KSR Postgame UK MBB at Louisville 11/11/25

Summary

KSR Postgame Show – Kentucky MBB at Louisville (96-88 Loss)

November 12, 2025 | Host: Matt Jones & KSR Crew

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Episode Overview

In this postgame episode, Matt Jones and the KSR crew break down Kentucky’s 96-88 road loss to Louisville at the Yum Center. The show centers on why Kentucky fell short, focusing on team defense, rotations, concerns about effort and player fit, and the fact that Louisville simply played better in the rivalry matchup. Caller reactions are woven throughout as fans vent, analyze, and look ahead, while Jones offers strategic insights and candid takes on the state of Kentucky basketball after a high-profile rivalry defeat.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Game Flow & Outcome

• Kentucky’s Comeback Falls Short:
  Kentucky was down by as much as 20, cut the lead to four late, and had chances to make it a one-possession game. Ultimately, they lost by eight after a failed comeback.

  “At one point was down 20, came back, cut it to four, had free throws to cut it to a one possession game, end up losing by eight. Looks like Vegas may have known something with that move to six and a half on the spread.” – Matt Jones (01:00)

• Two Games in One:
  Jones divides the story into the first 30 minutes—dominated by Louisville—and the final 10, where Kentucky showed heart and effort.

2. Defensive Problems

• Transition and Ball-Screen Defense:
  Kentucky’s transition defense was “about as bad” as Jones had seen, especially in the first 30 minutes. Louisville repeatedly exploited switching mismatches and poor communication, racking up 20 assists to just six turnovers.

  “The transition defense for Kentucky tonight was about as bad as I've ever seen Kentucky do it, especially in those first 30 minutes.” – Matt Jones (03:00)

• Switching Issues:
  Louisville targeted Kentucky’s Jalen Lowe on defense, getting favorable matchups for Mikhail Brown, especially before UK adjusted late.

  “You cannot let Mikel Brown, who is awesome, ...get switched off on low over and over and over. That's what Chucky Hepburn did to low last year...” – Matt Jones (06:15)

• No Elite Defenders:
  Despite building the roster for defense (length, athleticism), UK lacked the connectivity and communication to deliver stops.

3. Offensive Stagnation & Personnel Questions

• Shot Selection:
  Poor shots, little movement, and wrong personnel taking key shots contributed to long Louisville runs in the first half.

• Lineup Concerns:
  The starting lineup with Otega Oweh, Adou Thiero (presumed typo for Diabate in this context), and Brandon Garrison provided little spacing—often three non-shooters on the floor at once. Small-ball and shooter-heavy lineups sparked late rallies.

  “Our starting lineup, in my opinion, might be the worst lineup that we put out there... we put three guys on the floor right now who can't shoot.” – Matt Jones (09:30)

• No "Great" Player:
  Jones repeatedly notes the team may lack a true go-to, elite player (like Louisville’s Mikhail Brown), which affects closing out close games.

  “I think we got a lot of really good players, but I don't know if we have a great player.” – Matt Jones (11:30)

4. Individual Player Breakdown

• Jalen Lowe:
  Dynamic for most of the game but struggled in the closing minutes with decision-making and shot selection.

  “Low was not good down the stretch...I didn't like his transition three, but go back and look at the plays when he wasn't in and look how stagnant we look.” – Matt Jones (12:00)

• Denzel Aberdeen:
  Shone throughout (26 points), often playing off the ball, called “better than I thought,” and key to Kentucky’s offense.

  • “Where would Kentucky be without Aberdeen tonight, I mean, he was... Aberdeen played like the player that I am hoping OA is.” – Matt Jones (29:47)

• Otega Oweh:
  Looks off since returning from injury; not aggressive going to the basket, settled for poor jumpers. Finished with a team-worst plus-minus (-16).

  “OA just does not look right to me...if he is our best offensive player, we're not going to be very good.” – Matt Jones (08:35)

• Brandon Garrison:
  Disappointing defense, especially on pick-and-rolls. Still making some of the same errors as last year.

  “Defensively, he is. It's like he's lost on everything. His defense, on the pick and roll. He's always in the wrong spot.” – Caller Jordan (34:39), echoed by Matt Jones

• Cam Williams & Colin Chandler:
  Williams (played only final 12 minutes, +11 plus-minus) and Chandler both hit big threes to fuel the comeback; need for more playing time highlighted.

