My concern about many UK fans (UK-Ark)

[Cats192]

Arkansas looks exactly like you'd expect them to look. There's no real offense executed. They do a lot of Boogie Fland iso and try to let him create. Sometimes Thiero gets it and tries to post up or go to the hoop. They're not a well oiled machine that's going to stick with us in a shoot out.

Arkansas was 0-3 going into the LSU game. I can't imagine you're any more concerned, locked in, etc. I don't think there's a world where 0-3 fails to get your attention, but 0-4 wakes you up.

They're 0-4 going to Mizzou. They got smashed. They'll probably lose to Georgia and Oklahoma.

I just don't think Arkansas has some hidden higher level of play that they're suddenly going to tap into after they're FINALLY pi$$ed off from going 0-7.

Yes, Cal has a history of getting these huge unexpected wins. At Kentucky. With NBA draft picks. Boogie Fland is probably the lone "dude" right now. And he's got a hand injury that Cal called "bad." If this goes the way of a normal John Calipari player injury: Fland will miss the next 6 weeks. During that time, Calipari won't have seen him once.

The way to beat Kentucky (unless you're elite elite like Alabama) is to play physical and muck it up in a low scoring game. That's not John Calipari's style. He wants to "run" and "go" and increase the number of possessions in the game.

 

[CatsDomain]

If Butler and Carr are 100% I'll feel better about the game.

 

[Jamal Mercer]

If Boogie Fland is out for that game, Kentucky could give a “load management” night to its starting 5 and still win.

 

[Digger-Cat]

Smother Fland and leave Wagner open from the outside. It's as simple as that.

 

[BarefootBeach]

Why wasn't this thread started the day before the actual game?

 

[-BBH-]

Pope isn’t getting any for sale signs in his yard regardless of what happens down the stretch. He’s more than exceeded expectations this year.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

My only concern is getting healthy and contending for the conference title. Arkansas is just another game we should win and need to win. If they were off to a great start in conference i might feel differently.

We can't afford to sit the players we need to get healthy. That's the issue.

And it's pretty obvious to me who is winning the SEC and it won't be much of a competition IMO.

 

[Terrapin_Station]

Well that’s certainly an interesting viewpoint. I guess you’re a somewhat pessimistic high anxiety individual?

Yeah if we’re sharing worst case scenarios that would cause us to nearly drink ourselves to death: watch Wagner go 6/8 from deep and light us up for 28. I’d lose it.

 

[JonathanW]

My only concern is getting healthy and contending for the conference title. Arkansas is just another game we should win and need to win. If they were off to a great start in conference i might feel differently.

This ^ is my thought exactly!
But seeing the daily multiple Cal/Ark threads, it is clear many on this board are obsessed with our former coach. So I started this thread about how many people on here will crash&burn if we were to lose that game especially if they were still winless in SEC. I did not start it because I am any more worried about losing to them than I am USC or Vandy or Texas or Oklahoma or LSU (actually as far as opponents go, Vandy game should be tougher).

 

[The_Answer1313]

Yeah count me in the "just another game" crowd.

Obviously Cal coming back to Rupp is a big deal. But Arkansas isn't competing at the top of the SEC. This is a game we "should" win. I can't really get all that excited about this game when we have teams like Florida, UT, Auburn, Alabama, Texas AM etc etc etc on the schedule.

 

[Digger-Cat]

Obsessed with Cal??? No, not even close. But you can say we are fascinated with the situation.

Even non-UK fans are pointing and laughing, or are standing there watching in awe.

Seriously, is there a better story in college basketball this year? No, there isn’t and we are right at ground zero in this one.

I guess we can talk about Cooper Flagg some more. Will that stop people from saying we are obsessed with Cal?

I mean, damn, the guy was the face of UK for 15 years and has been a clown show the last 4 and is continuing the clown act at a conference rival school. How can we not pay attention to this?

 

[Rockfly78]

We will always be tied to Cal, maybe a bit obsessed even. It's like a breakup. No one wants to see their ex end up with a successful attractive person. That's human nature. It's also normal to take glee when your ex starts dating a crackhead.

