Kentucky is showing why they have had such high hopes for their defensive ability

This Kentucky basketball team has seemed to embrace a different identity, and that's aggressive, physical basketball. So much this season, their offense has struggled, and even though it is much better whenever he's on the floor, they have still leaned on their defensive ability, and it has really paid off.

A big part of it is there intensity on that end of the floor, and even when Jaland Lowe was out in the first half against St. John's, the energy was still there. It never left, and that's something that has helped Kentucky get not only two-straight wins, but back-to-back wins all in similar fashion, with aggressiveness and intensity. Against Indiana, the Wildcats held them to a season-low in threes, shooting 4-24, but also forced a season-high 18 turnovers, 12 of which coming in the second half, and scored 23 points off them, 18 in the second half. It was a similar story this past Saturday in Atlanta against St. John's, but the difference is that intensity never left without Lowe on the floor in the first half. They forced the Johnnies to shoot just 33 percent overall and 3-9 from three, including 5 blocks and 3 steals as well.

The second half, when Lowe returned, they turned up the heat even more on defense. Kentucky began forcing plenty of turnovers and taking advantage with points off them, but they still maintained that intensity on the defensive end that had been there all game. The Wildcats allowed St. John's to shoot just 8-23 overall in that half, forcing eight turnovers and converting 11 points off them. The Wildcats clearly feed off their intensity, and when that energy is there, their defensive ability is absolutely lethal.

Back in the summer, assistant coach Mikhail McLean said the team set a goal of being a top 10 defense in college basketball, and after back-to-back games where defense helped them get things done, it's clear that a healthy Kentucky team can be elite defensively. "I'm gonna say this out loud for everybody to hear, we want to be a top 10 defensive team in the country," McLean said at the time. "We have the personnel, we have the athleticism, the discipline, most important, the depth to do it. We can play hard for long periods of time."

Defense was clearly an area of weakness last season. It was clear Mark Pope and his staff answered that in the portal this offseason, and now, since Kentucky has finally recently gotten healthy, that high standard on defense is starting to show itself on the court, and when the offense shows up with it, that's when this Kentucky team can be very intimidating.