Three things we learned from Kentucky's win over Arkansas
Kentucky just got a gritty win over the Arkansas Razorbacks on the road 63-57.
Kentucky didn't have the best offensive day, 36.5% from the field, but they found a way to leave Arkansas with the win to salvage this week. If Kentucky's defense can continue to improve and hopefully gain some confidence from this game when the shots fall, this is one of the best teams in college basketball. This game could be one that Kentucky fans will look back at as the turning point for this basketball team.
We learned a few different things from Kentucky's win. One is Ugonna Onyenso might be Kentucky's best big man. He is an incredible shot blocker and is getting better at rebounding the basketball. He had six points in this win to go with four boards and three blocks. Onyenso is Kentucky's most physical big man, and he led Kentucky in +/- against Arkansas with a +14. We also learned this team can play a little defense. They looked solid defensively in this game and forced Arkansas into a lot of ugly shots. If the Cats can keep this up, this team is unbeatable. We also learned that Reed Sheppard needs to keep shooting. He was 0-5 shooting in the first half but then went 5-7 in the second, scoring 14 points. The freshman guard was really good when the Wildcats needed it.
Coach Calipari had this to say about Onyenso after the win over the Razorbacks, "Ugo was the difference in the game. What does that do? Well, he probably moves up. He may start now, and Aaron may come off the bench with Z. Z's just got to catch up to us. He will be fine."
It sounds like Onyenso's performance against the physical Hogs could lead to him starting going forward. We learned a lot about Kentucky from this ugly road win over Arkansas.
