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Men's Basketball

What Went Wrong? Kentucky vs Gonzaga

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UK Athletics

The Kentucky Wildcats traveled to Spokane to take on the No. 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs, with the goal of avenging their loss to Michigan State and getting their first ranked victory of the season. Yet, that is not how the game played out.

The first half couldn’t have been any worse for the Wildcats. Shooting just 25 percent from the field (8-32) and zero percent from three (0-11), Kentucky had just one player that had scored more than one FG, Oscar Tshiebwe. Pair that with being outrebounded y double digits, and the Wildcats entered the half with a 16-point deficit.

As for the second half, Kentucky cut the Gonzaga lead down to 4 at one point. However, Gonzaga extended that lead to back 13 after Oscar Tshiebwe picked up his fourth foul with more than 13 minutes left in the half.

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The Wildcats continued to fight, but their poor first-half performance was just too much to overcome as they lost the game by a final score of 88-72, the same deficit they entered the first half with.

What went wrong? Let’s take a deeper look.

Dysfunctional Offense

Against inferior opponents, Kentucky’s offense has looked extremely dynamic, averaging 92.7
points on 52.9 percent shooting from the field and 47.8 percent from three.

However, against their two ranked opponents, the Kentucky offense has looked vastly different, averaging 74.5 points per contest on 39.6 percent shooting from the field and 26 percent from three.

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From the jump, Kentucky looked rattled and John Calipari said as such. In the postgame press
conference, Calipari said that the Wildcats “blew” the first offensive play of the game. “It was so embarrassing, we couldn’t even run a play.”

While the Wildcats missed several open shots, ineffective lineups and no clear offensive
structure hurt them, especially in the first half. This was seen with some erratic shot selection
early.

When Kentucky was able to make their run, it was with Wallace-Fredrick-Reeves-Toppin-
Tshiebwe, a lineup has five offensive threats with various strengths.

Foul Trouble

Fighting back from a 16-point deficit, Kentucky played the second half with a lot of energy on
defense, which led to some opportunities on offense. This continued as the lead dwindled to just four.

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At that point, the momentum was halted as Tshiebwe was called for his fourth foul with more
than 13 minutes to go in the second half; then Lance Ware with more than 10 minutes to go.

This allowed Drew Timme to score 8 of 10 points within a span of just over three minutes, due to the lack of aggression that Kentucky was forced to play with inside. This in turn helped Gonzaga extend the lead back out to double digits.

In comparison, Kentucky had 11 fouls called against them in the first 15 minutes of the second
half, whereas Gonzaga had just 4 fouls called against them.

Looking at the final box score, there were four Wildcats with four fouls, with three of them being starters (Tshiebwe, Wallace, Wheeler). This definitely impacted the game down the stretch.

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No Fight

There are several areas where Kentucky struggled Sunday night, but the most worrisome was their fight or lack thereof. With both teams coming off disappointing losses earlier in the week, a battle was expected, but it was one-sided for much of the first half.

This was most evident when you see that the Wildcats were outrebounded 24-14 in the first half. The second half was much better, as both teams played very evenly, but there shouldn’t be any worry about effort when playing against the No. 2 team in the country.

Senior Jacob Toppin was the first to admit it. “We had no fight in the first half and we put
ourselves in a hole that we couldn’t get out of,” Toppin said in the postgame press conference.

John Calipari echoed the same sentiment a little later. “The main thing is just to fight. We had no fight in the first half.”

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Going forward, Calipari said he will find players that are willing to fight.

“I’ll just play different guys, whoever wants to fight,” Calipari said. “I’m going to play different
guys. We got enough guys. I let those guys get in there and fight.”


Kentucky doesn’t play another KenPom Top-100 team until Michigan on December 4th. That
gives this team 14 days to find some things that work and are effective offensively, and two
games to experiment.

When they take on the Wolverines in London, I hope a rejuvenated and more efficient Kentucky team can be seen.

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Men's Basketball

Adou Thiero Enters Transfer Portal, Keeps Options Open

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© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky’s first domino of the off-season has fallen. Adou Thiero has entered the transfer portal, according to On3’s Jamie Shaw. He has entered his name in the NBA Draft as well, while not ruling out a return to Kentucky, according to KSR’s Jack Pilgrim.

A big hit to Kentucky’s upcoming roster, as Thiero’s upside and growth will be missed. In the 2023-24 season, Thiero averaged 7.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while missing 7 games due to injury. The 6-8 wing brought physicalness that Kentucky desperately needed this season, and something Calipari has been stressing for this upcoming season. Calipari harped on him numerous times this season, saying “He’s gotten so much better.”

