It is a time for concern, not panic, over UK men’s basketball

In its 27 most-recent games against power-conference opponents, the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball program is 9-18.

Given that context, UK backers have every right to feel concern after Saturday’s 66-62 loss at Notre Dame that John Calipari’s Wildcats have started the 2021-22 season 0-2 against major-conference foes.

What felt alarming about the defeat in South Bend is that it looked so similar to the pattern of losses that haunted Kentucky throughout its 9-16 slog last season.

Up 62-61 with 1:50 left in the game, UK failed to score again, while Notre Dame was able to grind out five points. The biggest shot for the Fighting Irish was the 10-footer by impressive freshman Blake Wesley with 11.7 seconds left that gave ND the lead for good.

If there was a silver lining for Kentucky, it was that the Wildcats got decent shots down the stretch — which was often not the case while going 4-8 in tight games (decided by five points or less) in 2020-21.

With 1:20 left in a tie game, Kellan Grady had an open, corner three-pointer that went way down in the basket — only to spin out.

UK got the ball on the block to star big man Oscar Tshiebwe for a contested jump hook with 36 seconds left.

It didn’t go.

Even after Wesley had given Notre Dame the lead, Kentucky freshman TyTy Washington drove the ball hard and got into the lane for a look at a tying runner.

Alas, it, too, missed.

As the No. 21 Wildcats (7-2) turn the page toward Saturday’s meeting with No. 15 Ohio State (8-2) in the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas, UK backers have every right to feel some anxiety.

It’s far too soon to be pressing the panic button, however.

On Monday, Calipari reminded Kentuckians of one of his major pluses as UK head coach: His ability to use his high-visibility position for positive off-the-court impact.

In response to the devastating tornadoes that hit the commonwealth late Friday/early Saturday, UK Athletics and WLEX-TV announced plans to host a Tuesday telethon — “Kentucky United for Tornado Relief” — from 4 to 8 p.m., with proceeds going to the American Red Cross to benefit storm victims.

“Like we have done with other disasters, our team will spearhead a telethon on Tuesday with the athletic department,” Calipari Tweeted Monday.

On the court, Kentucky’s initial task in coming weeks is building a resume worthy of NCAA Tournament inclusion. Given that all seven of UK’s wins currently are evaluated as Quad Three (one) or Quad Four (six) victories by the NCAA, there is ample work to do.

The good news is that UK has nine remaining games vs. teams presently ranked in the Top 20 of the NET Rankings.

With the jury very much out on whether Kentucky is going to be strong enough to beat good teams on the road, the bad news is that six of those games will be played in venues other than Rupp Arena.

Along with the failure to successfully close out a tight game, the Notre Dame loss featured two other worrisome components.

Kentucky made only two of 19 three-point attempts in South Bend.

Contrary to the preseason build-up that UK was constructed to make hay from behind the arc this season, Kentucky has made only 29 of 121 three-point tries over its last six games, a chilly 24 percent.

The other concern was Notre Dame’s ability to negate Sahvir Wheeler’s dribble-drive game.

Mike Brey’s defensive game plan called for the Fighting Irish to sag well off the 5-foot-9 Wheeler, going beneath screens and all but daring the UK point guard to take open perimeter jumpers.

Denied access to the lane, Wheeler missed all five of his field-goal tries and had only three points and two assists.

Going forward, Wheeler and UK have to find a counter to a defensive strategy that, given its effectiveness by Notre Dame, is sure to be replicated.

The easiest solution would be for Wheeler to hit some jumpers.

As a freshman at Georgia in 2019-20, Wheeler shot fairly well. He made 47.2 percent from the field overall, hitting 51.8 percent of his two-point attempts and 32 percent of his treys.

Last season, as a Bulldogs sophomore, Wheeler’s field-goal accuracy sank. He made 39.9 percent overall, 45.3 on twos and a chilly 22.5 percent of his threes.

So far this year at UK, Wheeler’s shooting percentages are tracking closer to his sophomore season than his freshman year.

For the Cats, the Houston product has made 40.7 percent overall, 45.6 on twos and 22.2 percent of his treys.

If Wheeler can’t make teams respect his “J,” it will make it infinitely more difficult for him to create off the dribble.

If he can’t do that, Kentucky will again be vulnerable to the primary weakness — no one who can consistently collapse defenses and generate offense — that plagued it a season ago.

For UK to get its season on the track where Cats backers want to see it, Sahvir Wheeler is really important.

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