The Sky is NOT Falling

[JonathanW]

We all knew it was coming. UK loses a game and some fans panic. But guess what, EVERY team will lose at least one, probably multiple games that they shouldn't lose. Games where if they replayed it 10 times, they would win 6+ of them. That is why there has not been an undefeated team in nearly 50 years. Players have off nights. Opponents have career nights. You get a bad call or two. They bank in a 3. You have a shot go halfway down and come back out. Things happen!!! When is the last time a team went undefeated in SEC play, I think it was our 2015 team 10 years ago, and the league has gotten much better since then. We heard them, 12 teams (almost 13) out of 16 projected to get in NCAA-T, 3/4 of the league. Did I hear them right, that the SEC was 12-1 vs the ACC before last night, so now is 21-2. Damn!!! Yes, it sucks having our team as 1 of those 2 losses. But we also have 1 of those biggest 21 wins. AND as I said earlier, by the end of the year EVERY team will have lost to some teams that they probably shouldn't have.

The key thing is what do we learn from our loss(es), is it something that we can improve on, and do we (improve on it).

 

[wardlow]

I’m not worried about the loss, how they played, the team, or the coaching. Clemson comes to Rupp, we win.

If we get blown out by Gonzaga I’ll be shocked, but a close loss won’t worry me.

 

[chroix]

Funny how we catch an L and all of the sudden the traffic spikes and we’ve got hundreds of new negative people posting here. Almost like the hater trolls have been lurking waiting in their mom’s basements to strike at the first misstep.

 

[Bill - Shy Cat]

Funny how we catch an L and all of the sudden the traffic spikes and we’ve got hundreds of new negative people posting here. Almost like the hater trolls have been lurking waiting in their mom’s basements to strike at the first misstep.

Also, gives coach Pope some things to have the team improve upon. It’ll only make us stronger for March.

 

[anonymous_2011]

I'm still predicting we go 40-0.

 

[WeWant9]

The wild ride that is rafters after a loss.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I'm not entirely sure this was even a game that we shouldn't have lost.

I mean we all knew going into this it was essentially a coin flip game. Vegas had us a favorite, some computer models had us as underdogs. All predicted a very close game which is exactly what it turned out to be.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

I'm not entirely sure this was even a game that we shouldn't have lost.

I mean we all knew going into this it was essentially a coin flip game. Vegas had us a favorite, some computer models had us as underdogs. All predicted a very close game which is exactly what it turned out to be.

The banked in desperation three doomed us.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Most teams are gonna lose a lot of games this season. Parity is here in college basketball and don't see it going away n this new era we are in.

 

[BlueBomb]

I beg to differ. The sky IS falling. Saw it happen.

We in trouble!

 

[Cawood86]

4 point loss on the road for a team never playing together on the road, especially as a Kentucky player.

I'm not overly concerned.

 

[The_Answer1313]

4 point loss on the road for a team never playing together on the road, especially as a Kentucky player.

I'm not overly concerned.

Yeah. I actually thought we didn't play horribly.

We had a poor shooting night. Those things happen.

We have flaws too. But so does every team. We might not be a good free throw shooting team. We also might struggle rebounding against physical teams. We generally take care of the ball but Williams has had turnover issues for years now and cannot handle the ball outside the paint.

 

[TFCats11]

Spot on, and I couldn’t have said it better myself! Thanks OP👊🏻

 

[Jamal Mercer]

I, a long with a lot of other people, knew that last night would be tough. I was trying to be optimistic but the loss and the way some of our guys played was not surprising. I got crushed for suggesting a few of our guys would crumble under the pressure.

I think Saturday night will be similar.

I also think the ceiling is still pretty decent for this team. It's ok to be logical and level-headed about your favorite team.

 

[kywildcats8]

We just need to shoot the ball better- missed so many wide open shots last night

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

Saturday will tell a lot. Because they really need to win Saturday. If they go and get ran off the court or look bad again then some questions should start being asked about the potential of the group.

