But don't judge Mark Pope on this loss. Judge him on how we RESPOND to this loss.
I know this is hard to hear right now
- Thread starter FurdTerguson
- Start date
Yea same as we did against other inferior teams - OSU, Clemson, Vandy
My only criticism of Pope this game is why he didn’t okay 1-3-1 the whole second half. Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered, but we couldn’t guard them M2M. In his defense, we didn’t have our defensive stopper and lead point guard.
7 Quad 1 wins. Only 2 teams have more.
If ole miss is ranked next week then maybe, but if not Kentucky is losing
Bad Loss in terms of emotion . Not a good loss in terms of seeding … but Ark is a good team if … IF they shoot / play like that every time out .. there were totally motivated tonight .. I hope the broke dick _____ don’t win another game .
It’s quite elementary. Playing a 1-3-1 the entire second half, after giving up 9 3s to a team that only averages 6 3s a game would have given them twice the amount of open looks beyond the arc. That’s why Pope didn’t.
Now your, and every other fan screaming for a zone in the second half should be, why didn’t we zone in the first half?
Now your, and every other fan screaming for a zone in the second half should be, why didn’t we zone in the first half?
How many Q1 teams do you expect to see early on in the tournament? Not trying to be an ass. I'm just frustrated.
It's impressive what we've done against hear comp, but the bad losses to bad teams are seriously concerning and don't bode well for the NCAAT. This team doesn't just get to jump into the Sweet Sixteen where they'll decide to actually play inspired ball. They'll have two tough matchups against decent D1 teams – especially if we keep losing to garbage in the regular season and ruin our seeding.
He made minimal/zero adjustments tonight. That stuff drives me nuts.
Why the **** are we 0-5 against unranked power 5 opponents? That shit has to stop.
No Butler and No Fland were both positives for Arkansas. The absence of a me first one and doner might transform Arkansas to a degree.
Cal is historically TERRIBLE against zones and switching defenses.
And we did NONE of that tonight.
And we did NONE of that tonight.
It wasn't Pope's finest hour. I don't think he's figured out his lineups yet. Disappointing performance by Pope, but I'm still more than happy to have him!
Disappointed in loss but just baffled he didn’t switch to a zone much earlier or at least try something else
I will say Pope was wrong for not fouling and putting them on the line to make them beat you at the line down the stretch. It was obvious we were not getting stops !! That's grade school stuff !!
We’ve lost three of four now. Not good.
If he has to respond to 6 or 7 inexcusable losses - what then?
We should have zoned first half, too. But by your logic, if the original defense isn't working, then just shut it down and take the loss. Why ever try something different?
We have plenty of bad losses at this point. You make it sound like this is the first.
Don't forget Georgia.
This team has definitely established a pattern of throwing in a dud against an inferior opponent.
Other teams have been really successful running zone against this Arkansas team. We were getting destroyed by their athleticism and they were getting wide open looks in man to man as well because our defense was collapsing trying to stop drives and it left their guys wide open way to many times.
Correct.
If this continues to be a trend in Pope's tenure he won't last long. I really hope this is a thing for this year's team, not next. Only time will tell. I really want Pope to succeed.
We have won 1 game in the last 4. Right now he has established a history of responding poorly, and you know it.
At this point he doesn’t deserve grace. He should be expected to prove history wrong.
At this point he doesn’t deserve grace. He should be expected to prove history wrong.
Same. I’m not denying Pope a second chance. I’m simply holding him to a standard. It’s okay if he doesn’t meet it this season. No one expected him to. Still, he has to prove this season is an aberration. It can’t be the norm or he won’t last long.
I admit, that last sentence feels crazy given some of the amazing wins. The problem is they have been offset with equally terrible losses.
I don't know why you wouldn't zone all game long against this team. Let's see if he learns from it. And by the way, every coach we've had has had a horrible loss in their first year. Pitino lost by 55 at Kansas. Tubby lost at home to Louisville. Cal lost to a West Virginia team that couldn't shoot until they played us and beat us with a simple zone.
Losses can make you a better coach. John Wooden lost his first six NCAA tournament games. Bob Knight lost to a Kentucky team he had beaten by 24 points earlier. Coach Ks first title game he lost by 30 points.
He's been knocked down pretty good with this one. Instead of saying let's get rid of this guy, let's give him a chance to see what he's made of.
Losses can make you a better coach. John Wooden lost his first six NCAA tournament games. Bob Knight lost to a Kentucky team he had beaten by 24 points earlier. Coach Ks first title game he lost by 30 points.
He's been knocked down pretty good with this one. Instead of saying let's get rid of this guy, let's give him a chance to see what he's made of.
Maybe the great wins caused you and others to overestimate this teams potential. I mean he only had like a month to put this team together from what was left in the portal. Just saying.
They gave it to Calipari. Didn't help they played on fire either, but Pope kept a horrible lineup all not with hardky no zone.
Missed 9 FT's and had 13 turnovers. I'm livid because because Amari played his tail off while Brea just watched the game as if he wasn't playing.
Missed 9 FT's and had 13 turnovers. I'm livid because because Amari played his tail off while Brea just watched the game as if he wasn't playing.
That don't mean shit when you pee down your leg every other game. Fans want the program to return to glory days and it's never gonna happen again. NIL has changed the sport and we are never gonna find tough enough kids to gut out a season and then have the toughness to make a run to win in March. I'll be surprised if we even have a E8 in the next 10 years. It's not in our program or the type kids that play now.
I feel bad for Amari tonight!!!! The kid played his tail off!!!
4 teams nipping at the heels with 6 and 8 teams with 5. Pope cannot continue to lose games that should be wins.
He's 1-5 versus unranked power conference opponents. If it were just this game it would be unfair but it's much more than just this game.
