Quad 1 win against a desperate team on their home court...

[MdWIldcat55]

NINE Quad 1 wins for Kentucky now.

That's three more than Duke, two more than Houston, seven more than Gonzaga, four more than Iowa State, four more than Florida, five more than Kansas, eight more than UNC-CHeats...etc. etc.

I read comments on here last night and this morning about what a "lucky" win Oklahoma was and whining about how Kentucky struggled with a "bottom level" SEC team...

Anyone who can't appreciate a Quad 1 win at this stage of the season on the road, against a team desperate to play its way into the Tourney, with critical players still struggling to return to form is either ill-informed, a Terminal Chicken Little (the worst) or a troll...

 

[BIG BLUE GURU]

There were definitely some haters on last night posting hoping we would lose. Getting old

 

[Cawood86]

Excellent win. Just hoping this team truly gets healthy

 

[ManitouDan]

desperate ? bottom level ?? well sir they are 13th in a 16 team league .. not even a top 30 ( 40 ??) team . And we had bad moments , and good moments .. its a hoops discussion board .. you want peaches and cream shop elsewhere !!!!!!!

 

[Smashcat]

Excellent win. Just hoping this team truly gets healthy

 

[LineSkiCat14]

The people who simply look at Oklahoma being say 14th in the SEC and just assuming they suck, really need to stay on the sidelines. Same with the Texas loss.

There's some basic-level common sense that's being missed around here at times.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

It is amazing how better our wins are than 1 seeds or 2 seeds. Sadly, due to injuries and some bizarre losses, we are not getting a 1 or 2 (unless we win out).

 

[ManitouDan]

The people who simply look at Oklahoma being say 14th in the SEC and just assuming they suck, really need to stay on the sidelines. Same with the Texas loss.

There's some basic-level common sense that's being missed around here at times.

You are what your record says you are .. in their case for sure .. We are a different story , I get that . But does injuries cause stupidity or lack of focus or effort ? I mean 14th is 14th .

 

[Festivus Miracle]

Not sure where to post this but Pope's decision to play Amari with THREE fouls in the FIRST half was a brave move. Brandon and Amari together has been rare. Some interesting coaching moves that gave us chance. Superman wears Otega underwear. A really big road win.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

You are what your record says you are .. in their case for sure .. We are a different story , I get that . But does injuries cause stupidity or lack of focus or effort ? I mean 14th is 14th .

You need to chill. Did you lose money on this?

 

[MdWIldcat55]

desperate ? bottom level ?? well sir they are 13th in a 16 team league .. not even a top 30 ( 40 ??) team . And we had bad moments , and good moments .. its a hoops discussion board .. you want peaches and cream ship elsewhere !!!!!!!

* They are an NCAA tournament team as of now, according to Lunardi and other brackets I've checked.
* They are in a Historically strong, top-to-bottom league so citing their position in the SEC is pretty meaningless.
* They beat ranked teams Arizona, Michigan and Louisville in OOC play, and were nationally ranked before Conference play.
* I'd guess they'd be a top 3-4 team in the ACC, if not higher. Anyone who knows basketball can see they are a quality team, and the NET rankings acknowledge that by making a win over them on the road a Quad 1 win.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

You are what your record says you are .. in their case for sure .. We are a different story , I get that . But does injuries cause stupidity or lack of focus or effort ? I mean 14th is 14th .

I mean, OU would probably be top4 in any other league. Same with Texas. We really shouldn't be looking at where a team's standing is within the conference, when the conferences clearly aren't playing at the same level as each other. OU is 48th and Texas is 42 on Kenpom. That to me says they are teams in the top15th-ish percentile in the nation. They're pretty good.

 

[Tampa_cat54]

You are what your record says you are .. in their case for sure .. We are a different story , I get that . But does injuries cause stupidity or lack of focus or effort ? I mean 14th is 14th .

Oklahoma would be a top 5 team in the ACC, and one of the better teams in the Big 10 IMO. They have wins over Michigan, Louisville, Arizona, Vandy, Arkansas, Miss State, etc.

