Kentucky’s offense has been shut down in the last two games.
But its defense stepped up when it needed to Saturday at Arkansas, a good sign for a young team that will need to win a March game or two on that end if it’s to make the deep NCAA Tournament run some of its fans consider a birthright.
The 10th-ranked Wildcats will look for another good defensive effort while getting their high-powered offense back on track Wednesday night when they host Florida in a Southeastern Conference matchup in Lexington, Ky.
Held in the 60s for the second straight game, Kentucky (15-4, 5-2) still came home with a 63-57 victory against Arkansas. Its defense limited the struggling Razorbacks to 33.3-percent shooting from the floor, including 4 of 19 from the 3-point arc, and held them to just over 0.8 points per possession.
Their defense hasn’t been close-your-eyes bad — 70th in adjusted defensive efficiency on kenpom.com — but it hasn’t been the lockdown defense that the top John Calipari teams generally boast.