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

[cbrwalt]

Oklahoma won the Maui Invitational

They are undefeated outside the SEC

They beat:
Arizona, the 2nd place team in the Big 12
Louisville, the 2nd place team in the ACC
Michigan, the 2nd place team in the Big 10

One could make a very strong argument that Oklahoma would finish 2nd in any other conference outside the SEC. They are a good team.

 

[Smashcat]

Oklahoma won the Maui Invitational

They are undefeated outside the SEC

They beat:
Arizona, the 2nd place team in the Big 12
Louisville, the 2nd place team in the ACC
Michigan, the 2nd place team in the Big 10

One could make a very strong argument that Oklahoma would finish 2nd in any other conference outside the SEC. They are a good team.

Let's put it this way, the SEC is so tough that UK is a mid-pack conference team yet multiple neutral observers have said we can make a Final Four if healthy.

 

[BIG BLUE GURU]

People were really hoping we lose?

Yes. Some of the same ole people who have been constantly negative since Cal left and Pope was hired. Just follow the board regularly and you can see who they are. Sad

 

[BIG BLUE GURU]

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.

The world we live in dude. You cant make everyone happy and some folks dont want to be happy. They are only happy if they are bitching. Just fact. Especially on the internet and social media.

 

[tf4fun]

Yes. Some of the same ole people who have been constantly negative since Cal left and Pope was hired. Just follow the board regularly and you can see who they are. Sad

I actually think a flip happened. Those who loved cal turned critical, and those who hated cal turned positive. For myself I try to say it how I see it regardless the coach.

But it was best for both parties to move on, maybe cal could have given us another final 4 run! But then what? retire and start over? If Pope gives us a final 4 run we should be able to build off that momentum and hopefully get a multi year run!

Just like Pitino, I always loved him but once he left I hoped he lost every game at UL!

 

[ManitouDan]

FWIW the OP was one of the few that wanted Cal back another year . ( if I'm mistaken my apologies)

 

[Cats192]

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 .

I disagree with your argument.

They're a top 50 team in the NET. They may still wind up in the NCAA tournament. It was a good win. It's not diminished by their SEC standing.

 

[yabbadabbadoo]

Desperation carries a lot of weight in the case of last nights game. Forget the record and the league standing. It was a hard fought win that anyone would’ve had a hard time getting.

 

[ManitouDan]

I disagree with your argument.

They're a top 50 team in the NET. They may still wind up in the NCAA tournament. It was a good win. It's not diminished by their SEC standing.

Sure it was a good win , but it would have been a deflating , very disappointing loss . And I rely on my eyes , not the Net or Kenpom or anything else .. and they have 2 good players and not much more

 

[Blue wood]

* 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.

That guy is bitching in every thread

 

[Cats192]

Sure it was a good win , but it would have been a deflating , very disappointing loss . And I rely on my eyes , not the Net or Kenpom or anything else .. and they have 2 good players and not much more

It would have been a deflating loss. But we won.

It would have been deflating if my wife said no when I proposed. But that didn't happen.

 

[SemperFiCat]

Sure it was a good win , but it would have been a deflating , very disappointing loss . And I rely on my eyes , not the Net or Kenpom or anything else .. and they have 2 good players and not much more

I'm with you. People can try to white wash last night all they want. I agree, my eyes saw a bad Kentucky team last night, on both sides of the ball. And I've been very positive about this team all year. Even with a W, I am left feeling uneasy about what I saw last night. Honestly, I'm pretty surprised at the reaction of the board. Guess, I'm in the minority.

 

[Cats192]

It was a Quad 1 win. It was an SEC road win. We're 2 days away from March. Sometimes the game gets ugly and you just gotta find a way to win. We did that for once.

Oklahoma isn't a bad team. They're top 50 in the NET. Their SEC standing is irrelavent since the SEC is so strong this year. They're better than a lot of teams in other power conferences.

Things will probably look and flow better when we're not doing road games vs the SEC anymore. But that's a few weeks away. For now, find a way to win.

 

[ManitouDan]

It was a solid road W over an average team that played their very best . But it wasn’t the 80s Lakers .. we had the same problems we have had all year . And it’s March and it’s not fixed … get JR back , butler playing 35 min and we can roll . But if we rely on Noah , Chandler and Perry to carry much weight we are screwed , they are just not ready … yet , they will be imo , they will be solid bench guys .

