Fulkerson said. "I kept trying to look at the score at the top of the [scoreboard] and couldn't find it, which I guess was a good thing. But it was such a team effort, everybody played well. Guys from the bench came in and contributed. This was no surprise to me. I knew we were capable of this. I knew that if everybody comes to play, we can get the job done."

It was a crucial victory for Tennessee, which is trying to make a last-ditch push into the bubble conversation for the NCAA tournament.

Tuesday's triumph was the team's first win over a ranked opponent since a Nov. 30 victory against VCU, and UT gets another chance Saturday when it closes the regular season by facing No. 17 Auburn.

A victory over the Tigers followed by a deep run in the SEC tournament may be enough for the Volunteers to sneak in as an at-large team, which didn't seem possible before upsetting Kentucky.

UK will look to bounce back with a road win over Florida in its regular-season finale Saturday.

Tennessee overcame a 17-point second-half deficit to pull off an 81-73 upset over No. 6 Kentucky at Rupp Arena.

John Fulkerson scored a career-high 27 points for the Volunteers on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and a 7-of-7 showing from the free-throw line.

#Vols coach Rick Barnes on John Fulkerson’s performance tonight: One of the best I’ve seen from anyone I’ve ever coached.

— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) March 4, 2020

He was part of an efficient offense for the visitors, who shot 52.8 percent overall while scoring 50 points in the second half.

It added up to the biggest win of the year for the 17-13 squad.  

Tyrese Maxey scored 21 points for Kentucky (24-6), which suffered its second home defeat of the season and its first since a November loss to Evansville.

It appeared as though the Wildcats were heading toward an easy win in the first half while building a 42-31 advantage by intermission. The team then scored the first six points of the second half to go up 48-31 with the home crowd behind it.

However, Tennessee stormed back and eventually took the lead on a Josiah-Jordan James three-pointer with under seven minutes remaining. 

Kentucky never led again and suffered one of its most heartbreaking losses in years:

Via @ESPNStatsInfo: Kentucky had been 129-0 over the last 10 seasons when leading by double digits at halftime. https://t.co/irQnVQU111

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 4, 2020

No. 6 Kentucky led by as many as 17 points in their 81-73 loss to Tennessee on Tuesday.

Kentucky last squandered a 17-point lead in a game they went on lose on Feb. 2, 2016...at Tennessee. pic.twitter.com/wzfjpw9iU4

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 4, 2020

The Wildcats got a lot of production from the usual suspects as Maxey, Immanuel Quickley, Ashton Hagans and Nick Richards all reached double figures, but the rest of the team only combined for 14 points in the loss.

The role players from the Volunteers provided much more help even with a quiet night from leading scorer Jordan Bowden (11 points on 3-of-8 shooting). Yves Pons was just a 32.5 percent three-point shooter coming in but hit all three of his attempts Tuesday, while James scored 16 points with seven rebounds and five assists.

It was a complete team effort to help Tennessee keep its postseason hopes alive.

Kentucky will now try to bounce back in its final game of the regular season, on the road Saturday at Florida. Tennessee will look for another upset while hosting No. 17 Auburn.

The No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats clinched the regular-season SEC championship Saturday with a 73-66 win over the No. 15 Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

Kentucky improved to 24-5 overall and 14-2 in SEC play, while Auburn fell to 24-5 and an 11-5 conference record.

The Wildcats went just 2-of-13 from beyond the arc, but they shot 42.3 percent from the field and 81.8 percent from the free-throw line while also forcing 10 turnovers and only turning the ball over seven times.

Auburn shot 36.1 percent from the floor and 26.5 percent from deep, but it was only 13-of-22 from the charity stripe, which paled in comparison to Kentucky.

