Kentucky didn’t need the three-point shot to fall during Saturday’s 90-89 overtime win against No. 7 Gonzaga. Finishing with just a 7-25 mark from beyond the arc, the Wildcats found most of its offense in the paint or at the free throw line. Of Kentucky’s 90 points, 48 came from within the paint and 15 more came from the stripe.
In the postgame press conference, Mark Pope preached about Kentucky’s willingness to cut against the Gonzaga defense, a point of emphasis he put on his team since the loss to Clemson on Tuesday. They executed that beautifully against Gonzaga and it paid off with a win.
But Kentucky’s poor three-point shooting has become a four-game trend now after a blazing-hot start from deep through the first five games. UK converted 42.3 percent of its 29.8 three-point attempts five games into the season, reaching double-digit makes in all of them. Over the last four? Those numbers have dipped down to just …