With DJ Wagner Out of Form, Kentucky Struggle Another Upset as Ta’Lon Cooper and Co Steam Past

Filled with five thousand students, the near-sold-out crowd at Colonial Arena witnessed the surge of black over blue. But when the South Carolina Gamecocks established a decisive victory over the No. 6 Kentucky, it was a surprising feat and a wakeup call for the Wildcats.

The Gamecocks’ impressive victory of 79-62 resulted from their convincing performance in both offensive and defensive areas, which ultimately led  the Wildcats suffer their second consecutive road loss.

The alarming defeat of Kentucky

The Kentucky Wildcats appeared to have one of the most lethal offensive prowess in the country, with an average of 70 points in 17 games, but USC’s most extraordinary defensive skills destroyed their fort of confidence. The most anticipated player D.J. Wagner scored just 4 points which was great setback for Kentucky.

This performance evoked the previous encounter when the USC took down No. 1 Kentucky. Since then, the program has not repeated any top-10 opponent with such a comprehensive score. With the best offense in the country, Kentucky just managed to score 25 points in the first half of the match.

USC ended up with a six-point lead. Coach Lamont Paris employed multiple tactics to slow down Kentucky’s offense by inculcating a combination of new players. The small players were focused on the defensive line-up, while the big heads of USC contributed to the offensive area, which yielded a fantastic result.

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A missed lay-up

One of the highlights of the match was when Kentucky freshman guard Reed Sheppard missed a rim layup. A wide basket was in front of him, and all he had to do was lay up perfectly with proper inbound. But he missed the dunk without an evident effort.

But the USC looked on point. Ta’loon Cooper scored an impressive 20 points, while Meechie Johnson and Jordan Wright catalysed their team effort in the big win.

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In the second half, the Gamecocks managed to build their lead by a significant margin of 20 points, leaving the struggling Wildcats struggling to defend.