The loss of Jaland Lowe is what really doomed the Kentucky Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats needed to play a near-perfect game to beat the Iowa State Cyclones, even with their opponent short their best player, Joshua Jefferson.

The Cats got out to a hot start, but they quickly saw that erased. Kentucky took a one-point deficit into the break, but it was obliterated in the following 20 minutes. The Cats lost the second half 51-33 and eventually lost 82-63. Denzel Aberdeen led the way with 20 points, and Otega Oweh chipped in 18 points on 8-for-15 shooting. The bench was a major issue, scoring a combined 13 points, albeit they only took nine shots.

The most significant flaw for this Cats team on Sunday afternoon was their turnovers, and that’s where Jaland Lowe would’ve been instrumental for them. Lowe was supposed to be the starting guard for the team coming into the season. Kentucky ended with 19 turnovers, and no team with that is going to come out on top, or even come close to doing so. The Cats didn’t, and this is something Mark Pope can look back and point the finger at.

Iowa State is one of the top defenses in the country, and it quickly forced its will. The Cyclones blitzed ball screens and forced turnovers at a high rate.

The Cats were led by Aberdeen and Oweh, but both of those guards combined for eight turnovers. Kentucky had six turnovers from its bench as well, which, without significant offensive production, hurts. Somehow, Pope played Oweh and Aberdeen a combined 73 minutes, and they needed to be on the court even more.

Kentucky shot better from the field and from three than Iowa State, and that should’ve resulted in a win. It was beaten up on the offensive glass, but without Lowe to really calm the offense, there was no winning this game.