So what did we learn

[yes_takeaside]

For me, I think these Cats can compete with just about anyone but the margin of error is very small.

It’s going to take a masterful hand with the lineups and great execution by the players.

Against KU there wasn’t either but the Cats were in the game.

I know many of us don’t have a lot of confidence in these two areas but it is what it is.

Still in the hunt. That’s what I learned.

 

[TheBlueMist]

The "winning streak" was fool's gold. I remember when we celebrated running the table in the SEC, not beating UT, a terrible Georgia team, and a mediocre Vandy team. These were teams we were supposed to beat. I also learned (or rather was reminded of) that Cal is Cal and will always be Cal.

 

[Rideordiewildcat]

For me, I think these Cats can compete with just about anyone but the margin of error is very small.

It’s going to take a masterful hand with the lineups and great execution by the players.

Against KU there wasn’t either but the Cats were in the game.

I know many of us don’t have a lot of confidence in these two areas but it is what it is.

Still in the hunt. That’s what I learned.

I learned Cal needs to fire whoever wont let him play Livingston. He said he should have played more in the 2nd half. I agree.

 

[CB3UK]

I'll second the masterful hand comment. We are screwed.

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

We learned, Kentucky isn’t Kentucky anymore, we are hoping to barley make the tournament instead of competing for it

 

[mcwildcats04]

For me, I think these Cats can compete with just about anyone but the margin of error is very small.

It’s going to take a masterful hand with the lineups and great execution by the players.

Against KU there wasn’t either but the Cats were in the game.

I know many of us don’t have a lot of confidence in these two areas but it is what it is.

Still in the hunt. That’s what I learned.

Yeah the lineups is the big thing for me. Cal brought in Wheeler way too early and left him in way too long. That killed our momentum. We were off to an awesome start. So frustrating.

 

[bbncal02]

I learned Cal needs to fire whoever wont let him play Livingston. He said he should have played more in the 2nd half. I agree.

I know right. Whoever that guy is? He’s an idiot.

 

[bbncal02]

We learned, Kentucky isn’t Kentucky anymore, we are hoping to barley make the tournament instead of competing for it

We have to have lower standards right now while the buffoon is still here. Is what it is. Come on March 2024.

 

[mcwildcats04]

I learned Cal needs to fire whoever wont let him play Livingston. He said he should have played more in the 2nd half. I agree.

If Fredrick is off, we just need to give those minutes to Livingston. And ride with Wallace/Reeves/Livingston/Toppin/Oscar. At some point, teams are probably just going to start sagging off of Fredrick anyways at this rate.

 

[bbncal02]

If Fredrick is off, we just need to give those minutes to Livingston. And ride with Wallace/Reeves/Livingston/Toppin/Oscar. At some point, teams are probably just going to start sagging off of Fredrick anyways at this rate.

Nah. You can’t sag off CJ. Slump or not. Why would you leave a potential shooter open?

It’s wheeler man. He can’t play with Ware. And that’s what we did all. Night. Long. And KU packed the lane. Self didn’t do any amazing job. He just did what beats Kentucky. It’s not rocket science.

 

[phyrekat]

Nah. You can’t sag off CJ. Slump or not. Why would you leave a potential shooter open?

It’s wheeler man. He can’t play with Ware. And that’s what we did all. Night. Long. And KU packed the lane. Self didn’t do any amazing job. He just did what beats Kentucky. It’s not rocket science.

Yep, Wheeler with Ware is something that should NEVER happen

 

[hotelblue]

“masterful hand” does stick out a bit.

 

[dcw62]

I don't know what We've learned, I just know it's been a very disappointing season thus far, one of the most disappointing ones for me in recent memory

 

[Wildcats1st]

Nah. You can’t sag off CJ. Slump or not. Why would you leave a potential shooter open?

It’s wheeler man. He can’t play with Ware. And that’s what we did all. Night. Long. And KU packed the lane. Self didn’t do any amazing job. He just did what beats Kentucky. It’s not rocket science.