             

Key Player Stats

Immanuel Quickley, G, KEN: 18 PTS, 12 REB

Tyrese Maxey, G, KEN: 17 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST

Nick Richards, F, KEN: 14 PTS, 3 REB

J'Von McCormick, G, AUB: 13 PTS

Austin Wiley, C, AUB: 10 PTS, 12 REB

Isaac Okoro, F, AUB: 9 PTS, 4 REB

                

Quickley's Free-Throw Excellence Leads Kentucky to SEC Crown

Possible SEC Player of the Year Immanuel Quickley went just 3-of-10 from the field and 1-of-5 from three-point range, but his crafty play and clutch ability made the difference in Kentucky's win.

Quickley was dominant from the charity stripe, as he has been all season (91.5 percent before Saturday), going 11-of-11 and leading the Wildcats with 18 points.

John Clay of the Lexington Herald-Leader noted how Quickley has been close to perfect from the free-throw line this season:

Immanuel Quickley at the foul line: Automatic For The People #bbn

— John Clay (@johnclayiv) February 29, 2020

While Quickley was the standout for the Wildcats, he didn't do it on his own, as freshman guard Tyrese Maxey and junior forward Nick Richards played significant roles as well.

After falling behind early, the Wildcats found their rhythm offensively and went on a 10-0 run to take a 29-23 lead with just under seven minutes remaining in the first half:

Keion Brooks Jr. dunk ✅
10-0 run ✅@KentuckyMBB pic.twitter.com/N4jElwOHkg

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 29, 2020

Maxey was the clear star for Kentucky during the first 20 minutes with 12 points, including this fast-break bucket:

Look up "clutch." You'll find a photo of Tyrese Maxey. @KentuckyMBB pic.twitter.com/PtUWBgTuxg

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 29, 2020

Jackson Frank of The Athletic has big expectations for him:

Tyrese Maxey is going to be a very, very good NBA player.

— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) February 29, 2020

Kentucky entered halftime with a 40-37 lead, and it held a slight advantage throughout most of the second half as both teams struggled to make shots.

As Kyle Tucker of The Athletic pointed out, the Wildcats went over six minutes without making a field goal at one point in the second half, although Auburn couldn't close the gap much:

Kentucky 59, Auburn 56, 7:59 2H. Cats have gone 6:33 without a made field goal. Tigers have one make in the last 3-plus minutes. We have 17 combined fouls, 12 made FG in 12 minutes this half. FUN STUFF.

— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) February 29, 2020

Brandon Marcello of 247Sports noted how evenly matched the teams appeared to be and how perhaps the one thing separating them was home-court advantage:

With the way Auburn and Kentucky go after each other the last 2 years, you almost have to think the home team is gonna win because they'll get a few more whistles from the refs. Either way, Auburn and Kentucky showing why they're the top teams in SEC today.

— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) February 29, 2020

Kentucky seemed to use the home crowd's energy to its advantage down the stretch, as it made several big plays in the closing minutes.

The Wildcats were up just 67-64 with 3:26 left, but they went on a 6-2 run the rest of the way, as Maxey made a layup and two free throws, while Richards added two free throws.

The Tigers played Kentucky tough from start to finish, but their struggles from the field prevented them from completing the comeback.

           

What's Next?

Kentucky will close out its regular season with games against Tennessee on Tuesday and Florida next Saturday.

Auburn will attempt to rebound from Saturday's loss when it faces Texas A&M on Wednesday and Tennessee next Saturday.    

Kentucky has lost a key recruit from its 2019 class, as forward Kahlil Whitney announced Friday he intends to transfer.

In a statement, Whitney said: "My time at Kentucky has not gone as I had hoped, and I therefore need to make a difficult decision quickly to put myself back in to the best position possible as I continue to develop and work towards my ultimate goal."

Thank You❤️ Next chapter🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/P3z1RNzHa8

— Kahlil Whitney (@KahlilWhitney) January 24, 2020

The 6'6", 210-pound New Jersey native was supposed to be one of head coach John Calipari's impact freshmen in 2019-20. 247Sports rated him as a 5-star prospect, the No. 2 small forward and the No. 11 overall recruit.

