The Cats walked back into Rupp Arena today on a 2 game losing skid while also losing 4 of their last 5. They ended that losing streak taking todays game in convincing fashion with a final score of 80-57.

The most exciting news of the day may have been, the return of Lamont Butler. Butler, who hasn’t taken the floor for the Cats since January 25th, finished the game with 8 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound. While being a huge presence for the Wildcats on the defensive end of the floor.

The Good for the Cats

Kentucky played maybe their best game of the year on the defensive end. The Cats held the Gamecocks to only 57 points today which is only the 2nd game this year in which South Carolina has been held to less than 60 points. Having Lamont Butler back in the lineup today definitely played a role in this defensive effort. His ball pressure throughout the entire game was immaculate.

However, according to Coach Pope, the best defender on the floor tonight for Kentucky was Koby Brea. Koby Brea had maybe his best all around game of the season finishing with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Koby Brea was also named the Defensive Player of the game today.

After struggling in the First Half, Otega Oweh finished the game with 17 points while adding 4 rebounds. Oweh came out of the gates slow finishing the First Half with only 2 points. He came out much more aggressive in the Second Half to extend his streak of scoring double digits.

Not to go unmentioned, was the spectacular game from Brandon Garrison. Garrison had 2 huge dunks while shooting 100% on 2 point shots. Garrison also added a made 3 as well as 2 blocks. His energy was crucial in Kentucky’s win today.

The Bad

There wasn’t a whole lot of bad today for Kentucky. However, Jaxson Robinson who was a game time decision before the game did seem to be in some obvious pain throughout the game. There was one play in particular in which he came up holding his wrist and screaming in pain. His injury and health over the next few weeks will definitely be something for fans to monitor.

What’s next for Kentucky

Kentucky will be back in action Tuesday at 7 pm in a face off against a rival in the Tennessee Volunteers. This will be a huge game for Kentucky as they look to finish 2-0 against Tennessee on the season and steal another one, this time, with Lamont Butler.

At 15-7 (4-5 in the SEC) Mark Pope’s inaugural Wildcats roster are in chase for a competitive seed come tournament time, despite currently suffering their first serious losing streak of the season. While some fans have voiced frustrations with the team’s sporadic output, others have defended the unit, pointing back at what the program had become in recent years and, from that, drawing hope for the future.

The Assignment

The Kentucky job comes with lofty expectations attached; Pope has admitted that understanding on multiple occasions. He “understands the assignment,” which is to ultimately hang championship banners.

Can this year’s team do just that? While not explicitly dominant, they’re far too dangerous to write off. At best, the 24-25′ ‘Cats are one of the most prolific offensive teams in the country, brandishing the ability to go on lengthy runs and flip the script of any given game in an instant.

In more Quad 1 wins than not, they’ve overcome double-digit deficits. This is not a team that coasts at any point; the paw stays on the pedal.

Even in their most recent loss to Ole Miss, Kentucky battled back from down 27 at one point to cut the lead to 11. Now, as Mark Pope himself says, there are no “moral victories” at Kentucky; a loss is a loss. But this is a Kentucky team that swings until the bell rings with no exceptions.

Are there areas in which they struggle? Undoubtedly, seven losses say as much. The defensive metrics during their recent cold stretch specifically bear worrying numbers.

But the team has also endured great adversity already; from on-court issues, like multiple pivotal players battling injuries, to off-court dilemmas, such as (primarily) unbalanced expectations flying in from all sides and landing squarely on the guy’s shoulders.

An Age-Old Standard

It’s easy to apply the “Kentucky Standard,” if you will, to any group that rolls through Rupp Arena. But so many have been quick to forget their mindset going into this year.

Sentiments such as “I’ll take a bad season or two if it means the team is better off in the long run,” or “I don’t care if we lose our recruits, I’d rather have somebody who knows the X’s and O’s,” were common and constant in the period between Calipari’s departure and Pope’s subsequent arrival.

Even after Pope was hired, delivered the immediately infamous press conference and pieced a team together out of the transfer portal, analysts across the board had already counted Kentucky out of higher contention.

Growing Pains

Not to mention the track record of first-year SEC coaches in the past being equivalent to Pope’s current progress, if not measurably worse.

In Rick Barnes first season at Tennessee, he finished with a 15-19 record. Nate Oats was 16-15 in his first go-around with Alabama, and Bruce Pearl, who currently helms the top-ranked team in the nation, went 15-20 in year one at Auburn.

With 15 wins under his thumb already, not to mention the preseason complications he faced with building a roster in so little time, Mark Pope has certainly exceeded expectations set by bygone examples.

Above the Line

Further, at this point, about two-thirds of the way through their schedule, Kentucky just recently fell out of the AP Top 10 for the first time since week three after earning residence there within the season’s first few games. Working through SEC play, they’re sitting in the middle-to-bottom of the pack with a ton of opportunities still to come, including two straight home games directly ahead.

Coming into the season, Kentucky was projected by many as a bottom-feeding SEC squad, not to mention their barely slotting into the AP Top 25 to open the season.

While this doesn’t mean that Kentucky will certainly finish above those metrics, it does mean that, to this point, they’re outperforming the general expectations of the college basketball populous.

If anyone had said, going into this season, that Pope would manage wins against Duke and Gonzaga, two programs with highly touted coaches and star-studded classes, they’d have likely been met with a chorus of scoffs and wishful eye-rolls. Not to mention in-conference triumphs over ranked teams like Florida, Mississippi State and Texas A&M.

Yet following that unexpected success, the bar suddenly rose from “win the easy games and compete in the big ones” to “win every game, period.” It’s a disconnect that has cost this team credit that they’ve earned.

Keep the Faith

Now, this conversation may look a little different if Kentucky continues to skid and, in the worst possible world, loses at home to South Carolina this weekend.

But for now, this is a team with their best days ahead of them and more than a few season-defining wins behind them already. They deserve the chance to regroup, get healthy (that’s the kicker) and take the last stretch of this season to task.

In all truthfulness, I think a lot of folks would be happy to make it out of the first weekend in March. Unless another Oakland-level disaster ensues in a few months, the pitchforks would be better off left alone.

After missing three straight games with little to no information on his condition, Lamont Butler has returned to non-contact practice on the basketball court.

Even before he started to sit, Butler dealt with what is, to the best of anyone’s knowledge, a shoulder injury. Mark Pope, who is self-admittedly “conservative” when it comes to the health of his players, confirmed Butler’s return to the practice floor in his press conference on Thursday.

“He is going to be on the court in a non-contact situation today, and we will see how that feels.”

With the Wildcats currently on a skid, losing four of their last five games, any news on Butler’s potential comeback is good news. Having a physical, experienced starting guard like him has proven crucial to the team’s success in the SEC.

Yet to bring him back preemptively and risk aggravating his injury would defeat the purpose.

“We would like to get him back in a position where we have the best chance of not having another setback,” said Pope.

In games that he has played this season, Butler averages 13 points, three rebounds and five assists for the ‘Cats. Having already lost Kerr Kriisa, the team’s backup point guard, before Butler also went down, Kentucky’s struggles have become unfortunately understandable.

And while they’ll likely have to find a way to beat South Carolina this Saturday at home without him, any game from next week’s home matchup with Tennessee onward seems like a possibility for “PG1’s” return.

The Big Blue Nation will continue to monitor the situation in hopes that Butler returns sooner rather than later, and that this Kentucky team can get things back on track in time for March.