But it did not have to be this way. It didn't have to be as toxic as it is. But Arkansas fans and media have themselves to thank. They couldn't leave well enough alone. They spent the whole spring and summer trolling UK fans and it's undeniable. This guy and his radio show spearheaded the whole movement and now that it's blown up in his face he's trying to play the victim. Losing to them in a couple weeks wouldn't derail our season or anything but it sure would be embarrassing and that's why some of our fans are nervous.

 

[canebreak]

If for some reason Butler was out then yes....I would worry and worry a lot. Fland is a very good defender.

 

[OmahaCats]

And if he does, then guess what, Kentucky will still be fine. Probably go down a seed in the tournament

 

[kennyskywalker34]

Arkansas can't score enough to beat UK at Rupp.

They can certainly score 66. Only way UK loses is if they play like they did in NY against that garbage Suckeye team.
I think Kentucky wins. But this is one game I wish was over.
I wanna see a Kentucky 40 put beatdown win over that Cal 🤡

 

[kennyskywalker34]

Vandy will be tough! Every SEC game will be tough

They are almost always tough in that joke of a thing they call a Gym

 

[AzubuikeandFitch]

Ark losses next 2, comes in 0-7 in SEC, all the pressure being on the Cats, and Ark finds a way to win.

This board blows up bigger than social media over the TikTok ban. Pope gets For Sale signs in his yard, and so on…

I feel your concern but so long as we play some zone and hit shots UK will be fine. Cal can't adjust and our 1-3-1 could spell a long night fir the Hogs.

 

[ciphercomplete]

Arkansas isn't all that great defensively and can't score.

I can see a competitive first 10 minutes or even a tied first half. But then the Calipari team will do its thing, fall behind by 10 or more, and go on mini scoring runs where they get close but can't close the gap. We UK folks have seen it a thousand times. OR UK wins in a blowout.

 

[CatsFanIL]

I think the concern is based on reality. Calipari has a trend of losing the games you think he will win but somehow wins stupidly ridiculous road games against top teams before sucking again. You really hope we don’t drop this one. I feel we will win but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it won’t be a butt puckering type of game for me

Arkansas looks exactly like you'd expect them to look. There's no real offense executed. They do a lot of Boogie Fland iso and try to let him create. Sometimes Thiero gets it and tries to post up or go to the hoop. They're not a well oiled machine that's going to stick with us in a shoot out.

Arkansas was 0-3 going into the LSU game. I can't imagine you're any more concerned, locked in, etc. I don't think there's a world where 0-3 fails to get your attention, but 0-4 wakes you up.

They're 0-4 going to Mizzou. They got smashed. They'll probably lose to Georgia and Oklahoma.

I just don't think Arkansas has some hidden higher level of play that they're suddenly going to tap into after they're FINALLY pi$$ed off from going 0-7.

Yes, Cal has a history of getting these huge unexpected wins. At Kentucky. With NBA draft picks. Boogie Fland is probably the lone "dude" right now. And he's got a hand injury that Cal called "bad." If this goes the way of a normal John Calipari player injury: Fland will miss the next 6 weeks. During that time, Calipari won't have seen him once.

The way to beat Kentucky (unless you're elite elite like Alabama) is to play physical and muck it up in a low scoring game. That's not John Calipari's style. He wants to "run" and "go" and increase the number of possessions in the game.

There's a part of me that's more worried about Arkansas now that Boogie Fland is out for the season. While Boogie has been one of the bright spots for Arkansas this year, it helps Cal with his rotation - getting more guys more time, getting more guys more shots. So I wonder if Boogie's absence is actually going to help team morale and team motivation

Sometimes when the volume-shooter doesn't play, the team gets better, gets more cohesive, etc. That's my only real concern with Arkansas

 

[Cats192]

I think the concern is based on reality. Calipari has a trend of losing the games you think he will win but somehow wins stupidly ridiculous road games against top teams before sucking again. You really hope we don’t drop this one. I feel we will win but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it won’t be a butt puckering type of game for me



There's a part of me that's more worried about Arkansas now that Boogie Fland is out for the season. While Boogie has been one of the bright spots for Arkansas this year, it helps Cal with his rotation - getting more guys more time, getting more guys more shots. So I wonder if Boogie's absence is actually going to help team morale and team motivation

Sometimes when the volume-shooter doesn't play, the team gets better, gets more cohesive, etc. That's my only real concern with Arkansas

I think we're going to be just fine. Their offense is basically give Fland the ball and hope he creates. He averages 15 a game. He's their 1 probable 1st round draft pick.