 

[gharding07]

OU will probably lose 2 of the last 3 games. No way the committee will let a 5-13 conference record team in the dance, no matter how good the conference is. There would be a mutiny.

 

[JRCAT14]

I'm with you. People can try to white wash last night all they want. I agree, my eyes saw a bad Kentucky team last night, on both sides of the ball. And I've been very positive about this team all year. Even with a W, I am left feeling uneasy about what I saw last night. Honestly, I'm pretty surprised at the reaction of the board. Guess, I'm in the minority.

I think a lot of the reason we looked like we did last night was because of having Butler and Robinson back in the lineup. Don't misunderstand, I want them back ( Butler is a must and Robinson is a plus), but this should be somewhat expected after them being out for a while. That's why it is important that they play when they can.

I don't agree with the thought of them not playing if medically cleared. Some even suggested holding them out until the NCAA tournament. Practice is NOT game competition. They need to play to get back in the flow of a game and the team needs to again become accustomed to playing with them.

 

[ManitouDan]

I'm with you. People can try to white wash last night all they want. I agree, my eyes saw a bad Kentucky team last night, on both sides of the ball. And I've been very positive about this team all year. Even with a W, I am left feeling uneasy about what I saw last night. Honestly, I'm pretty surprised at the reaction of the board. Guess, I'm in the minority.

Yeah we have some guys semi chest pounding when it’s not really called for . We didn’t play very good , we got way away from our normal game plan , and relied on OO going nuts to win . Our on the ball D was atrocious, Brea allowed a lot of threes . Got nothing from Carr. Turned the ball over too much . Got a W let’s move on and keep getting healthy .

 

[KYFOSSIL]

It would have been a deflating loss. But we won.

It would have been deflating if my wife said no when I proposed. But that didn't happen.

Check the fine print😂. Jk

 

[Princecal]

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 .

UNC was 6th in their conference and got a 2 seed with 10 losses before. We will not come close to finishing top 3 in our conference and are a firm 3 seed at the moment. Everyone agrees they are one of the last 8 teams actually in the tournament at the moment. You're acting like they are Evansville

 

[EliteBlue]

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

Including the weirdo that called the post game saying he “was bummed and we are basically Vanderbilt now”

 

[bbncal02]

Including the weirdo that called the post game saying he “was bummed and we are basically Vanderbilt now”

I’ll have to go back and listen to that. Good grief. I know I’ve been a bit down with some of our performances but that’s just stupid.

 

[kywildcat41035]

Yeah we have some guys semi chest pounding when it’s not really called for . We didn’t play very good , we got way away from our normal game plan , and relied on OO going nuts to win . Our on the ball D was atrocious, Brea allowed a lot of threes . Got nothing from Carr. Turned the ball over too much . Got a W let’s move on and keep getting healthy .

This is exactly what I saw and I’m with you.

 

[JFCats22]

UNC was 6th in their conference and got a 2 seed with 10 losses before. We will not come close to finishing top 3 in our conference and are a firm 3 seed at the moment. Everyone agrees they are one of the last 8 teams actually in the tournament at the moment. You're acting like they are Evansville

When was this?

 

[un4getables]

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 .

Really showing your true colors aren't you... I guess you are one of the Trolls he is talking about.

 

[TheDude73]

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...

Preach!

 

[SemperFiCat]

Really showing your true colors aren't you... I guess you are one of the Trolls he is talking about.

No. He just saw what others saw; this team looked bad and struggled against a mid team. We've looked far better against far better teams. Folks can do all the mental gymnastics they want to justify last night, but Kentucky looked bad, bad. IMO. I'm a pretty positive poster, and like this team, but I know what I saw.

 

[un4getables]

No. He just saw what others saw; this team looked bad and struggled against a mid team. We've looked far better against far better teams. Folks can do all the mental gymnastics they want to justify last night, but Kentucky looked bad, bad. IMO. I'm a pretty positive poster, and like this team, but I know what I saw.

When you say this are you accounting for the guys who are injured? The guys who are in foul trouble because the damn SEC refs can't get their shit in order? So yeah did they look out of sync... Yeah they did... Did they find a way to win... Yeah they did... Mid Team... Thats funny.. Several posters have already posted what their resume looks like. Just because they haven't been great in the SEC well the SEC this year is crazy good. I am not sure i would call a program mid, and the fact they played out of their ass and we STILL won... Yeah you can certainly look at it as half empty performance but I am tickled pink they won a game they should have lost... This will come in handy come tourny time.