8 of their last 9 games have come against AP Top-25 opponents, including 4 of those games against AP-Top 5 teams, so they've lost a lot. Doesn't make them a bad team, they are just not one of the nation's elite, and in any other year, they are a top-half SEC team. But this isn't a normal year.

Michigan, Louisville, Arizona, Miss State, etc. are all really, really good teams that they've beaten.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Not sure where to post this but Pope's decision to play Amari with THREE fouls in the FIRST half was a brave move. Brandon and Amari together has been rare. Some interesting coaching moves that gave us chance. Superman wears Otega underwear. A really big road win.

I believe Amari still had 2 fouls and they got it wrong thinking he had 3.. I have a feeling Pope might have figured that out before a lot of us got the information. If that's what you're talking about, not sure.

 

[tf4fun]

Excellent win. Just hoping this team truly gets healthy

Brea would be much better playing off of butler/Robinson. With Robinson and butler the defense has to stop butler penetration and Robinson shooting. Robinson can also put it on the floor and hit mid-range along with getting to the rim. Those 2 completely changed how they play us. Which makes Brea a deadly weapon playing off of them! Just hope we can get them healthy enough to open the floor up for our shooters.

 

[bbncal02]

Went to bed shortly after half because I was dog tired. Glad to see we pulled out a win! I went back and watched the second half highlights and man Oweh saved the day.

Gutsy gutsy win.

 

[catfan220]

NINE Quad 1 wins for Kentucky now.

That's three more than Duke, two more than Houston, seven more than Gonzaga, four more than Iowa State, four more than Florida, five more than Kansas, nine more than UNC-CHeats...etc. etc.

I read comments on here last night and this morning about what a "lucky" win Oklahoma was and whining about how Kentucky struggled with a "bottom level" SEC team...

Anyone who can't appreciate a Quad 1 win at this stage of the season on the road, against a team desperate to play its way into the Tourney, with critical players still struggling to return to form is either ill-informed, a Terminal Chicken Little (the worst) or a troll...

Great post. Because of how strong and deep the SEC is, fans, myself included, see us playing one of the bottom teams in the league and assume we should win. The reality is it’s a quad one game, by definition one of the hardest games to win in the sport right now.

 

[WeWant9]

Any road win is a good win, especially in this year’s SEC.

 

[ManitouDan]

Thrilled we held on and beat a team on the road that played their A game . Still think they are not so great .. but — on to sweaty Pearl and his band of loud mouths

 

[MegaBlue05]

It can’t go without saying that some UK fans just like to bitch and others seemingly root for losses so they can run around spouting about how right they were and show their online coaching acumen.

We have a few more who are always negative, will give up on the team in the first half of game threads and then disappear if we pull out a win. Those are either trolls or miserable people who live to be pissed off over something they can’t control.

Personally, I will never complain about a road conference W, especially in Q1. I don’t care if we score 105 or 55 or if we win by 35 or 1. Play to win the game - Herm Edwards

 

[ManitouDan]

* They are an NCAA tournament team as of now, according to Lunardi and other brackets I've checked.
* They are in a Historically strong, top-to-bottom league so citing their position in the SEC is pretty meaningless.
* They beat ranked teams Arizona, Michigan and Louisville in OOC play, and were nationally ranked before Conference play.
* I'd guess they'd be a top 3-4 team in the ACC, if not higher. Anyone who knows basketball can see they are a quality team, and the NET rankings acknowledge that by making a win over them on the road a Quad 1 win.

Not trying to be difficult but think the NCAAT is going to take a team that finishes 12 or below ? They are 16-11 . That’s a resume to get you in ? And when someone resorts to an idiot , I mean a click bait internet “ sensation “ suck as Kenpom I know they are digging deep .

 

[LineSkiCat14]

It can’t go without saying that some UK fans just like to bitch and others seemingly root for losses so they can run around spouting about how right they were and show their online coaching acumen.

We have a few more who are always negative, will give up on the team in the first half of game threads and then disappear if we pull out a win. Those are either trolls or miserable people who live to be pissed off over something they can’t control.