Wheeler is completely unplayable

 

[Wildcats1st]

I learned we are a definite bubble team. We have to pray for a 9 seed but 10 or worse is more likely. 50-50 we make the tournament. We can beat good teams only when wheeler is injured and cal isn’t tempted to play wheeler. I also hope rupp starts booing the hell outta cal and Texas offers him the job. I’m finished with this charlatan.

Also those pooping on Scott drew as Cals replacement need to pay attention. Baylor handled Kansas this week while they came into our house and cooked us. I know cal says he thought we would win but when we were down 1 but not for 1 second with the lineups cal played did i feel optimistic. A guy barely recruited out of high school who would be a great assist guy on the Harlem globetrotters has led this team for 2 really disasterous seasons. Throw in the fact cal had a losing season 2 seasons ago well he should be canned first day the season ends. Barney himself should be forced to pack his desk Monday and be escorted off campus. This is completely unacceptable by UK standards. Lots of heads need to roll

 

[SkyPrince1]

Nah. You can’t sag off CJ. Slump or not. Why would you leave a potential shooter open?

It’s wheeler man. He can’t play with Ware. And that’s what we did all. Night. Long. And KU packed the lane. Self didn’t do any amazing job. He just did what beats Kentucky. It’s not rocket science.

You know he only played 14 min right?
Didn't commit a turnover.
Only took 2 shots making one.
Harris only scored 8 regardless of who was guarding him.
The loss is not on Wheeler.
Wilson got his avg and Grady had a decent game but was a quiet 13.
To me the key for Kansas was getting 17 from Adams and the backup pitched in 2 more.
They matched Oscar.
Oscar continues to play atrocious defense and its not all about his not being able to jump out of the gym.
His reaction time is terrible no way he was this bad last year.
Wasn't playing against length either because Adams is 6'7 225.

 

[know1]

You know he only played 14 min right?
Didn't commit a turnover.
Only took 2 shots making one.
Harris only scored 8 regardless of who was guarding him.
The loss is not on Wheeler.
Wilson got his avg and Grady had a decent game but was a quiet 13.
To me the key for Kansas was getting 17 from Adams and the backup pitched in 2 more.
They matched Oscar.
Oscar continues to play atrocious defense and its not all about his not being able to jump out of the gym.
His reaction time is terrible no way he was this bad last year.
Wasn't playing against length either because Adams is 6'7 225.

You can't reason with jerks and idiots.

 

[Sawnee Cat]

For me, I think these Cats can compete with just about anyone but the margin of error is very small.

It’s going to take a masterful hand with the lineups and great execution by the players.

Against KU there wasn’t either but the Cats were in the game.

I know many of us don’t have a lot of confidence in these two areas but it is what it is.

Still in the hunt. That’s what I learned.

I learned Cal got schooled again on his home court. I don't know what hunt the Cats are still in but it is not championship basketball. You say the Cats can compete but they sure have not proved they can win the big games.

Not with John Calipari coaching. Oh, he might win on NBA draft night so how about he hang banners for that. He is on target for another 10 loss season with a squad full of high school All Americans. This team has 7 losses and it is still January. That is pathetic.

 

[the nail at the foul line]

I learned it takes 21 minutes and a nine point deficit to put your best line up in the game.

 

[Ripcord65]

Yeah the lineups is the big thing for me. Cal brought in Wheeler way too early and left him in way too long. That killed our momentum. We were off to an awesome start. So frustrating.

This is really all that needs to be said. I knew we were done when Wheeler entered the game at the first-half under-12 TV timeout. We're up by 2 when Wheeler comes in at 11:04. At 9:49 we're down by 1. With 2:42 left in the first half we're down 9.

 

[chevyman 50]

Livingston should have been in more in the second half, not only does he play better d he can make shots, Ky D was awful last night of course Cal has no adjustment on defense and he will not play a zone.

