What a horrible Tuesday night in Oxford.

After Kentucky’s deflating loss to Arkansas on Saturday, that “stink” followed them as they traveled on the road to Ole Miss. What was an opportunity to get back on the right track, quickly turned into another loss and another learning opportunity.

Trailing by as much as 27 points at one point, Kentucky made a run in the second half, making it a somewhat ‘respectable’ 14-point loss.

While they shot 50 percent from the field and over 47 percent from three, they had no answer for the Rebels on the defensive end. Giving up 98 points and forcing just one turnover is the short synopsis of just how bad Kentucky’s defense was.

Following the game, Mark Pope accepted the blame.

“I didn’t help the guys enough try to find answers,” he said. “We still shoot 50 percent from the field in the game, and are 21 (assists) and 8 (turnovers). Which is what we want. The biggest frustration is on the defensive end. I’m doing a poor job of finding answers to that right now.”

With the SEC and NCAA Tournaments just a over month out, those answers need to be found quickly.

For the third straight game, Lamont Butler has headlined Kentucky’s injury report as “OUT”. While Kentucky certainly misses him, especially defensively, they will have to adjust and try to get used to winning without him.

Following the loss to Arkansas, Mark Pope was asked about what has been a foggy (to say the least) scenario regarding Butler’s predicament. Unfortunately, his words paint a bleak picture.

“I just don’t know… we’re kind of just trying to navigate the space,” he said. “There’s a lot to it that I’m not going to share, because it’s his stuff, but we’re trying to figure out how to proceed right now.”

“I would tell you more but we just really, genuinely don’t know yet. We’ll figure out more in the next couple weeks, I assume at some point we’re gonna take another shot at this and see how it goes.”

Butler’s absence has overshadowed Kerr Kriisa’s absence as well, whose energy would be very beneficial. After Kentucky’s loss to Ole Miss, their fourth loss over the last five games, Pope provided an update, but a not-so-optimistic one.

“I don’t know,” Pope said of the status of Butler and Kriisa. “We have to figure this out with the guys we have. That’s what we are focused on. That’s the job.”

The prospect of even a few more weeks of basketball without Butler is daunting to say the least, especially considering the fact that we’re just a little more than a month out from March Madness.

Buying Time

Even so, with Andrew Carr trending positively and returning to the rotation and guys off the bench getting more comfortable with increased minutes, the Wildcats should have the facilities to put up a fight on a game-to-game basis until Butler can, hopefully, come back,

In spite of their recent struggles, injuries and otherwise, Kentucky is still a ranked team, but they have eight conference games remaining.

Point guard duties will once again fall on Jaxson Robinson and Travis Perry. Kentucky will need significant minutes from both until Butler or Kriisa return at full strength. Saturday’s game against South Carolina becomes a must-win.

Trent Noah, in addition to being a fan favorite for geographical reasons, has provided a serious spark off the bench for Kentucky in the last two games. Against Tennessee specifically, Noah drilled a three from the mid-court logo during a crucial second-half stretch that helped keep the Volunteers at bay.

In the loss to Arkansas, he watched the entire game from the bench.

Exploring Space

Mark Pope was asked about this seemingly random discrepancy after the game, saying, “With Drew coming back, and Ansley playing so well… I wonder if there’s some space for Trent actually at the 3. I think that’s something we can explore.”

“As we kind of reconfigure everything we’re doing right now, on the fly, he’s played well and there’s definitely space for him, and it’s my job to find it,” he continued.

With the carousel of injuries that Kentucky has dealt with so far this season, the rotations being non-concrete is no surprise.

But Noah’s absence in a game where the Wildcats are struggling in just about every facet that he specializes in is nothing short of a head-scratcher. The offense had stalled and energy was neutralized early in the second half; why not give Noah the chance to make a play on either end and restore those things, to some extent?

Wishful Thinking

Not to mention the crowd reaction that a Kentucky native elicits when he so much as touches the ball. With the crowd already at legendary levels during that game, Noah’s appearance in the team’s time of need could’ve gone a long way in that aspect alone.

Alas, retrospective wishful thinking won’t get us anywhere now. With a road match against Ole Miss next on the docket, Noah has an opportunity to continue his strong conference showings away from home in what has become yet another pivotal game for Kentucky.

Let’s just hope Pope finds space for him by then.