 

[GoNoles111]

No. He just saw what others saw; this team looked bad and struggled against a mid team. We've looked far better against far better teams. Folks can do all the mental gymnastics they want to justify last night, but Kentucky looked bad, bad. IMO. I'm a pretty positive poster, and like this team, but I know what I saw.

They looked like the UK we've seen on the road a bunch of this year. Vandy, Texas, Georgia..this was nothing new lol. We just had a guy with red in his eyes will us to the W this time.

 

[ukcatz12]

When was this?

'17-'18. There was a four way tie for third, which included UNC, but they sixth in the standings after all the tiebreakers. They were 11-7 in conference and 25-10 going into the NCAA tournament and got a 2 seed.

 

[JFCats22]

'17-'18. There was a four way tie for third, which included UNC, but they sixth in the standings after all the tiebreakers. They were 11-7 in conference and 25-10 going into the NCAA tournament and got a 2 seed.

So the example given is from 8 years ago and with a team that tied for 3rd in the conference?

 

[rick64]

Cats have won a few we didn't expect, and lost a few we didn't expect too. So I guess we can't complain too much.

 

[EliteBlue]

I’ll have to go back and listen to that. Good grief. I know I’ve been a bit down with some of our performances but that’s just stupid.

KSR post game.

Yeah it was a really odd call. Matt shut it down relatively quick but it’s crazy that someone could even have that opinion as a top 15 team, 3seed, fighting through half the top 7 being injured

 

[billoliver40]

It shows how strong this conference is when you look at some of the Oklahoma wins and label them a national bottom feeder.

 

[59coop]

I think what the SEC teams did preconference shows how strong this conference is. It's not like Duke playing the ACC, none of these games are a gimme no matter how good anyone thinks their team is. Look at what Vandy did last night.

 

[ImTheVillageIdiot]

KSR post game.

Yeah it was a really odd call. Matt shut it down relatively quick but it’s crazy that someone could even have that opinion as a top 15 team, 3seed, fighting through half the top 7 being injured

Yep, but the “let fans fan how they want to fan” lie got us here. Now, we have to pretend like that caller is a fan, when all of us know deep down they are not one of us

 

[MegaBlue05]

KSR post game.

Yeah it was a really odd call. Matt shut it down relatively quick but it’s crazy that someone could even have that opinion as a top 15 team, 3seed, fighting through half the top 7 being injured

It had to be one of those morons who expect us to play at peak UK Pitino team levels 40 games a year, no exceptions.

I said “you f’n clown” out loud during that call.

I don’t trust fans who get mad about road conference WINS because they weren’t pretty or dominant enough.

 

[ImTheVillageIdiot]

It had to be one of those morons who expect us to play at peak UK Pitino team levels 40 games a year, no exceptions.

I said “you f’n clown” out loud during that call.

I don’t trust fans who get mad ablut road conference WINS because they weren’t pretty or dominant enough.

Because…they aren’t fans. Badwagoners should not be accepted in BBN

You’re either in or out. No fence riders welcomed.

 

[EliteBlue]

It had to be one of those morons who expect us to play at peak UK Pitino team levels 40 games a year, no exceptions.

I said “you f’n clown” out loud during that call.

I don’t trust fans who get mad about road conference WINS because they weren’t pretty or dominant enough.

Pretty much nailed it. It’s either that type of fan or the left over Cal era fan that measures success by future nba players…same fans that were telling us before Cal left that we’d just become irrelevant without Cal and the NBA. There’s a lot of the young young social media era fans that do t appreciate CBB and just see it as an NBA farm system, and being a “cool program” is centered around what your college teams guys do at the next level….its all hype based and not results based at the college level for them. They legit believe that nba allstars is a measurement of college program success instead of realizing they are two entirely exclusive sports other than a little recruiting fodder to hopefully lead to college basketball results.

I share the same sentiment about those types.

 

[Princecal]

So the example given is from 8 years ago and with a team that tied for 3rd in the conference?

I gave multiple examples in my post that where you finish in your conference isn't some end all be all to getting into the tournament or seeding. One being us this exact season we are still playing. Is that recent enough?

 

[Princecal]

So the example given is from 8 years ago and with a team that tied for 3rd in the conference?

You have played the doom and gloom card during games we never trailed, you are infamous on this board for talking bad about our players, team, and program every single game day. You missed the time to be a college basketball fan with the way you see it; almost 50 years since there been an undefeated team and almost zero parity.