 

[megablue]

We all knew it was coming. UK loses a game and some fans panic. But guess what, EVERY team will lose at least one, probably multiple games that they shouldn't lose. Games where if they replayed it 10 times, they would win 6+ of them. That is why there has not been an undefeated team in nearly 50 years. Players have off nights. Opponents have career nights. You get a bad call or two. They bank in a 3. You have a shot go halfway down and come back out. Things happen!!! When is the last time a team went undefeated in SEC play, I think it was our 2015 team 10 years ago, and the league has gotten much better since then. We heard them, 12 teams (almost 13) out of 16 projected to get in NCAA-T, 3/4 of the league. Did I hear them right, that the SEC was 12-1 vs the ACC before last night, so now is 21-2. Damn!!! Yes, it sucks having our team as 1 of those 2 losses. But we also have 1 of those biggest 21 wins. AND as I said earlier, by the end of the year EVERY team will have lost to some teams that they probably shouldn't have.

The key thing is what do we learn from our loss(es), is it something that we can improve on, and do we (improve on it).

Nope, it certainly is not. Everybody knew would, like every other team this year, lose games. This was one of them. Hopefully, we will learn from it and be stronger and more consistent going forward. GO CATS !!

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

39-1

 

[kennyskywalker34]

Every team that plays in a conference with a pulse will also lose multiple conference games.
Only Gonzaga has a chance to go undefeated in conference play. Thats due to that high school conference they play in.

 

[BIG BLUE GURU]

Saturday will tell a lot. Because they really need to win Saturday. If they go and get ran off the court or look bad again then some questions should start being asked about the potential of the group.

We really need to win Saturday? Every fan base can say that but it isn't reality. Let me inform you that Saturdays game will probably be the toughest game these cats have faced all year and yes that includes Duke and Clemson. We could lose and quit honestly I would be pleasantly surprised if we won. Gonzaga is a dang good team and to be playing in Seattle is just another added layer to the challenge. I have said this before but some of you set yourself up for failure or the right to get on here and complain constantly. This team before the season started is what it is and we knew that. Now in year 2 or 3 if we have the same issues then by all means complain but what more can you expect from someone who had to piece together a team in 2 weeks? I was thrilled with the win over Duke but it didnt change my outlook on the rest of the season and having double digit losses. The SEC is going to be brutal and to win any road game is going to be a huge challenge.

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

We really need to win Saturday? Every fan base can say that but it isn't reality. Let me inform you that Saturdays game will probably be the toughest game these cats have faced all year and yes that includes Duke and Clemson. We could lose and quit honestly I would be pleasantly surprised if we won. Gonzaga is a dang good team and to be playing in Seattle is just another added layer to the challenge. I have said this before but some of you set yourself up for failure or the right to get on here and complain constantly. This team before the season started is what it is and we knew that. Now in year 2 or 3 if we have the same issues then by all means complain but what more can you expect from someone who had to piece together a team in 2 weeks? I was thrilled with the win over Duke but it didnt change my outlook on the rest of the season and having double digit losses. The SEC is going to be brutal and to win any road game is going to be a huge challenge.

You said all that and it still doesn’t change the fact that Kentucky needs to win Saturday

 

[BIG BLUE GURU]

You said all that and it still doesn’t change the fact that Kentucky needs to win Saturday

No they don't. Would be nice but they don't need to. Kentucky would have more losses right now if Cal was still here, I guarantee that. Enjoy the ride.

 

[B.B.H.]

The banked in desperation three doomed us.

Bench performance crippled us too. Thankfully, I feel confident we are gonna win some of these rock fights and I think we did better than some gave credit for outside of a few guys

 

[ChicagoCat1990]

Butler in very early foul trouble and Clemson hitting a few "lucky" shots. That's the difference in the game. But this can be said by the losing team in most games, kind of like Duke was saying they missed open easy shots against us.

