Kentucky's "smash mouth basketball" style of play could bode well in the SEC

Last season in Mark Pope's first season at Kentucky, it was clear his system revolved around shooting the ball, and team literally did rely on it. But that was especially the case during SEC play, as the team struggled to defend athletic guards getting to the basket, and did not handle physicality well in the paint. They relied on their offense to stay in many games, but it ultimately led to a 10-8 conference record.

This season though, Pope and his staff are coming off an off-season where they really worked to address those two specific weaknesses, adding defensive juggernauts in Jayden Quaintance and Mo Dioubate, as well as Kam Williams on the perimeter. You may also remember last season that Dioubate is the reason Otega Oweh's streak of double-digit points ended, holding him to a season-low in points multiple times. On the offensive end, Kentucky answered by bringing Oweh and Collin Chandler back, two of the more athletic players on last year's team, as well as adding Jaland Lowe, Denzel Aberdeen and Jasper Johnson, all of which are capable of getting to the rim. This team, fully healthy I may add, has a much higher ceiling than Pope's first Kentucky team.

Without Lowe and Dioubate on the floor, as well as Quaintance who just made his debut last Saturday, this Kentucky team has struggled to find their identity. But, since the Indiana game, where Lowe and Dioubate were on the floor together for the first time since Louisville, this Kentucky team has looked like the one we all thought it would be, but with one difference specifically, and that is they aren't relying on their shooting and instead are finding other ways to win games. With the two on the floor, it changes their intensity and effort. Their defense turns elite thanks to Lowe's energy and Dioubate's physicality and effort on the glass, and their offense becomes aggressive, not stagnant like it is without Lowe. They held the Hoosiers to a season-low 4-24 from three, and ended the game on a 30-11 run. Then, in a rock right against St. John's, the Wildcats turned a sloppy Red Storm offense and turned it into points. The Wildcats had a 14-0 run in the second half that set the tone for the rest of the game. Both runs in each game happened when Lowe returned to floor after aggravating his shoulder, but the St. John's one had some added juice with it being Quaintance's debut.

Kentucky went out and answered the glaring weaknesses from last season, and after going 10-8 in the conference last season, they're looking to have much different results this time around. The WIldcats were pushed around and attacked in SEC play last season and it showed they didn't have the personnel to win that way. But, this year's team has shown they can win a rock fight, and they'll need to continue leaning on that same identity that got them the first two quad 1 wins of the season. The SEC won't be as stacked as last season, as they had a record 14 teams in the NCAA Tournament, but the style remains the same, and that's a physicality that will beat you up throughout the season. This year, heading into conference play, the top four teams according to KenPom in the SEC are top 15 defenses, specifically Vandy (#14), Florida (#11), and Tennessee (#12). There is plenty of hard-nosed basketball always to go around in the SEC.

The Wildcats are 9-4 on the season with two quad 1 wins after dropping their first four. But, Kentucky now has a fully healthy product on the floor, which hasn't been the case, and they're a much different team when healthy. Kentucky can continue to embrace smash mouth basketball as Pope puts it, because they'll need it in their arsenal in SEC play.