Personally, I will never complain about a road conference W, especially in Q1. I don’t care if we score 105 or 55 or if we win by 35 or 1. Play to win the game - Herm Edwards

I really thought that would have died when Calipari left. I figured Pope was here, he's doing MUCH better thane expected in year 1, we're a 3-seed, it's a brand new team, the SEC was better than any year in the last 20 or so years.

I liked Cal, but knew he was hated a the end (I started to hate him too).. So I figured this coaching change should make everyone happy, especially with how well we are doing right now, despite the adversity.. Guess not lol.

 

[ManitouDan]

Guy actually said “ position in their league is meaningless “ ah , what ?

 

[Festivus Miracle]

I believe Amari still had 2 fouls and they got it wrong thinking he had 3.. I have a feeling Pope might have figured that out before a lot of us got the information. If that's what you're talking about, not sure.

Oh, okay. I thought he had three. I had the volume down. I thought that was really wild playing him with three. That said, at least he played him with two.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Not trying to be difficult but think the NCAAT is going to take a team that finishes 12 or below ? They are 16-11 . That’s a resume to get you in ? And when someone resorts to an idiot , I mean a click bait internet “ sensation “ suck as Kenpom I know they are digging deep .

They will, believe it or not. The conference standings don't matter. They are an 11-seed right now.. but they could certainly fall out if they lose, or they could move up. If they won last night they probably go to a 10/9-seed.. OU is on the cusp, and a big reason for that is they just couldn't get enough wins playing top40 teams for the last 2 months.

Now I would agree with you, in theory, you shouldn't take teams that are bordering on .500, or a team that finishes at the bottom of their conference. I get the theory behind that and part of me agrees.. but, that's just now how they do it.

 

[ManitouDan]

For the record I’m thrilled with Pope , his substitution patterns none withstanding. He has been dealt a terrible hand and done amazingly well !!

 

[ukcatz12]

Guy actually said “ position in their league is meaningless “ ah , what ?

Position in your league is actually meaningless. It's your body of work as a whole that matters. From a tournament point of view, the committee doesn't look at your position in the league at all.

 

[ManitouDan]

Position in your league is actually meaningless. It's your body of work as a whole that matters. From a tournament point of view, the committee doesn't look at your position in the league at all.

You can say that all you want , behind closed doors no one , not a soul , is going to try to carry the argument " I know they finished 16th in the SEC , but that league was so damn good this year " or 13th for that matter .

 

[MonsterMash79]

There were definitely some haters on last night posting hoping we would lose. Getting old

People were really hoping we lose?

 

[MegaBlue05]

I really thought that would have died when Calipari left. I figured Pope was here, he's doing MUCH better thane expected in year 1, we're a 3-seed, it's a brand new team, the SEC was better than any year in the last 20 or so years.

I liked Cal, but knew he was hated a the end (I started to hate him too).. So I figured this coaching change should make everyone happy, especially with how well we are doing right now, despite the adversity.. Guess not lol.

I had the same thoughts.

This roster was built in a month, projected to be unranked or low 20s when the season began. Many fans were hoping to just make the tournament in year 1.

I don’t think we could’ve asked for much more in light of all the injuries to key players.

I see a bright future assuming Pope can recruit a few elite athletes to help us defensively.

 

[jwphelps]

NINE Quad 1 wins for Kentucky now.

That's three more than Duke, two more than Houston, seven more than Gonzaga, four more than Iowa State, four more than Florida, five more than Kansas, nine more than UNC-CHeats...etc. etc.

I read comments on here last night and this morning about what a "lucky" win Oklahoma was and whining about how Kentucky struggled with a "bottom level" SEC team...

Anyone who can't appreciate a Quad 1 win at this stage of the season on the road, against a team desperate to play its way into the Tourney, with critical players still struggling to return to form is either ill-informed, a Terminal Chicken Little (the worst) or a troll...

