Kentucky is currently enjoying a 10-day break between games as they prepare to face the Brown Bears at Rupp Arena on Tuesday. Their previous match resulted in a disappointing 20-point loss to Ohio State during the CBS Sports Classic, and the team is eager to redeem themselves. One key insight from head coach Mark Pope was the significant scoring success Ohio State had through ball screens.
The Wildcats have struggled with defending these screens, and Ohio State capitalized on this weakness, scoring 36 points in the paint while only making four three-pointers out of 30 attempts. This has been a persistent problem for them this season, but Jaxson Robinson believes Kentucky is making progress in this area during their break.
“When we returned to campus, we focused heavily on improving our ball-screen defense. Coach Pope believes we have the potential to be among the top teams in the country in this aspect, but there’s still much work to do, and I think we’ve made some strides over the break. …It’s definitely a top priority. I think (Alvin Brooks) pointed out that we’ve allowed around 100 points from ball screens in our power five games. We’re exploring ways to enhance our defense since that’s been a key scoring method against us. I’m confident that we excel at defending against the three-point shot, so we need to tighten our defense to force a more balanced game rather than isolating it to ball screens.” Robinson on ball-screen defense.
Kentucky will face significant challenges defending ball screens as conference play progresses, but they have a chance to regroup and gain confidence with their upcoming game against Brown before welcoming No. 6 Florida to Lexington on Saturday.