Thiero has jumped in mock drafts all season, and his potential is sky high. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony even had Thiero going 27th in the 2025 NBA Draft. Now, he will get to add to his potential elsewhere.

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Now, Kentucky will look to find a good replacement for him as more things start happening throughout the off-season. Calipari is continuing to meet with players to discuss their future plans throughout the week.

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John Calipari Highlights Changes for Next Season

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John Calipari draws up a play at Kentucky's season opener. Said he made a "tweak".
UK Athletics

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein.

Many Kentucky fans have referred to this quote over the last few days, expressing a desire for a change from John Calipari. However, Calipari will be back on the sidelines for the Kentucky Wildcats next season for his 16th season, confirmed by Mitch Barnhart on Tuesday.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be any changes.

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On Monday, John Calipari went on his season-ending radio show, giving his first comments to fans since Kentucky’s upset loss to Oakland last Thursday. It was easy to see why is a good recruiter, as he said all the right things.

For the better part of an hour, Calipari spoke with humility, answered some direction questions from Tom Leach, and accepted criticism. The main takeaway was that he understands that he has not met the Kentucky standard or his own standard, and changes need to take place.

“We’ve got to evaluate everything,” Calipari said. Here are some changes that have been outlined.

Getting Back to “Grinding”

Kentucky basketball offseason has often consisted of international trips to the Bahamas, or Canada last season, but not this year. Calipari emphasized a desire to get back to what his early Kentucky teams were characterized by, defense and physicality.

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“What about in the summers, instead of the Bahmas or Toronto, we’re grinding,” Calipari proposed. “We’ve got to get back to where we’ve been defensively and with physicality. Your defense steadies you.”

Those trips are good for team bonding and chemistry, but it’s clear that time can be used better for getting into the weight room and instilling defensive principles. Calipari did note that he does not want to take a step back on offense.

Getting Older

Calipari is the coach who made the “one-and-done” approach popular, relying heavily on elite freshmen. However, with college basketball getting older, he has expressed a willingness to get older.

“We’re relying on freshmen too much. In those kinds of games, you better have some vets,” Calipari said of his takeaway from Oakland. “For us, we need to get older.”

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It should be noted that Calipari relied on transfers in 2022 and 2023, albeit most not being the elite transfers, but more supporting pieces (i.e. CJ Fredrick) and developmental players (i.e. Jacob Toppin). That said, two transfers have been the leading scorer for Kentucky in three straight seasons, Oscar Tshiebwe and Antonio Reeves.

Calipari is looking more for a middle ground between young talent and transfers. “I like the combination of both. We just got to get the right transfers.”

Program Changes

When you are winning, you have more freedom, but when you have just one NCAA Tournament win in the last four seasons, you’re not going to have that luxury. This was not publicly said by Calipari, but more oversight will come as a result of his meeting with Barnhart on Tuesday afternoon.

Expect 1-2 staff changes and likely a support staff change. One of the staff changes should be filled with a defensive mind, and the support staff should be (suggestion) filled with someone in a general manager-type role. There will also be some operation changes such as having a more definitive practice schedule, rather than getting a text the day before/of, and some changes with the NIL model.

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Mitch Barnhart Speaks On John Calipari Coming Back As Kentucky Basketball Coach, “He Will Return”

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Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart confirms that John Calipari will return as Kentucky Wildcats basketball coach.
Mike Weaver/Special to the Courier Journal

After days of speculation, Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart confirms that John Calipari will be back, coaching his 16th season for the Kentucky Wildcats. The two had a conversation at Barnhart’s farm on Tuesday afternoon.

“As we normally do at the end of every season, Coach Calipari and I have had conversations about the direction of our men’s basketball program and I can confirm that he will return for his 16th season as our head coach,” Barnhart said in a statement.

While there was some fan outcry for a head coaching change, there was no real indication that a change would be made.

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Barnhart was put in a difficult situation. Calipari has not led the Wildcats to the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2019, but he is one of just a few active Hall of Fame coaches. With no clear option as a replacement, Barnhart decided to retain Calipari for another season.

Kentucky Insider has been told that Tuesday’s meeting between the two was “good”, despite some disagreement. As a result of the meeting, there will be some expected changes in the program, specifically some staff changes, and changes in day-to-day operations.

On Monday, Calipari recognized his shortcomings and closed out his show with a commitment to the Kentucky fans:

“That standard of national titles has been here from coach Rupp on. The only thing I am saying to all our fans. I’m going to work… That is a commitment that I give to the fans. I love it. This is what I want. This is it. Let’s come together and let’s do something.”

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Calipari is set to meet with players individually on Wednesday to discuss their stay/go decisions. The process of rebuilding next year’s roster (and staff) begins now.

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