Kentucky needs Collin Chandler to score to win in March

Otega Oweh dubbed Collin Chandler the third member of a so-called Three Headed Goat alongside himself and Denzel Aberdeen after the trio combined for 61 points against Vanderbilt. In Kentucky’s last two losses, however, Chandler has been held to more farm animal status than anything great, scoring just four points and two points respectively, against Texas A&M and Florida. Part of the issue is that teams have focused their defense on Kentucky’s sharpshooter. Mark Pope said the team hasn’t helped him much either. Whether good defense or bad offense, Kentucky needs Collin Chandler to score the ball to make any kind of noise in the postseason.

In conference play, Collin Chandler is averaging 10.5 points per game, but that only tells a slice of the story. Chandler is averaging just 7.4 points in Kentucky’s losses, and 12.8 points in wins. Moreover, in SEC games where he scores at least 10 points, Kentucky went 7-3. In games where Chandler scored fewer than 10 points, the ‘Cats were just 3-5.

You don’t need AI analysis to interpret those numbers. Kentucky has a much better chance of winning when Chandler scores more points. Oweh is going to get his, and Aberdeen has been extremely consistent since firmly taking the point guard reins following Jaland Lowe’s season-ending surgery. That leaves the third goat head as the one inconsistent appendage that needs to perk up.

Chandler certainly has the tools to do it. In conference play, Chandler ranks 3rd in the SEC in 3-point shooting, coming in at 45.7 percent on 5.1 attempts per game. He can also posterize the opposition at any given minute.

If Kentucky is going to pull off a miracle run starting Wednesday of the SEC tournament, Chandler needs to play to his fullest potential. Otherwise, the Three Headed Goat will be eating hay in a rocking chair with Mitch Barnhart sooner than later.