What to know from Kentucky basketball's season-opening loss to Duke
NEW YORK — Kentucky basketball's redemption tour needs a jumpstart.
The No. 11 Wildcats dropped their 2021-22 season opener 79-71 to No. 9 Duke, fueling further angst after the program's worst season since the Great Depression.
Duke freshman Paolo Banchero, a former top recruiting target of the Wildcats, totaled 22 points and seven rebounds. His classmate Trevor Keels added 25 points. Duke shot 50.8% from the field and won despite hitting just 1 of 13 3s.
Kentucky was led by West Virginia transfer Oscar Tshiebwe (17 points and 19 rebounds) and Georgia transfer Sahvir Wheeler (16 points and 10 assists).
Duke led by as many as 15 points in the second half before Kentucky clawed back into the game with an 11-0 run. Keels and Banchero then combined for the next seven points to end any hope of a Kentucky comeback.
"For us to be in that game when our better players did not play well and when their two really good players played really well ... that’s crazy," Kentucky coach John Calipari said.
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Here is what we learned about Kentucky in the opener.
Post depth still a concern
Sometimes the media gets it right.
After two lackluster exhibition performances in which Tshiebwe was limited due to a hip injury, much of the talk leading up to the Champions Classic centered on whether the Wildcats had enough post depth to counter Duke’s size.
Tshiebwe did his part, totaling 17 points and 19 rebounds, but he battled foul trouble for the first 30 minutes of the game.
"If you really want to help your team, you got to fight, so I came out and fight," Tshiebwe said. "So I was going for everything. I was doing my best. I came in to win the game. That's why I was fighting. I cannot make anybody rebound them for me. That's why I was going for everything."
Forwards Keion Brooks and Jacob Toppin also picked up two fouls in the first half. Tshiebwe’s backups at the five, sophomore Lance Ware and freshman Daimion Collins, struggled for much of the night. Ware totaled two points and two rebounds in nine minutes. The wiry Collins looked overmatched almost as soon as he entered the game. He logged just two minutes.
"You have to have a post presence if you're going to win," Calipari said. "That's where you shoot a higher percentage. We missed a bunch of shots that I'm, like, wow."
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Not TyTy Washington's night
Kentucky's last game at Madison Square Garden featured one of the best debuts from a freshman in program history when Tyrese Maxey scored 26 points to lead the Wildcats to a win over No. 1 Michigan State in the Champions Classic.
Current UK freshman TyTy Washington has been frequently compared to Maxey leading up to the season, and while he has plenty of time to make good on that hype he was not able to come close to matching Maxey's debut.
Washington hit just three of 14 shots, finishing the loss with nine points, two rebounds and three assists.
When Kentucky used an 11-0 second half run to briefly claw back into the game, the Wildcats did so with an all-veteran lineup that left Washington on the bench.
"TyTy played the way he did because we kind of wanted him to," Calipari said. "We're playing exhibition games, he's shooting nine and ten shots. You're supposed to be a guy that can go get baskets.
"So I will take responsibility for some of the plays that he made. And I just said to him, 'You know, kid, you don't have to make every shot. You just can't miss 'em all. You got to make one or two.' And he just was missing a bunch of shots, and if you watched him play, that's not him."
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Shooting looks like a strength
Neither of Kentucky's two best 3-point shooters, C.J. Fredrick and Dontaie Allen, played in the opener, but the Wildcats still did much of their offensive damage from 3-point range.
Kentucky hit 6 of 11 3s in the first half. The Wildcats hit just 1 of 7 3s after intermission but several of those shots were late desperation heaves.
Super senior guard Kellan Grady hit three of seven 3s. Junior point guard Sahvir Wheeler hit two of three 3s. Davion Mintz and Brooks each hit one of three attempts from beyond the arc.
Allen appears to be on the outside of Kentucky's rotation for now, but Fredrick could play more as he works his way back from offseason leg surgery. He just returned to practice on a full-time basis over the weekend. Washington is also considered a strong shooter, but he missed both his 3s in the opener.
If 38.9% from 3 is just an OK night for Kentucky, shooting should not be high on the list of worries for John Calipari right now
Email Jon Hale at jahale@courier-journal.com; Follow him on Twitter at @JonHale_CJ.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky vs. Duke basketball: Cats fall 79-71 in 2021-22 opener