They're 0-5 in SEC play. There's no need to overthink it. They'll be worse without him. Davis may get the ball more and therefore play better. But the team as a whole isn't going to lose it's best player and suddenly be some amazing team in the SEC.

 

[KA4Prez]

Imagine Big Z guarding Amari Williams with the pick and roll action. Run it over, and over, and over, and over...

 

[Digger-Cat]

I think the concern is based on reality. Calipari has a trend of losing the games you think he will win but somehow wins stupidly ridiculous road games against top teams before sucking again. You really hope we don’t drop this one. I feel we will win but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it won’t be a butt puckering type of game for me



There's a part of me that's more worried about Arkansas now that Boogie Fland is out for the season. While Boogie has been one of the bright spots for Arkansas this year, it helps Cal with his rotation - getting more guys more time, getting more guys more shots. So I wonder if Boogie's absence is actually going to help team morale and team motivation

Sometimes when the volume-shooter doesn't play, the team gets better, gets more cohesive, etc. That's my only real concern with Arkansas

This is a different situation though. They only have 2 ball handlers now and if one gets in foul trouble, they have to turn to Billy Richmond. That's not good.

Fland was 2nd in the SEC in assists and he averaged 15ppg. He played 34mpg, but so did Wagner.

They don't have any other players to go to. Davis and Wagner might have to both play 40mpg. They're in deep trouble I think. I certainly don't trust Cal to fix it.

 

[CatsFanIL]

This is a different situation though. They only have 2 ball handlers now and if one gets in foul trouble, they have to turn to Billy Richmond. That's not good.

Fland was 2nd in the SEC in assists and he averaged 15ppg. He played 34mpg, but so did Wagner.

They don't have any other players to go to. Davis and Wagner might have to both play 40mpg. They're in deep trouble I think. I certainly don't trust Cal to fix it.

They just beat Georgia, right? So maybe there's some truth to what I said

I've coached basketball long enough, and watched basketball long enough, to know that SOMETIMES when the "star" goes down, the team can get better. Averaging 15 pts a game doesn't mean the same for everyone, what was his efficiency rating? Was he a volume shooter? Maybe now it's more shots for Adou closer to the rim, or more touches for Aidoo in the paint, Brazille, etc.

I'm just saying, everyone knew how to guard Arkansas and how to stop Arkansas when Boogie was dominating the ball. But now it's going to be a bit of a different look, and that might be of concern - ask Georgia

 

[ciphercomplete]

We will see what they do the next game. In the second half, they scored more points (25) at the free throw line than they did on FGs. 31% from the field and 13% from three is not going to win many games. It won't matter how Fland's absence forces them to play because they can't score enough. I watched most of this one, UGA gave it away despite nearly half their team fouling out.

 

[JonathanW]

We will see what they do the next game. In the second half, they scored more points (25) at the free throw line than they did on FGs. 31% from the field and 13% from three is not going to win many games. It won't matter how Fland's absence forces them to play because they can't score enough. I watched most of this one, UGA gave it away despite nearly half their team fouling out.

How do you shoot 31% and 13% and win. Not just win, but come back from double digits and win. And I watched some of 2nd half (was flipping back & forth between this game and the Ole Miss - TAMU game).

I know he choose to follow Calipari, but I feel bad for Theiro at how bad they are.

 

[JonathanW]

I feel your concern but so long as we play some zone and hit shots UK will be fine. Cal can't adjust and our 1-3-1 could spell a long night fir the Hogs.

More than just zone, you don't let a defender step outside or within 3' of the 3pt line (unless someone makes a couple in a row). You could even do that playing man2man. So the exact defense doesn't matter, just dare them to shoot all the 3's they want, but nothing easy in the paint and no offensive rebounds.