 

[JimBR]

They hit threes when it counted. Reeves and Fredrick didn't hit threes at all. We need one of them to score from distance to be effective inside.
I do think more effort was needed to get the ball to Oscar. He was dominating their guys offensively.

 

[ace on the river]

How in the heck can all the basketball " Bennies " see the line up screw ups, but our 10 million dollar a year coach can't?

 

[know1]

They hit threes when it counted. Reeves and Fredrick didn't hit threes at all. We need one of them to score from distance to be effective inside.
I do think more effort was needed to get the ball to Oscar. He was dominating their guys offensively.

They hit those threes because our defense was sloppy and sagged off of them. It's like we weren't focused or motivated like Kansas was.

 

[shyster51]

It’s just painfully obvious to me. We could score almost every trip down if we’d feed the post for either a shot or pass back out for an open shot. Time after time, T was open with great position and we refused to pass it to him. Even that idiot of an announcer could see that would score every trip(and kept saying it). I don’t understand our players reluctance to do it.

 

[thebluestripes]

I just hope we learn that cowipari is texas' new coach next year

 

[STL_Cat]

I learned we are 0-4 in our biggest, marquee non-conference games of the year.

 

[know1]

I'm not sure I learned this, but watching the last 3-4 minutes reinforced to me that this team has no real plan. Kansas tightened down and we looked clueless and forced bad shots and bad passes.

 

[qwesley]

You know he only played 14 min right?
Didn't commit a turnover.
Only took 2 shots making one.
Harris only scored 8 regardless of who was guarding him.
The loss is not on Wheeler.
Wilson got his avg and Grady had a decent game but was a quiet 13.
To me the key for Kansas was getting 17 from Adams and the backup pitched in 2 more.
They matched Oscar.
Oscar continues to play atrocious defense and its not all about his not being able to jump out of the gym.
His reaction time is terrible no way he was this bad last year.
Wasn't playing against length either because Adams is 6'7 225.

Oscar and Wheeler were and have been terrible on defense all year. They were hunting both. Wheeler neither fights through screens or goes under. He just gets on their backside and the rotation issues take off.

 

[qwesley]

It’s just painfully obvious to me. We could score almost every trip down if we’d feed the post for either a shot or pass back out for an open shot. Time after time, T was open with great position and we refused to pass it to him. Even that idiot of an announcer could see that would score every trip(and kept saying it). I don’t understand our players reluctance to do it.

True, CF threw a bad post pass, rare for him, then spazzed and threw the crosscourt one that was picked. He is usually the best at feeding OT.

 

[Eagles_Ball]

You know he only played 14 min right?
Didn't commit a turnover.
Only took 2 shots making one.
Harris only scored 8 regardless of who was guarding him.
The loss is not on Wheeler.
Wilson got his avg and Grady had a decent game but was a quiet 13.
To me the key for Kansas was getting 17 from Adams and the backup pitched in 2 more.
They matched Oscar.
Oscar continues to play atrocious defense and its not all about his not being able to jump out of the gym.
His reaction time is terrible no way he was this bad last year.
Wasn't playing against length either because Adams is 6'7 225.

Adam’s’ points were primarily from PnR. A lot of those in middle third. UKs ball screen defense was horrid. Hard hedging when there’s no reason to. Harris can’t shoot and Adams isn’t a pop guy, yet Cal continually had them hedging which opened up Wilson and/or Dick because of the pinch. Obviously can’t switch it because the second Wheeler hit the floor they put him in PnR situation. That cost the Cats the game.

 

[ManitouDan]

1)How can we still be this bad on Pick and roll D ? And that bad on D in general ? We gave up far far to many easy shots to them
2) It should be a felony punishable by death ( firing) to play Ware and Wheeler at the same time .
3) How in the world can your best lineup still not see the floor near enough ? Its mind boggling .
4) We cant beat good teams without Reeves and /or CJ giving us some offensive help .. I keep thinking CJ is going to start being consistent . He may not .
5) Oscar couldn't guard a good HS center .

