To put that in perspective, nine of Calipari’s previous 14 teams — the first 10 at UK and the last four at Memphis — finished top 10 in the country in defensive efficiency. Of those 14 teams, only the 2012-13 Wildcats — the roster that lost shot-blocking sensation Nerlens Noel to injury — finished outside of the top 40 nationally.

Of Calipari’s 24 teams in the KenPom database — the entirety of his tenures at both Kentucky and Memphis — this season’s group was his worst defensively, and by a fairly large margin.

That’s a striking stat, though probably not too surprising to anyone who has followed Calipari’s career.

His Memphis teams were gritty and tenacious, even some of the later ones that featured electric offensive players. In Calipari’s final four seasons there, the Tigers ranked in the top 10 in defensive efficiency each year. The 2008 national runner-up team was No. 2 nationally. The next year’s team — his final season at Memphis — led the country in defensive efficiency.

Calipari’s three best teams at Kentucky — the first season in 2009-10, the 2012 title squad, and the 38-1 team of 2014-15 — were all top 10 in that stat, too. At UK, he inherited DeAndre Liggins from the Billy Gillispie era. He had in-your-face Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and above-the-rim Anthony Davis for the 2012 run. The nearly perfect Cats of 2015 boasted the platoon lineup that was filled with defensive size and skill. UK had the best defense in the country that season, anchored by national defensive player of the year Willie Cauley-Stein.

That first decade in Lexington didn’t always feature the prettiest basketball — with Calipari often prioritizing bigger, longer and more athletic players over skill and shooting — but the Cats won a whole lot of games, almost always going deep in the NCAA Tournament.

His more recent teams have been lacking in many of those departments. Oscar Tshiebwe was obviously a load in the middle the two previous seasons, but others often watched as he battled for rebounds. And the guards and wings, for the most part, didn’t look like the ones of the early Calipari era.

This past season’s squad had as much offensive firepower as any Calipari team, but the players lacked physicality and general defensive ability. The Cats were beat off the dribble over and over again. They had shot-blockers at the rim — once the trio of 7-footers made their debuts — but even those players lacked the strength to bang with opponents in the paint.

Last week’s season-ending loss to Oakland began with more of the same. The 14-seeded Golden Grizzlies missed 14 of their first 16 shots of the game. The Cats could’ve been in a position to impose their will right there. But they continually got beat for those bricks, Calipari and his coaching staff growing more and more agitated on the sideline with each missed opportunity.

Oakland grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the first six minutes. By the end of that 2-for-16 drought, the game was tied up at 5-all, the Cats unable to take advantage. UK ended up winning the battle of second-chance points, it should be noted, but a smaller, less athletic team often beat them to loose balls and sometimes even bullied them around.

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