A loss at Rupp Arena will never go down easy, regardless of context. But one in blowout fashion to a team that hasn’t left Lexington with a win in nearly three decades? That’s a harder pill to swallow than most.

Granted, Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers have only dropped two games on the season so far, and they have the #1 national ranking to show for it. Few will dispute the notion that they’re the best team in college basketball right now.

But with a final score of 94-78 and with only four made three-pointers on 17 attempts, the Wildcats looked like they’d lost their identity this past Saturday – and the worst time to do so is just two weeks before the NCAA Tournament puts the madness in March.

Hope in Pope

Though, perhaps in anticipated fashion, Mark Pope isn’t done with this group yet. “We have a really good team, and we have beautiful kids we’re cheering for, and we’re 4-3 right now against the top five ranked teams in the country. We have a winning record against top-five ranked teams, and we have great stuff here coming up…” he said after the loss.

“This team is going to come back with a vengeance on Tuesday night (against LSU), then we’re going to go play an incredibly difficult, challenging road game to finish conference season, and then we’re moving on to the SEC Tournament. We’re going to Nashville, and it’s going to be fireworks of epic proportions.”

“We’ve got a really good team, and we’ve got good stuff ahead.”

“Good stuff ahead”, or, in other words, “job not finished.” At this point, all that’s left ahead is the road to San Antonio, where the 2025 Final Four will take place. In spite of persistent injury issues and a general lack of consensus and consistency, this Kentucky team is still projected to land on the 3/4 seed line in the tournament. As dim as it all may seem right now, this is a Kentucky team with a lot of fight left.

Tough Talks

“The one thing about a locker room is it is a place of truth, and you can’t move on unless you face the truth,” Pope added. “”We are in the process of having hard conversations.”

What is the truth for this Kentucky team? The stats suggest many things, but chief among them is their ability to win when it matters. Healthy or hobbled, home or away; every time these ‘Cats have been faced with a must-win, they make it happen.

It doesn’t hurt that Pope plans to burn the suit he wore in the Auburn game, too. There’s no room for any more bad luck on the road to a title run. He and Kentucky will close out the season with a home battle with the 14-15 LSU Tigers, followed by a road trip to Missouri to take on the their set band of Tigers in three games.

Once again, it’s eat or be eaten. Only time will tell how the vengeful Wildcats will respond.

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope spoke to the media following Auburn’s blowout victory against the Wildcats.

During the postgame press conference, the Kentucky coach took responsibility for the loss. Pope stated, “I failed to lead our team today to have the energy required for us to come out and be great.”

Despite dealing with injury challenges, Pope did not use that as an excuse. Instead, he pointed to a “cocktail” of issues that contributed to Kentucky’s sloppy performance.

“Some energy miscues. Some being sped up miscus. Some terrific shot-making from Auburn. It all put together resulted in a really, really terrible day for us.”

Pace of Play

Earlier in the season, Pope wanted Kentucky to average 30 to 35 three-point attempts per game. However, against Auburn, the Wildcats managed to hit just four. Pope emphasized how the pace of play impacted the team, especially in this matchup. “We just gave up on the pace game and the full court,” he said. The lack of tempo disrupted Kentucky’s offense, leading to a slew of turnovers.

Reaching that 30+ attempt mark will be a challenge without star Jaxson Robinson, who accounted for a significant portion of the team’s three-point shots and scoring. To fill the gap, Kentucky will have to rely on freshmen stepping up as they push for a strong run in March.

The Wildcats will look to bounce back on Senior Night when they face LSU on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST. They will also go up against former Wildcat Damion Collins, who will aim for a strong performance despite LSU’s struggles this season.

It has not been a great start to March for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Following an 18-point loss at home to Auburn, Mark Pope announced the loss of Jaxson Robinson for the season as he gets set to undergo wrist surgery.

That said, Selection Sunday is less than two weeks away. With just two regular-season games remaining, Kentucky’s focus turns toward the LSU Tigers on Tuesday and potentially locking up a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Tuesday’s game will also be Senior Night, where the Wildcats will have seven players honored: Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Kerr Kriisa, Jaxson Robinson, and Amari Williams.

The Tigers are led by former Murray State coach Matt McMahon, they are just .500 on the season with a 3-12 record in the SEC. However, they have been playing better of late. In their last three games, they led a top-five Florida team at halftime and took Tennessee and Mississippi State to the wire.

After looking uncompetitive against the No. 1 team in the nation and losing a key starter, how will the Wildcats respond?

Let’s take a look at the matchup.

More 3-Point Attempts

In terms of 3-point shooting, LSU and Kentucky are complete opposites. The Wildcats shoot the second-best percentage from deep in the SEC at 37.3%, while LSU shoots the second-worst percentage from deep in the SEC at 31.1%.

While shooting such a high percentage, the Wildcats have struggled with 3-point attempts as opponents consistently prioritize running them off the 3-point line. In the month of February alone, the Wildcats are averaging just over 23.1 attempts per game, a far cry from the thirty-plus attempts that Pope hopes for.

Defensively, LSU guards the 3-point shot well, forcing opponents to shoot under 30% in SEC play. This will be an opportunity for the staff to generate and scheme looks from deep without Robinson and take what works into the postseason.

Crash the Offensive Glass

LSU’s biggest flaw is their defensive rebounding as they allow opponents to rebound nearly a third of their misses and average over 10 offensive rebounds per game.

Losing the rebound battle in three of the last four games, Kentucky needs to step it up in that area. Rebounding is all about fight, and they should send four guys to crash the boards for those extra opportunities.

After losing the way they did to Auburn, and in what will be many of the Wildcats’ last game in Rupp Arena, I expect them to play inspired and motivated.

Win the Turnover Battle

Coming off a game with a season-high in turnovers (18), many of them unforced, taking care of the ball will certainly be a priority. However, it has been an issue for weeks as the Wildcats have turned the ball over 12 or more times in five straight contests.

Lamont Butler continues to get healthier with each day, so that should help as he runs things, but he did have five turnovers. Amari Williams, who has been the second most prominent ball-handler, had 6 turnovers of his own.

In a game that Kentucky needs, they cannot afford to give up possessions and beat themselves.

Opposing Players to Watch

G Cam Carter 6-3, 190 lbs

• 16.9 PPG (7th in SEC)
• 4.0 RPG
• 2.6 APG

G Jordan Sears 5-11, 185 lbs

• 11.7 PPG
• 2.8 RPG
• 2.6 APG

G Daimion Collins 6-9, 200 lbs

• 8.6 PPG
• 4.4 RPG
• 1.6 BPG (6th in SEC)

Kentucky Basketball vs. LSU Tigers

Time: 7 PM ET on March 4th
Location: Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center in Lexington, Kentucky
TV Channel: ESPN2
Online Stream: ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens will have the call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | LSU
Stats to Know: UK | LSU
KenPom: UK | LSU
Team Sheet: UK | LSU

Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has Kentucky favored by 12.5 points with an over/under of 157.5. EvanMiya gives the Cats an 89.1% chance to win, followed by KenPom at 89%. BartTorvik is at 87%, and ESPN is at 85.8%.

Predictions: KenPom projects the biggest margin of victory 86-72. EvanMiya and BartTorvik are close behind with 85-72 and 86-73 victories respectively. Haslametrics has it at 83-72 for the Cats. With so many seniors playing in Rupp Arena for the final time, and what this season has meant to them, I expect Kentucky to win. That said, they are going to have to experiment with some things with Robinson out, keeping it closer than it should. I’m going with an 83-76 victory, Kentucky!

Send us your Kentucky vs. LSU score predictions in the comments section!

Go CATS!