 

[CatsFanIL]

We will see what they do the next game. In the second half, they scored more points (25) at the free throw line than they did on FGs. 31% from the field and 13% from three is not going to win many games. It won't matter how Fland's absence forces them to play because they can't score enough. I watched most of this one, UGA gave it away despite nearly half their team fouling out.

Something you're forgetting to address when looking at their offensive woes: Arkansas held Georgia to just 27 points in the 2nd half. So sure, Arkansas' offensive analytics look bad (even though they won) but defensively, holding an SEC team to just 27 points in the 2nd half is pretty impressive.

Georgia only made five 3's on the night, which is something I'm sure Coach Pope's staff is taking note of. The Cats need to hit 3s to beat teams, Georgia only attempted 14. For comparison, Georgia attempted 24 against us, only hitting 7. Arkansas seems to be a little more focused on taking away the 3-pt shot, which could be trouble for the Cats

And whether intentionally or not, you brought up another good point: Georgia was in foul trouble. You know who else has a poor tendency to foul and send their opponents to the FT line, the Cats. And as bad of an opinion as I have on Cal and his staff, they KNOW Kentucky will foul if you drive hard into the paint. So trust me, that's going to be a major part of the game, can the Cats defend without fouling

 

[WeWant9]

Watched their game and it was a tale of two halves. Looked terrible in the first, but to their credit played with some intensity in the second. Uga also looked like they were ready to go back to Athens.

Wagner still has the green light to do whatever. That ending reminded me of Miss St last year. You could tell Cal told Wagner to just drive it, and he put up a terrible shot but lucky for them Theiro was there for the board.

I do expect a chippy, close game at Rupp. I think anyone expecting a blow out is setting themselves up.

 

[The_Answer1313]

They probably win the next game as well.

 

[Emarc]

You really think our current players don't recognize the significance of Calipari and his Hogs returning to Rupp?! I say no chance, and that's likely an incredibly naive view of things. No offense, truly. These guys are on social media, they watch ESPN, they know. And they will be told if they haven't already by their NIL partners, booster, fellow students ... they know.

Yeah, pretty naive to think that. These guys dont live in a vacuum. Just beat Vanderbilt

 

[Digger-Cat]

They just beat Georgia, right? So maybe there's some truth to what I said

I've coached basketball long enough, and watched basketball long enough, to know that SOMETIMES when the "star" goes down, the team can get better. Averaging 15 pts a game doesn't mean the same for everyone, what was his efficiency rating? Was he a volume shooter? Maybe now it's more shots for Adou closer to the rim, or more touches for Aidoo in the paint, Brazille, etc.

I'm just saying, everyone knew how to guard Arkansas and how to stop Arkansas when Boogie was dominating the ball. But now it's going to be a bit of a different look, and that might be of concern - ask Georgia

Well, hold on a minute though. Did you watch the game? Did you see the box score?

Arkansas won that game at the free throw line and they outrebounded UGA. Other than that, Arkansas played terribly.

UGA gets the calls at home and makes their free throws, but on the road, they haven't been getting the calls. They missed a ton of free throws last night.

Arkansas shot 18-58 (31%) from 2 and 3-23 (13%) from 3. That is Gawd awful and without looking, I'd wager is their worst percentages of the season.

The bottom line here is, that was the weakest opponent Arkansas has played at home and they had to come from 15 down to do it.

They actually played much worse offensively, but ratcheted it up on defense and won the game that way. I'm not sure they're going to be able to beat the better teams in the league shooting like that.

They'll probably beat Oklahoma this Saturday, because it's at home, but just like last nights game, having the 2nd best assist pg and a 15ppg shooter on the court would have made both games much easier to win.

 

[KY_First]

From experience, I’d bet on a closer game vs a blowout. For the reasons below:

Pope: Coach commands a cool, calm, collect and intellectual locker room. He as stated via experience; understands the assignment. No game is more important than the next. However, that’s not the understate the scouting and knowing your opponent is looking for a marquee win against an ex employer. Don’t undervalue Pope’s IQ regarding what’s ahead.

Cal: Cal knows he struggling, their record is horrendous, and they just lost boogie fland, but to certain programs one game always means more. Think of NC State vs UNC, it’s a coaching sin to overhype games, they can lead to an immediate win but ensure to immediate let down.

