Three stock fallers from Kentucky's loss to No. 1 Kansas

Kentucky basketball fought hard against Kansas, but it wasn't enough in the end.

The Wildcats held their own and had great performances from Rob Dillingham, Reed Sheppard and Adou Thiero. However, poor shooting from Antonio Reeves, DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards held Kentucky from solidifying their lead in the second half.

Kansas leaned on Hunter Dickinson and KJ Adams down low and the Wildcats' short rotation eventually broke. Fans should feel confident in UK after such an impressive performance despite shooting poorly. There are a ton of positives to take away from this one.

However, there are also some criticisms to doll out for the players who did not live up to the moment.

Here are three stock fallers - who should be back on the rise soon - from Kentucky's close loss.

DJ Wagner

Going 1-of-12 in any game is abysmal. Doing it in a big time game is worse.

Wagner has yet to find his shot three games into the season, and if it continues, there may be a need to have a conversation about Kentucky's guard rotation before SEC play.

Reed Sheppard has proven to be a more efficient guard and played very well against Kansas. Dillingham, albeit inconsistent, provides explosiveness and pace to the offense. Last night's performance from Dillingham doesn't swing starting point guard duties in his direction, but again, if Wagner can't get his numbers up (31% from the floor, 11% from deep), there has to be an adjustment made.

He's Uber-talented. Wagner should be able to shoot out of it.

Antonio Reeves

The inconsistency seems to have carried over to this season. Reeves went 3-of-17 from deep. 3-of-17 on his own. I'm all for Reeves taking shots, but if they aren't going down, some of them having been rushed and way off the mark, it may be time to look elsewhere for offense (within a game, not within the course of the season).

He'll have his good nights, and he'll have his bad nights. It was just bad timing for himself alongside Wagner to shoot as much as they did and come away nearly empty handed.

Justin Edwards

Edwards needs a good start to get going offensively, it seems. There was more to Edwards' issues against the Jayhawks than just shooting, however, it was the near turnovers. It was the sloppy offense at times. It was the confusion within sets.

As this team gains more experience, players like Edwards should be able to shake out of it and play better in bigger moments. Tuesday night was just not his night.

Kentucky needs their potential No. 1 overall pick to step up.

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