If we plan on making a run in march we are going to need to find ways to get it done when things don't go our way. I'm excited to see how we bounce back against Gonzaga. I think that game will tell us a lot about our team.

 

[Emarc]

6 month ago we didnt have coach or one player. Today we are 7-1 with win over Duke. No one saw that in the tea leaves.

 

[Cold Stout Beer]

I beg to differ. The sky IS falling. Saw it happen.

We in trouble!

But to be fair, this is what you do.

 

[B.B.H.]

6 month ago we didnt have coach or one player. Today we are 7-1 with win over Duke. No one saw that in the tea leaves.

Context and rationality — could it be!? How refreshing to hear! People acting like we lost at home to Vandy or lost by a blowout to Missouri.

 

[Emarc]

Context and rationality — could it be!? How refreshing to hear! People acting like we lost at home to Vandy or lost by a blowout to Missouri.

Or Oakland, St Peters, Evansville..etc.

 

[TheBlueMax]

We all knew it was coming. UK loses a game and some fans panic. But guess what, EVERY team will lose at least one, probably multiple games that they shouldn't lose. Games where if they replayed it 10 times, they would win 6+ of them. That is why there has not been an undefeated team in nearly 50 years. Players have off nights. Opponents have career nights. You get a bad call or two. They bank in a 3. You have a shot go halfway down and come back out. Things happen!!! When is the last time a team went undefeated in SEC play, I think it was our 2015 team 10 years ago, and the league has gotten much better since then. We heard them, 12 teams (almost 13) out of 16 projected to get in NCAA-T, 3/4 of the league. Did I hear them right, that the SEC was 12-1 vs the ACC before last night, so now is 21-2. Damn!!! Yes, it sucks having our team as 1 of those 2 losses. But we also have 1 of those biggest 21 wins. AND as I said earlier, by the end of the year EVERY team will have lost to some teams that they probably shouldn't have.

The key thing is what do we learn from our loss(es), is it something that we can improve on, and do we (improve on it).

With some cave dwelling, beer swigging rocket scientists, it is falling. Unfortunately, not every one of God's children was given a brain.

 

[crawfords corner]

Going to be one hell of a ride this year and will probably still end up with one of the usual suspects winning the title.

 

[NociHTTP]

Funny how we catch an L and all of the sudden the traffic spikes and we’ve got hundreds of new negative people posting here. Almost like the hater trolls have been lurking waiting in their mom’s basements to strike at the first misstep.

They absolutely have, even with backup accounts they barely used over the years. A bunch of them only care about recruiting classes, and not really about championships. They miss Cal and his big recruiting classes.

 

[Digger-Cat]

I'm not entirely sure this was even a game that we shouldn't have lost.

I mean we all knew going into this it was essentially a coin flip game. Vegas had us a favorite, some computer models had us as underdogs. All predicted a very close game which is exactly what it turned out to be.

I think it's how we lost that bothers us
1) Clemson guy plays 36 minutes, gets 20 rebounds and picks up zero fouls
2) Butler, Oweh and Carr were in foul trouble and couldn't really play aggressive
3) a ton of missed free throws, some were front ends
4) a ton of missed wide open 3's
5) our guys' effort was pretty poor
6) our guys ball watch, especially when shots go up, nobody even tries to get an offensive rebound
7) Brea sat way too long and we do very little to get him, the best shooter in the country, open
8) Amari turns the ball over too much. He's careless and shouldn't be dribbling in traffic

That's a lot of things that worked against us. The free throws, ball watching and low effort level are issues that can and should all be fixed. Probably should have been fixed before now, these were already glaring issues and Pope is wayyy smarter than I.

Hopefully these issues aren't issues on Saturday night.

 

[NociHTTP]

Amari tends to do a lot of ball watching, but can't seem to look for his teammates when he has the ball. I'm guessing an effort and misunderstanding of his role kind of thing.