Given cal’s position, I fully believe he’ll be playing the underdog role, he will have his team 1000% ready. They will shoot 20%+ above their season average from 3 and 2 point range and we’ll be forced too challenge the ultimate Super Bowl of all games this season. That is not to say we won’t be everyone’s, just that Arkansas will play further beyond themselves than all others.

If you don’t think this will be one of our 5 most difficult games, you’re living in fantasy land. And that’s not saying we pull away, just stating objective opinion via experience.

Cats 89-74, whilst taking control under 2.

 

[CatsFanIL]

Well, hold on a minute though. Did you watch the game? Did you see the box score?

Arkansas won that game at the free throw line and they outrebounded UGA. Other than that, Arkansas played terribly.

UGA gets the calls at home and makes their free throws, but on the road, they haven't been getting the calls. They missed a ton of free throws last night.

Arkansas shot 18-58 (31%) from 2 and 3-23 (13%) from 3. That is Gawd awful and without looking, I'd wager is their worst percentages of the season.

The bottom line here is, that was the weakest opponent Arkansas has played at home and they had to come from 15 down to do it.

They actually played much worse offensively, but ratcheted it up on defense and won the game that way. I'm not sure they're going to be able to beat the better teams in the league shooting like that.

They'll probably beat Oklahoma this Saturday, because it's at home, but just like last nights game, having the 2nd best assist pg and a 15ppg shooter on the court would have made both games much easier to win.

You can phrase it how you want, but here's the truth - and you said it yourself - they just won a game against Georgia in which Arkansas "shot one of the worst percentages of the season." Again, I'm fairly anti-Cal, but that's why teams SHOULD hang their hat on the defensive side of the ball. If Kentucky shoots poorly any given night, they lose, because our Cats really can't defend well at all.

So phrase it how you want, but if Arkansas can defend and rebound like they did last night, there's reason for concern, especially if they get to the line as often as they did against Georgia. I'm not one for making excuses "we didn't shoot well" or "the other team shot more FTs" - it is what it is, and the final game score is really all that matters.

They've got a legit chance to be 2-0 in SEC play WITHOUT Boogie. So my original point stands, just because a starter is out for the season does NOT mean the team is automatically worse off. 15 PPG on VOLUME SHOOTING AND POOR EFFICIENCY does not somehow mean he's irreplaceable.

 

[canebreak]

Agree that this game is a concern now. We don't really have guys to guard Knoxx and Thiero. They will get to the line against us and they will rebound. With Fland out I predicted it would help them and it looks like it does. Yes I am concerned. Perhaps the biggest intangible is the fact that we have UT on the road that week on Tuesday. They have the week off. They get a whole week to prepare for us.

 

[Skyguyb27]

Why wasn't this thread started the day before the actual game?

It’s a big game and needs more time for the scared and concerned * fans to cry over it before it’s played I guess.

 

[Digger-Cat]

You can phrase it how you want, but here's the truth - and you said it yourself - they just won a game against Georgia in which Arkansas "shot one of the worst percentages of the season." Again, I'm fairly anti-Cal, but that's why teams SHOULD hang their hat on the defensive side of the ball. If Kentucky shoots poorly any given night, they lose, because our Cats really can't defend well at all.

So phrase it how you want, but if Arkansas can defend and rebound like they did last night, there's reason for concern, especially if they get to the line as often as they did against Georgia. I'm not one for making excuses "we didn't shoot well" or "the other team shot more FTs" - it is what it is, and the final game score is really all that matters.

They've got a legit chance to be 2-0 in SEC play WITHOUT Boogie. So my original point stands, just because a starter is out for the season does NOT mean the team is automatically worse off. 15 PPG on VOLUME SHOOTING AND POOR EFFICIENCY does not somehow mean he's irreplaceable.

LOL, if they played like that in any of their previous 5 SEC games, they would have lost each one by even more points.

Georgia stinks away from home and Oklahoma is even worse, so yeah, with, or without Fland, it's not surprising that they would win those 2 games.

