Kentucky basketball has to get off to better starts in big games

Kentucky has struggled early in games so far this season.

Dec 14, 2024; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope yells to his players during the first half against the Louisville Cardinals at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

The Kentucky Wildcats lost their second game of the non-conference slate on Saturday when they lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes in Madison Square Garden. In the loss to Ohio State, Kentucky ran into the same issue they have in almost every big game so far this season.

It's becoming a trend for the Wildcats to be behind at half in big games, but for the most part, they were doing a good job of coming back. In the win over Duke, the Wildcats trailed by nine points at the half. They trailed by seven at half in the loss at Clemson. The Wildcats were down a whopping 16 points against Gonzaga and found a way to win. Then, against Ohio State on Saturday, the Wildcats trailed the Buckeyes by nine at half.

For the most part, Kentucky has been an elite second-half team, as they were able to come from behind and beat Duke and Gonzaga. They made it a game against Clemson in the second half despite coming up short. In the loss to Ohio State, the Wildcats never made a real second-half run as the Buckeyes extended their lead and won by 20 points.

Kentucky won't be able to do the heroic come-from-behind win every night in SEC play, so they need to start coming out hot if they want to win games.

SEC play is going to be a nightly war, so Kentucky needs to start hitting early shots and getting leads so they are making a second-half adjustment with a lead, not at a deficit.