However, things didn't come together for him at Kentucky. He averaged 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 18 games with a 37.1 shooting percentage.

Calipari only used Whitney for a combined four minutes in the past two games. He hadn't played more than 11 minutes in a game since Dec. 18 against Utah.

Prior to committing to Kentucky in August 2018, Whitney also had Georgetown, Illinois and Oregon listed among his four finalists.

It's unclear which schools he might consider now. His upside would make him attractive to a number of marquee programs.

The No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats scored a huge 78-70 overtime home victory over the No. 3 Louisville Cardinals at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, on Saturday.

Kentucky ended its two-game losing streak following losses to Utah and Ohio State to improve to 9-3 on the season, while Louisville lost for just the second time in 2019-20, dropping to 11-2.

The Wildcats have now won three in a row and seven of their past eight meetings with Louisville.

Freshman guard Tyrese Maxey led the way for the Wildcats, as he registered 13 points and four rebounds in the first half alone before finishing with 27 points and seven rebounds.

Kentucky also locked down Louisville defensively, holding the Cardinals to 40.3 percent shooting from the field and 25.9 percent from three, while the Wildcats shot 46.3 percent overall and 46.7 percent from beyond the arc.

     

Notable Stats

Tyrese Maxey, G, KEN: 27 PTS, 7 REB

Immanuel Quickley, G, KEN: 18 PTS, 3 REB

Nick Richards, F, KEN: 13 PTS, 10 REB

Steven Enoch, C, LOU: 18 PTS, 5 REB

Dwayne Sutton, F, LOU: 14 PTS, 10 REB

Lamarr Kimble, G, LOU: 12 PTS, 4 AST

Jordan Nwora, F, LOU: 8 PTS, 4 REB

     

Maxey, Richards Come Up Huge in Gutsy Kentucky Win

Kentucky entered Saturday's game as a desperate team after losing consecutive games, and it showed, as the Wildcats led by eight at halftime and as many as 12 in the second half.

The play of Maxey, who scored a career-high 27 points in the win, played a significant role in the Wildcats' hot start, as he was firing on all cylinders from beyond the arc:

AND HE DRAINS IT.

Tyrese Maxey with a big 3 for @KentuckyMBB pic.twitter.com/bVhsKUetyN

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) December 28, 2019

Maxey with his second 3-pointer of the day 💪🏻@KentuckyMBB pic.twitter.com/4oozFChKfx

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) December 28, 2019

Nick Coffey of 790 KRD pointed out that everything seemed to be working in Kentucky's favor during the early going:

Gonna take a phenomenal second half for Louisville for this to end well. Kentucky clearly has forgotten they’ve lost 2 in a row. Everything Kentucky needed to happen, happened. Nwora missing, Richards outworked Enoch. Guard play advantage was evident.

— Nick Coffey (@TheCardConnect) December 28, 2019

The tide started to shift as the game reached the midway point of the second half, however, with Louisville seizing the momentum.

Louisville went on a 14-3 run at one point to shrink what was once a 12-point deficit to one, and Justin Rowland of Rivals noted that a discrepancy in fouls played a role:

Foul count is 8 against Kentucky, 2 against Louisville this half. Without passing judgment on the majority of those calls, it's pretty fair to say they have completely changed the course of the game.

— Justin Rowland (@RowlandRIVALS) December 28, 2019

At around the midway point of the second half, Louisville knocked down threes on consecutive possessions to tie the score and then take the lead:

Word that comes to mind: WOW. @LouisvilleMBB pic.twitter.com/P3OsWu9s2o

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) December 28, 2019

LOUISVILLE TAKES THE LEAD 💯@LouisvilleMBB pic.twitter.com/o1xFo7BtI7

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) December 28, 2019

It would have been easy for Kentucky to wilt at that point with the momentum clearly on the Cardinals' side, but junior forward Nick Richards started to take the game over for Kentucky even with four fouls.