Their offense last night was their worst performance of the season and it's not debatable. They won, because the opponent was weaker than any of the others they had played at home up to this point.

Look, it's cool you're a coach and all that, but you're not coming up with sone new revelation about teams rallying after a key player gets injured. Heck, we have lived that very truth for the last 15 years.

UK did it just this year at Gonzaga without Butler.

I would agree with you on this if Arkansas actually played better offensively and the opponent (Georgia) didn't just give the game away. But Arkansas was clearly misding Fland on offense last night, they stunk.

If Arkansas continues to shoot those percentages, they might get past Oklahoma, but that's where it ends and it's more about the opponents than what Arkansas is doing.

 

[NociHTTP]

It scares me because Cal’s teams always manage to pull one out that they shouldn’t. who’s it gonna be? It’s like Arkansas roulette.

I mean, it is Arkansas.

 

[Skyguyb27]

LOL, if they played like that in any of their previous 5 SEC games, they would have lost each one by even more points.

Georgia stinks away from home and Oklahoma is even worse, so yeah, with, or without Fland, it's not surprising that they would win those 2 games.

Their offense last night was their worst performance of the season and it's not debatable. They won, because the opponent was weaker than any of the others they had played at home up to this point.

Look, it's cool you're a coach and all that, but you're not coming up with sone new revelation about teams rallying after a key player gets injured. Heck, we have lived that very truth for the last 15 years.

UK did it just this year at Gonzaga without Butler.

I would agree with you on this if Arkansas actually played better offensively and the opponent (Georgia) didn't just give the game away. But Arkansas was clearly misding Fland on offense last night, they stunk.

If Arkansas continues to shoot those percentages, they might get past Oklahoma, but that's where it ends and it's more about the opponents than what Arkansas is doing.

I’m still pretty surprised. UGA look solid against us.

 

[CatsFanIL]

LOL, if they played like that in any of their previous 5 SEC games, they would have lost each one by even more points.

Georgia stinks away from home and Oklahoma is even worse, so yeah, with, or without Fland, it's not surprising that they would win those 2 games.

Their offense last night was their worst performance of the season and it's not debatable. They won, because the opponent was weaker than any of the others they had played at home up to this point.

Look, it's cool you're a coach and all that, but you're not coming up with sone new revelation about teams rallying after a key player gets injured. Heck, we have lived that very truth for the last 15 years.

UK did it just this year at Gonzaga without Butler.

I would agree with you on this if Arkansas actually played better offensively and the opponent (Georgia) didn't just give the game away. But Arkansas was clearly misding Fland on offense last night, they stunk.

If Arkansas continues to shoot those percentages, they might get past Oklahoma, but that's where it ends and it's more about the opponents than what Arkansas is doing.

Not really sure what you're arguing at this point - so you're saying that Arkansas is clearly worse without Boogie, correct?

They just won without him. You keep focusing on how bad they were offensively, ok cool - they still won the game, correct? They played their worst offensive game of the season and still won. Maybe they're better defensively now without Boogie? Maybe they're about to get more stops defensively than with Boogie.

Point being, they don't HAVE to have his 15 ppg, especially if they're going to be better defensively. They don't HAVE to get Boogie's 15 pts as long as they get a few more from Adou, a few more from DJ, Knox, Brazille, etc.

I hope they're worse without him. But it's no guarantee, that's my point. UK was better without BJ Boston, UK was better without Sahvir, etc. Like you said, all kinds of examples of this in sports.

And no, I don't think I'm some kind of revolutionary coach who's the first to think of this, but apparently you hadn't thought of it so it seemed relevant to point out

 

[BlueSince92]

I think the concern is based on reality. Calipari has a trend of losing the games you think he will win but somehow wins stupidly ridiculous road games against top teams before sucking again. You really hope we don’t drop this one. I feel we will win but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it won’t be a butt puckering type of game for me

To me the concern about at least some chance of a (1-6?) Cal beating us is based on reality, for the reasons you said. But his idea of Cats fans putting signs in Pope's yard if we lose that one is just out there. That's got nothing vaguely to do with the reality of Cats fans----although it is exactly the way Pat Forde/Digger Phelps types have always loved to paint us.