Kentucky Basketball: Biggest Takeaways from SEC Clash vs. Missouri

Alright, now that was more like it.

There's no doubt a good number of Kentucky fans—as well as players and coaches—either said or thought this after the Wildcats romped to an 86-37 home win Tuesday over Missouri. It was the kind of result many expected in the previous two games, instead of an overtime win over Ole Miss and a double-overtime triumph at Texas A&M.

Top-ranked Kentucky (16-0, 3-0 SEC) is now more than halfway through an unbeaten regular season, but based on what went on last week, there are still plenty of potential pitfalls.

For now, though, let's take some stock in what came from Tuesday's easy victory.

Don't Play Defense, Don't Play

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Kentucky coach John Calipari made a lineup change Tuesday, the first this season that wasn't due to injury or illness, inserting Dominique Hawkins in for Trey Lyles. The move was made to add some defense to the first unit, while Lyles' more offensive-minded game would help spark the second group.

It was also a return to the five-in, five-out platoon setup, with Marcus Lee getting more time (15 minutes) than he'd had in the previous two games.

"After the last game, I just said, 'I'm going back to 10,'" Calipari said after the game, per Kyle Tucker of the Louisville Courier-Journal.

But the platoons only lasted as long as everyone involved played defense. Someone slacked on that end of the floor, and Calipari quickly yanked them.

Pulled players tended to respond the next time they were on the floor, resulting in Kentucky holding Missouri to 27.1 percent shooting and allowing only one of 18 from three-point range.

Less Jumpers, More Layups

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With a front line that's compared favorably to many in the NBA, it seems foolish that Kentucky doesn't just feed every possession inside and take it from there. Yet in several games this season, the Wildcats' perimeter players have tried to dictate the scoring by launching outside shots rather than passing into the paint.

That wasn't the case on Tuesday, as 39 of the Wildcats' 57 shots were two-pointers and they got 28 points in the paint. Many of those came off the bread-and-butter of putbacks or dunks, areas where Kentucky had been lacking of late.

It wasn't a completely inside-minded game, not with Aaron Harrison coming alive and hitting five of seven from three-point range. But more often than not, Kentucky went inside to get its baskets and came out with positive results.

Dominique Hawkins Deserves More Minutes

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

This was the third start this season for Dominique Hawkins, a 6'0" sophomore guard who hadn't played since Dec. 20 and who has sat out seven games in 2014-15. He came in averaging 1.3 points in 9.4 minutes, yet he scored six points in a season-high 20 minutes with the first platoon.

Hawkins, replacing Trey Lyles in the starting lineup, was 0-of-3 from three-point range but made both of his two-pointers and added a rebound, three assists, a block and two steals.

Whether Hawkins will retain his starting spot next time out, Saturday at Alabama, is uncertain. But coach John Calipari at least knows he can depend on Hawkins for energy and effort if and when he turns to him.

Andrew Harrison Is Still Struggling

James Crisp/Associated Press

In games like this one, many coaches will still look for mistakes and flaws so there's something to work on. For Kentucky coach John Calipari, he needs to look no further than Andrew Harrison.

While twin brother Aaron Harrison rediscovered his shooting touch with five three-pointers (after going 2-of-13 from outside at Texas A&M, and 4-of-20 overall), Andrew continued to struggle. He made just one of five field goals and missed both threes, only getting to eight points because he was 6-of-7 from the free throw line.

Even more distressing: The team leader in assists, at 4.3 per game coming in, only dished out three of the Wildcats' 13 assists.

Andrew Harrison is now shooting 33.7 percent from the field this season.

Fast Starts Are Good, But Continued Effort Is Better

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Kentucky came out with plenty of energy on Tuesday, despite the score being tied at 6-6 after a few minutes. The high level never waned, though, as moments later the lead was in double digits and kept increasing until the final whistle.

This was far different from the previous two games, especially last time out at home against Ole Miss, when a hot start was followed by a major lull (a scenario that repeated itself in the second half).

While it's almost seemed at times like Kentucky has toyed with opponents by coming out slowly or looking sluggish and complacent, the narrow victories against the Rebels and Texas A&M showed that this approach could cause a major problem as the season goes on. None of that was evident Tuesday, though, as Kentucky might have played its most complete game of the season.

The most complete, at least, since the UCLA blowout on Dec. 20.

"They got what UCLA and Kansas got,” coach John Calipari said, per Brett Dawson of Rivals.com. 

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP