Kentucky Basketball: Wildcats' 5 Biggest Concerns in SEC Play

Kentucky headed into conference play looking nearly impossible to beat. However, one game into the SEC schedule, the Wildcats showed there is a way to beat them.

Ole Miss pushed Kentucky to overtime before the Wildcats escaped with a three-point victory on Tuesday night. While it's still a win, the game exposed some larger concerns for Kentucky moving forward.

Now, there's no reason to doubt that the 14-0 Wildcats aren't as good as people believe they are. These are just concerns that need to be addressed before March.

The following looks at Kentucky's five biggest concerns in SEC play.

5. Can They Continue to Score from the Outside?

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The Wildcats had no problem shooting the ball from deep in the victory over Ole Miss. Kentucky hit 11 shots behind the arc, including five from Aaron Harrison and a perfect 3-of-3 for Devin Booker.

Now, shooting 11-of-20 from three isn't a typical night for Kentucky—nor should it be. However, the Wildcats need to continue to hit a couple of threes per game to keep opposing defenses honest.

There will be plenty of teams playing zone against Kentucky, and its length will allow the Wildcats to find their teammates open off the swing pass.

In order for Kentucky to continue being successful, Booker and Aaron Harrison need to be the shooters we saw against Ole Miss. Booker is currently shooting over 49 percent from deep.

4. The Point Guard Battle

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Look, no one is saying there's any sort of locker room problems with the battle between Tyler Ulis and Andrew Harrison for minutes at the point guard spot. However, Kentucky fans seem to be clamoring for Ulis to play more—especially after his heroics against Louisville last month.

It will be up to Kentucky head coach John Calipari to properly distribute minutes to keep both players happy while keeping the Wildcats on the winning side of the scoreboard.

The other key will be keeping Kentucky fans happy with who is on the court.

Since the point guard is the coach on the floor, anytime there's a struggle or if there's a loss, expect fans to blame Andrew Harrison right away. Having two point guards this talented is a luxury, but at the same time could be a downfall if feelings get hurt due to minutes played.

3. Cutting Down Turnovers

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There's some nitpicking here, but there's no reason Kentucky should be averaging over 12 turnovers a game.

The Wildcats are experienced with the Harrison twins in the backcourt and were gifted a freshman in Tyler Ulis who only has turned the ball over 13 times in 242 minutes. In the type of offense Calipari has Kentucky playing this season, the big men should not be committing a turnover per game.

There's no one specific to blame, as everyone in the rotation with the exception of Devin Booker and Marcus Lee is averaging at least one turnover per game.

The Wildcats need to be crisper with passes in SEC play or a game with heavy turnovers could lead to an upset.

2. Opposing Guards Who Can Get into the Lane

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This concern was exposed the most in the victory over Ole Miss on Tuesday. The Rebels had two guards in Jarvis Summers and Stefan Moody who not only were able to shoot the rock, but also were dangerous driving to the hoop.

This is where Kentucky can get into trouble.

While most teams have guards who excel at one opposed to the other, if someone like Moody gets hot from deep, the Wildcats are vulnerable. This is due to the height problem Tyler Ulis presents Calipari.

Ulis is most likely the best on-ball defender for the Wildcats, but if an opposing guard is bigger—like Jarvis Summers—he can easily shoot over Ulis. This forces Calipari to get smart with his rotation, something he did against Ole Miss by having Ulis play just two of the last 13 minutes.

Luckily, he has the Harrison twins and Devin Booker to help him on the defensive side of the ball. Nevertheless, the Rebels showed this is the recipe to beat Kentucky.

1. Lack of Challenges

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It's easy to think the tough part of Kentucky's schedule is done. The Wildcats already played Louisville, UCLA, Providence, North Carolina and Kansas.

Florida is down this year and the SEC is just not a strong conference. Kentucky plays Arkansas, the second-best team in the conference, just once this year, taking away one game where Kentucky can be tested.

It's going to be a challenge for Calipari to keep his players motivated and ready to play each game. As everyone saw on Tuesday night, the Wildcats can easily coast against opponents and looked to do that against Ole Miss, jumping out to an 18-5 lead.

Kentucky desperately needs Georgia, Florida, LSU or Alabama to get hot and start looking like a team that can push the Wildcats.