Richards drew a pair of offensive fouls in the second half, much to the approval of Stadium's Jeff Goodman and Chris Bailey of WKYT:

Nick Richards has been damn good here the last few minutes on the defensive end, especially with four fouls.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) December 28, 2019

Nick Richards is the most impactful player on the floor today.

— Chris Bailey🌪️⚡️ (@Kentuckyweather) December 28, 2019

With Richards getting the Wildcats back in their groove, they managed to avoid a devastating loss and instead forced overtime.

Perhaps the biggest reason Louisville was unable to win it in regulation was the poor play of star forward Jordan Nwora, who was also out of sync in the Cardinals' only previous loss to Texas Tech:

Louisville’s best player, Jordan Nwora, in loss against Texas Tech and first half vs. Kentucky:

5-24 from field
1-11 from 3

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) December 28, 2019

Nwora snapped out of his funk to hit a massive three that gave the Cardinals the lead in overtime, though, and at that point, it looked like Louisville was destined for a huge comeback win.

The Wildcats answered back, however, and after Richards hit two free throws to give Kentucky a two-point lead late in the overtime session, the Cardinals could not net the equalizer, and their comeback was all for naught.

     

What's Next?

Kentucky will begin SEC play when it hosts the 7-4 Missouri Tigers on Jan. 4 in a game the Wildcats should be heavily favored to win.

Meanwhile, Louisville will open its ACC slate Jan. 4 when it hosts the No. 17 Florida State Seminoles, who are currently 11-2.

When AP No. 19 Kentucky hosts No. 3 Louisville on Saturday afternoon, all the pressure will be on the home team.

That isn't to say it's an unimportant game for Louisville. A road win would be huge in the 11-1 Cardinals' case for a No. 1 seed in the 2020 NCAA men's basketball tournament. But if they end up on the losing end in the latest installment of one of college basketball's greatest rivalries, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

At least Louisville would still be comfortably projected to reach the tourney.

If Kentucky loses, though, the sky will be falling in Lexington.

The Wildcats are 8-3 and enter this slugfest having lost consecutive games against Utah and Ohio State, both in Las Vegas. If they were to lose this one, it would be just the second time in the past 15 years—11 with Kentucky, four with Memphis—that a John Calipari-coached team endured a three-game losing streak. (The previous came in February 2018.)

Kentucky's two biggest problems are blatantly obvious, but it's unclear whether either can be fixed.

First and foremost is the three-point shooting.

The Wildcats had hovered slightly above the national average in three-point percentage each of the past five seasons, but they are now a disaster from the perimeter, shooting 27.8 percent as a team. They were 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) in the infamous loss to Evansville, and that was twice as good as the 2-of-17 (11.8 percent) effort in the loss to Utah.

The only Wildcat shooting 32 percent or better from distance is big man Nate Sestina (8-of-21; 38.1 percent), and he was at 23.1 percent prior to going 5-of-8 against Ohio State this past Saturday.

Maybe that one-game success in pick-and-pop action will be the start of something. If so, Sestina could thrive in the type of role that Derek Willis played during his final two seasons in Lexington.

But Willis was operating alongside Jamal Murray and Malik Monk in his junior and senior years, respectively, and that type of sniper does not exist on this roster. Ashton Hagans has been Kentucky's best player, but he is 21-of-76 (27.6 percent) from three-point range in his 48-game career.

The other star, Tyrese Maxey, has shot 25 percent or worse from deep in nine of his last 10 games and is 1-of-16 thus far in December. He had that late dagger in the marquee win over Michigan State, but it has mostly been bricks since then.

Immanuel Quickley is the most likely candidate to emerge as the primary three-point-shooting guard, but even he is below 34 percent for his career and has hit multiple triples in just five of his last 32 games.

Barring an unlikely development, this looks like something that will plague Kentucky for the rest of the year.

But a lack of three-point shooting doesn't have to be a death knell. There aren't many, but there are a few precedents in the past 20 years of teams succeeding in spite of an inability to make the deep ball.