 

[kartmd]

Again... It's smooth-brain thinking to look at Wheeler's stats and say he didn't hurt us. The minute he goes in, the entire spacing shrinks. This negatively impacts every one else on the floor and per usual, our early control in the game immediately flips and we never catch up after.

"But he didn't have a turnover!" is beyond a juvenile understanding of bball if you can't see the effect that he has on the game and offensive flow.

You know he only played 14 min right?
Didn't commit a turnover.
Only took 2 shots making one.
Harris only scored 8 regardless of who was guarding him.
The loss is not on Wheeler.
Wilson got his avg and Grady had a decent game but was a quiet 13.
To me the key for Kansas was getting 17 from Adams and the backup pitched in 2 more.
They matched Oscar.
Oscar continues to play atrocious defense and its not all about his not being able to jump out of the gym.
His reaction time is terrible no way he was this bad last year.
Wasn't playing against length either because Adams is 6'7 225.

 

[know1]

Again... It's smooth-brain thinking to look at Wheeler's stats and say he didn't hurt us. The minute he goes in, the entire spacing shrinks. This negatively impacts every one else on the floor and per usual, our early control in the game immediately flips and we never catch up after.

"But he didn't have a turnover!" is beyond a juvenile understanding of bball if you can't see the effect that he has on the game and offensive flow.

So what strategies does our esteemed coach employ to mitigate that effect? None.

 

[kartmd]

So what strategies does our esteemed coach employ to mitigate that effect? None.

I'm gonna go with "not give Wheeler meaningful minutes during key stretches"

 

[chroix]

I think we learned what we already knew. This team will be lucky to make it out of the first weekend and Cal is foolishly stubborn.

 

[Eagles_Ball]

1)How can we still be this bad on Pick and roll D ? And that bad on D in general ? We gave up far far to many easy shots to them
2) It should be a felony punishable by death ( firing) to play Ware and Wheeler at the same time .
3) How in the world can your best lineup still not see the floor near enough ? Its mind boggling .
4) We cant beat good teams without Reeves and /or CJ giving us some offensive help .. I keep thinking CJ is going to start being consistent . He may not .
5) Oscar couldn't guard a good HS center .

1–A big part of the problem is Wheeler. He gets exposed there and because of his size seriously limits what you can do coverage wise. Couple that with the fact Oscar isn’t a rim protector and it’s a bad combo.

2–Wheeler should ONLY spell Wallace for the couple mins a half he needs out. Same for Ware and OT. And correct, never together. Theiro and Livingston should be main subs. The lineups with Livingston as the stretch 4 are just as good defensively and far better offensively than when aware is in.

3–It truly is mind boggling. The amount of data that is instantly available about this and yet…yeah, just doesn’t happen. Brutal.

4–With this teams makeup, that’s a true statement. One has to be knocking down shots.

5–He doesn’t and hasn’t ever been a time protector. But I don’t remember him getting abused like he has around the basket. How many times has a big caught back to the basket and in two dribbles to either side gotten under him and to the rim? That part I don’t get. He doesn’t walk up very well. The double down at UT was very effective. Then again, Wheeler wasn’t on the floor so the double down was effective because all defenders were taller than a bowling ball.

 

[Catzman]

We have to be 35% from 3 to truly have a chance to win.

Fredrick has to be more than a potential "threat" and be an ACTUAL threat.

This team can compete with anyone as you said but the margin of error is slim. Because of this, free throws matter. We make our free throws and this game look different.

Oscar is getting mugged and it's not being called and it's bullshit.

I'm not down and gloom like everyone else to lose to a top 10 team at home in a winnable game. I hope our players are more emotionally stable than most of our fans and head into Ole Miss ready to fight and not let this loss derail the progress we've seen over the last few weeks.

 

[STL_Cat]

I learned that we have posters that only show up to berate fellow UK fans after wins but disappear when we lose.

 

[ruppsrunt66]

ZONE defense for a few trips. mix up the defense and force the foe to alter the offense. certainly anything was better than waving at the pick and roll with a midget guard never getting thru a screen.