Connect with us

Men's Basketball

The Dreaded Day After: Auburn vs. Kentucky

Published

on

On Sunday afternoon, Kentucky fell to the Auburn Tigers 77-71 in the Elite Eight and PJ Washington’s tweet following the game sums up the feelings of the Big Blue Nation.

Kentucky can’t win it every year, but nothing hurts worse than Kentucky losing in the tournament and it never gets any easier.

It was a helluva season and I hate to see it come short, but lets look at why it did.

Advertisement

Guard Play

Guards win games in the NCAA Tournament, and simply put Auburn’s guards were better on Sunday.

The Kentucky guards combined for 38 points on 13-38 (35% FG) shooting, 3-17 (18%) from three, and 9 turnovers.

Whereas Jared Harper and Bryce Brown combined for 50 points on 15-30 shooting including 5-13 from three, 6 steals, and 5 assists. Two players accounted for 65% of Auburns points and you can’t expect to win when that happens.

Advertisement

Down the stretch, Jared Harper made the right plays and willed Auburn to that win and the Kentucky guards didn’t have an answer.

I would have liked to see Immanuel Quickley or even Jemarl Baker a little more, but it looked they were just playing scared. While Hagans turned it over 7 times, he wasn’t scared and made some crucial layups at the end.

Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro were the two of the three best offensive options for this Kentucky team for a majority of the season and Kentucky was really hurt when they combined for just 21 points.

Dreadful Second Half

Advertisement

While Kentucky still held Auburn to 30 points and 35% shooting in the second half, the offense was the problem.

If you were to combine the amount of points Kentucky scored from free throws and three-pointers in the second half, you would come up with a total of ONE point. With the way Kentucky plays, you can’t win like that.

PJ Washington scored 28 points and Reid Travis played 44 of minutes, and single-handedly kept the Cats in the game in the second half and they should be remembered in such a positive light in Kentucky history.

No team can win a game with two players.

Advertisement

This is NOT on Calipari

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I respect that, and there are going to be fans blaming this loss on John Calipari and the “one-and-done” philosophy, but I just don’t see how one could say that.

I know 90-95% of Kentucky fans love Calipari and know how great of a job he has done at Kentucky. However, there is still that 5-10% that will NEVER be pleased.

In Calipari’s ten seasons at Kentucky

Advertisement

In Calipari’s ten seasons at Kentucky

– 305 wins*, 2nd in UK history
– 31 Tournament wins*
– 5 SEC regular season titles
– 6 SEC Tournament titles
– 7 Elite Eights*
– 4 Final Fours*
– 2012 National title

*=Most in the Country in span

Yes, Kentucky has the highest expectations of any other school but it’s extremely unrealistic to expect a title or bust every season. Kentucky has won 8 titles in 116 seasons, for an average of one every 14.5 seasons, and Cal has brought us that.

Advertisement

As for the one and done, it has only been used for a little over 10 years, so yes there is a bigger sample size of teams that are led by veterans and a larger number of teams doing that because they aren’t able to get elite talent.

Duke and Kentucky are really the only ones going all in on the one and done. Just by percentages of 66 teams vs 2 teams, most years the field will win it and that’s just the randomness of the tournament. Still, the “one-and-done” has brought a title to each team.

Enjoy Calipari and all his “swagginess” while you can because Kentucky will not always have it this good. Kentucky has won a title with five different coaches, but only Rupp was as dominant. Kentucky will not always be a national title contender every year, Kentucky will not always have the elite of the elite talent. Don’t take this for granted and trust the process.

This one is going to hurt for a while but what stings most about this loss is that this team was national championship good and they were stopped short by a team they had beaten twice this season in a winnable game.

Advertisement

With that said, it’s been a heck of a heck of a season and while it might have been a mild disappointment, I have had so fun watching and covering this team. Thank you to all the players giving your all and thank you to all my readers for the support through this basketball season.

Kentucky will be back and reloaded next season. GO CATS!!

Advertisement

Men's Basketball

Mark Pope’s Honesty Is a Rarity in College Basketball, “He’s Not Going to Sell You BS”

Published

on

Players say Kentucky coach Mark Pope's honesty and authenticity is what separates him from other college basketball coaches.
Chet White | UK Athletics

College basketball has changed with the advent of NIL and the transfer portal. In some ways for the better, and in others for the worse. That said, when money is introduced, it can complicate things, and even give opportunities for people to deceive young athletes.

