Kentucky's Defense Rising Again In KenPom Ratings

The Kentucky Wildcats are rising again in the KenPom ratings.

The Kentucky Wildcats are rising again in the KenPom ratings.

The Wildcats' defense jumped 28 spots to No. 70 following their 63-57 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Here are some notable stats the Wildcats are really strong or weak in on KenPom nationally:

Offense

Effective FG %: 56.7 (No. 8)

Turnover %: 13.1 (No. 3)

Off. Reb. %: 27.4 (No. 235)

3P%: 40.2 (No. 4)

Point Distribution, 3-Pointers: 33.5% (No. 87)

Defense

Avg. Poss. Length: 17.3 (No. 152)

3P%: 31.6 (No. 77)

Block %: 15.3 (No. 9)

Steal %: 10.8 (No. 82)

3PA/FGA (What percentage of opponent shots are 3-pointers): 41.8% (No. 312)

A/FGM (Assist percentage): 53.2 (No. 253)

Point Distribution, 3-Pointers: 33.3 (No. 81)

Personnel

Bench Minutes %: 30.0 (No. 216)

2-Foul Participation %: 5.3% (No. 338)

Notes:

Kentucky had a 100% 2-foul participation until the Penn game, where it tanked to 9.1%. It's now at 5.3% after fluctuating up to 12.0%. I continue to be confused as to how this is calculated and why the percentage changes so dramatically at times.

Kentucky has become less reliant on the outside shot over its last few games. The Wildcats now sit outside the top 80 in 3-point distribution. It will be interesting to see if SEC defenses run UK off of the three-point more consistently as conference play continues.

Both Kentucky and their opponents have been overly reliant on 3-pointers relative to national averages. Both have almost identical point distribution from outside the arc (33.5% for UK compared to 33.3% for opponents).

Until Kentucky starts stringing together some better defensive performances, they'll continue to hover around 70-100 nationally in adjusted efficiency.