Duke was at 30.2 percent from the perimeter when it earned a No. 1 seed last year. Louisville was only slightly better at 30.4 percent upon receipt of a No. 4 seed in 2015. And Marquette was at 30.1 percent on Selection Sunday 2013, earning a No. 3 seed. All three teams survived early scares and made it to the Elite Eight before bowing out.

But Duke had a generational talent in Zion Williamson, Louisville was elite on defense, and Marquette made up for its lack of shooting by owning the offensive glass and converting twos and free throws at a high clip. Aside from great free-throw shooting, it's unclear at this point where this Kentucky team holds a clear statistical advantage over the average foe.

That brings us to the biggest issue: This has been—without a close runner-up—Kentucky's most disappointing freshman class under Calipari.

Maxey has been solid, but there were three 5-star recruits and a total of four top-40 guys in this year's recruiting class. You wouldn't know it from looking at their production.

Keion Brooks Jr. did not score against Michigan State or Ohio State. Kahlil Whitney has a KenPom O-Rating of 87.0, which is downright reprehensible for a guy who has started eight of 11 games. Johnny Juzang is shooting just 6-of-27 from the field and has played a grand total of 17 minutes in Kentucky's four games against major-conference opponents.

In terms of Sports Reference's box plus/minus, Brooks is at 0.6, Whitney is at minus-0.5 and Juzang is at minus-2.0—easily the worst among the nine Wildcats who have logged at least five minutes.

For the sake of comparison, Duke also signed four top-40 recruits in this year's class, and their BPMs are 5.1, 8.0, 9.5 and 11.3.

It'd be one thing for Kentucky to succeed in spite of one of their recruits not living up to the hype. The Wildcats did so last year with E.J. Montgomery struggling. They got along just fine in 2016-17 with Sacha Killeya-Jones barely playing.

With three of this year's four main recruits significantly underachieving, though, it's little wonder that Kentucky is No. 74 in the latest NET rankings.

And if the Wildcats are unable to win this rivalry game, they're going to enter SEC play with a tournament resume even worse than the one that landed them in the 2013 NIT.

That fateful year, they had a decent neutral-court win over Maryland, four losses to KenPom Top 40 opponents and a bunch of home wins over teams that never had any at-large potential. This year's best win (Michigan State) is better, but the losses to Utah and Evansville are substantially worse than anything suffered in the first two months of 2012-13.

It bears mentioning at this point that the SEC as a whole has been much worse than expected.

Auburn is 11-0 and might be a Final Four contender, though it has yet to face a true test. Arkansas is 10-1, but it has an 0-1 record against Quadrants 1 and 2. Every other SEC team has suffered at least three losses, and the only ones that received any votes in the latest AP poll were Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee.

As things currently stand in the NET, Kentucky could go 12-6 in league play without adding a single Quadrant 1 victory*. If that happens and the Wildcats lose at Texas Tech during the SEC-Big 12 challenge, you're looking at a 20-11 record with just that one quality win on the first day of the regular season.

Heaven only knows what this year's bubble is going to look like 10 weeks from now. That certainly doesn't seem like a tournament-worthy resume, though.

Feel free to convince yourself that it's still way too early to start worrying about the NCAA tournament at-large conversation, but this is a colossal fork in the road for Kentucky.

A win over Louisville could put the Wildcats back on the right track toward those preseason national championship aspirations. A loss would mean they might need at least 14 SEC wins—a number they have fallen shy of more often than not over the past seven seasons—just to get invited to the dance.

Suffice it to say, this would be a nice time for Brooks or Whitney to show up with some clutch threes.

*Their six Q1 games are vs. Auburn, at Auburn, at Arkansas, at Tennessee, at Florida and at LSU. KenPom has all six projected as coin flips, giving the Wildcats a 37-62 percent chance of victory in each one. Lose those six and win the other 12, and you get this potential nightmare scenario.

                         

Recruit rankings courtesy of 247 Sports.

Kerry Miller covers men's college basketball and college football for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @kerrancejames.