Some of those whiners are trolls.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

You can say that all you want , behind closed doors no one , not a soul , is going to try to carry the argument " I know they finished 16th in the SEC , but that league was so damn good this year " or 13th for that matter .

So surprisingly, it has happened. 2016-2017 MSU had 14 losses going into the tournament. But the Big10 was pretty stout that year, and their metrics showed that, somehow, they were like the 40th best team, and they got in.

But again, I see the problems with this. MSU had 14 losses and without looking, they were like middle of the pack in conference standings.. so they really should not have been allowed in, depending on how you look at it.

 

[Dead Cat Bounce]

I really thought that would have died when Calipari left . . . Guess not lol.

Sometimes it feels like the internet has destroyed conversation. So much negativity, so much trolling, so much confidence and assertiveness even when we’re wrong. So much amplification of the most anti-social stuff.

 

[ManitouDan]

So surprisingly, it has happened. 2016-2017 MSU had 14 losses going into the tournament. But the Big10 was pretty stout that year, and their metrics showed that, somehow, they were like the 40th best team, and they got in.

But again, I see the problems with this. MSU had 14 losses and without looking, they were like middle of the pack in conference standings.. so they really should not have been allowed in, depending on how you look at it.

Wonder , if you know , where did they finish in the B!G ?

 

[ukcatz12]

I really thought that would have died when Calipari left. I figured Pope was here, he's doing MUCH better thane expected in year 1, we're a 3-seed, it's a brand new team, the SEC was better than any year in the last 20 or so years.

I liked Cal, but knew he was hated a the end (I started to hate him too).. So I figured this coaching change should make everyone happy, especially with how well we are doing right now, despite the adversity.. Guess not lol.

This mindset of some fans you mention here is honestly part of the reason I never soured on Cal a tremendous amount. At the end it was time to move on and I'm glad we did, but the overly negative fans would literally bitch about anything he did and it made it so easy for me to just tune out the criticism. He had his flaws for sure, but some on this board would blame him if the Yellowstone volcano erupted and plunged the world into famine.

I always laugh when I see people make the same exact complaints about Pope and seem shocked about it. Those complaints are usually just unreasonable complaints or issues that literally every college basketball coach has to deal with.

 

[ImTheVillageIdiot]

The people who simply look at Oklahoma being say 14th in the SEC and just assuming they suck, really need to stay on the sidelines. Same with the Texas loss.

There's some basic-level common sense that's being missed around here at times.

Amen. Oklahoma was a highly ranked team going into SEC play and was red-hot. Unfortunately, the SEC is a beast this year.

 

[Creed Bratton]

desperate ? bottom level ?? well sir they are 13th in a 16 team league .. not even a top 30 ( 40 ??) team . And we had bad moments , and good moments .. its a hoops discussion board .. you want peaches and cream shop elsewhere !!!!!!!

They have out of conference wins over ranked teams like U of L, Arizona and Michigan so maybe it is a testament to the strength of the league than them as a team.

 

[ManitouDan]

Excellent win. Just hoping this team truly gets healthy

Agreed Cawood , just when good news seemed to be happening , Robinson goes back down and somehow Lamont plays a total of 20 minutes . We stole a win . It was a thrilling win . But a game that just had that Texas feel to it .. Thankfully OO said " get on my back" !!!

 

[ImTheVillageIdiot]

This mindset of some fans you mention here is honestly part of the reason I never soured on Cal a tremendous amount. At the end it was time to move on and I'm glad we did, but the overly negative fans would literally bitch about anything he did and it made it so easy for me to just tune out the criticism. He had his flaws for sure, but some on this board would blame him if the Yellowstone volcano erupted and plunged the world into famine.

I always laugh when I see people make the same exact complaints about Pope and seem shocked about it. Those complaints are usually just unreasonable complaints or issues that literally every college basketball coach has to deal with.

Bingo. It is actually sad.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Wonder , if you know , where did they finish in the B!G ?

Looks like tied for 5th (but placed 7th) in a 14 team league. Which isn't bad.. But it also says they really did not do well in OOC play if they amassed 14 losses.