It has already been seen in college football, as multiple athletes have opted to sit out the remainder of their seasons after not receiving NIL money they were originally promised. According to Kentucky transfer guard Kerr Kriisa, it is happening in college basketball too.

“In the college industry, kids are getting lied to,” Kriisa told Kentucky Insider. “They’re getting sold something that’s not true, that’s not there.”

Advertisement

As of now, there are few bylaws and guidelines that the NCAA can enforce, leading to the current landscape. However, Mark Pope is separating himself.

“With Coach Pope, that’s not the case,” he added. “He’s honest. He doesn’t tell you something that’s not there. He’s not going to sell you some BS. He’s going to tell you how things are. That’s the thing I appreciate most, especially in this college industry. That is a very big thing about Coach Pope.”

Pope presents himself as honest and authentic, and that is apparent very quickly upon meeting him. Kriisa suggests that is why he has had early recruiting success.

Kentucky’s most recent commitment Acaden Lewis said as much following his accountment this past weekend.

Advertisement

“[Mark] Pope, he was in the hood with me,” Lewis said. “He came to my barber shop and everything. It felt like a home. Felt like somewhere I should be.”

Talking to the father of another Kentucky prospect, “Everything is super personal with him [Pope]. It’s super cool.”

That authenticity is why Big Blue Nation and recruits have fallen in love with Pope. Now, will it lead to success? Time will tell.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Men's Basketball

Mark Pope Named Most Impressive Coach of Opening Day of College Basketball

Published

on

Jordan Prather | Imagn

What a Kentucky coaching debut for Mark Pope, as the Wildcats routed Wright State 103-62 to tip off the season.

The 41-point margin of victory was not only the second-largest margin of victory in a Kentucky coach’s debut, only behind Adolph Rupp, but also a number of divine intervention. Of course, the margin matched Pope’s jersey number from his playing days at Kentucky.

“41, really special to me,” Pope said after the game. “That is really sweet. Kentucky magic, ain’t nothing like it.”

Advertisement

Kentucky fans weren’t the only group impressed, as ESPN’s Myron Medcalf named Mark Pope the most impressive coach of day one of this college basketball season.

Medcalf writes:

Mark Pope kicked off his first year at Kentucky impressively. In the first half of his team’s matchup against Wright State, the Wildcats made 58% of their shots, 44% of their 3s. Five players had at least eight points before the break. Kentucky finished with 103 points. Jaxson Robinson is a potential future pro, but the program doesn’t have a clear star yet. Which is OK, as long as UK continues to play selflessly in the former BYU coach’s offensive scheme that spreads the floor — 50% of BYU’s shots last season were 3s — and encourages players to push the pace and attack the rim. It’s a fun style.

Of course, this is a long season, but the vibes are high and the excitement is building ahead of Kentucky’s first real test of the season as they take on Duke in the Champion’s Classic next week.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Men's Basketball

Mark Pope Provides Promising Injury Update on Amari Williams

Published

on

Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope provides an injury update on Amari Williams ahead of the Wildcats season opener against Wright State.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

Kentucky tips off the season on Monday against Wright State, however, they could be down an important player.

Amari Williams, who is expected to be the starting big man for the Wildcats this season, suffered a hip injury just minutes into Kentucky’s exhibition against Minnesota State last week. While the injury did not look too severe at the moment, his limp to the locker room was worrisome.

“I think he’s fine,” Mark Pope said after the game. “X-rays came back solid but we’ll get some more imaging tomorrow. We’re hopeful he’ll be back soon.”

Advertisement

On Friday, Pope provided another update.

“Imaging was really good, really positive. He’s day-to-day right now,” Pope said. “He won’t do anything – you know, just do free throws today. We’re hopeful that he’ll be back soon but we’ll kind of proceed with all the caution and urgency that we possibly can.”

Long term, this is a positive update. However, in the short term, Williams could be out for Kentucky’s first couple of regular season games, depending on how cautious he and team are being. We saw Kerr Kriisa sit out for the Blue-White event and Kentucky’s first exhibition following a “tweak” in practice.

The sooner the better for a return. Kentucky will certainly hope to be at 100% as they take on seventh-ranked Duke next week in the Champion’s Classic.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Trending