5. Coaching & Adjustments

• Mark Pope Out-Coached Early:
  Louisville coach Pat Kelsey’s strategy of pushing pace, attacking mismatches, and blitzing Lowe “out-coached” Pope for much of the night; UK’s late-game adjustments helped but took too long.

  “Kelsey was better prepared for 30 minutes. Now I do think Mark adjusted... but it took too long. That took too long.” – Matt Jones (10:50)

• Roster-Building Debate:
  Pope designed this roster to be able to defend teams like Louisville (and high-octane SEC squads), but UK’s execution wasn’t good enough.

  “You built this defense for teams like this. Okay, then this is why you built this defense. ...But you got to go do it, right?” – Matt Jones (25:16)

6. Fan Reaction & Looking Ahead

• Rivalry Pain:
  UK fans call in lamenting the loss, dealing with Louisville fans at work, and reliving rare defeat after a long stretch of UK dominance.

  “As a UK fan who lives in Louisville…everywhere I went everybody's like, go Cards. …How do I deal with these Louisville fans that I work with and surrounded by?” – Dave (30:49)

• Caller Insight:
  Many callers focus on Kentucky’s lack of a star, issues with lineup fit, whether coaching adjustments are happening fast enough, and hope that UK’s overall talent will assert itself over time.

• Concern vs. Optimism:
  Some fans (and Jones) believe improvement will come, especially as the schedule toughens and roles get more defined; others worry about whether UK has the player quality and fit to be truly elite.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Louisville’s Impact Player:

  “Mikhail Brown’s first half was unbelievable. …But as good as he was, that’s not why we lost. We lost because we gave other guys open looks and they knocked them down.” – Matt Jones (07:45)

• On Defensive Philosophy:

  “If you're going to sacrifice your signature kind of player...to get these defensive guys, ...they better communicate well and they better play defense, and that didn’t happen tonight.” – Matt Jones (17:02)

• On Missing a Star:

  “It is clear again that we do not have just that player…like a Walter Clayton, like a Makai Brown, …that can just go and just take over a game in college basketball, you need that.” – Caller Michael (22:33)

• On Coaching Adjustments:

  “He got low to where he didn't have to guard these penetrators at the end... but it took too long. And from moment one it was clear what Kelsey's game plan was.” – Matt Jones (10:11)

• Caller on Otega Oweh:

  “Otega plays with…a nonchalant nature right now, and we really need him to wake up and dial it in.” – Skyler (19:46)

• Stats Snapshot:

  “If you tell me that one team has 20 assists and 6 turnovers and the other one’s 14 and 14, I mean, you know who wins the game right there.” – Matt Jones (04:45)

• Louisville Fan Calls In (comic relief):

  “Remember, I sniff you all out like a disease…I could tell when you said we…” – Matt Jones (56:02)

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Notable Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:00 – Game overview, “two ways to look at this game”
• 03:00 – 07:00 – Deep dive on defensive failures, stats, first half collapse
• 08:35 – Otega Oweh’s struggles, “does not look like the Oweh we had last year”
• 09:30 – 11:30 – Lineup construction problems, star player concern
• 12:00 – Lowe’s performance and crunch time mistakes
• 15:53 – Caller Edward: Defensive coaching critique and ball screen breakdown
• 19:46 – Caller Skyler: “Nonchalant” criticism of Oweh
• 22:33 – Caller Michael: UK’s lack of a dude
• 26:35 – Todd on box score stats differences (assists/turnovers, free throws)
• 29:47 – Aberdeen & Lowe as most important UK guards
• 34:39 – Caller Jordan: Garrison’s defensive issues
• 38:07 – Caller Aaron: Small-ball lineup effectiveness
• 49:24 – Caller Tim: Comparing team building between this year and last
• 54:17 – Louisville fan calls in pretending to be UK fan, Matt exposes him
• 56:15 – Caller Tate: On Pope overthinking big games

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Summary Takeaways

• UK’s loss was a product of poor transition defense, ineffective defensive rotations, and periods of stagnant, ill-fitted offense.
• While the Cats flashed heart and ability in late runs, slow coaching adjustments and a lack of a true “go-to” star limited their ceiling against a hot Louisville team.
• Personnel questions remain; optimal lineups lean smaller and more perimeter-oriented, but the roster wasn’t built for that.
• Callers and hosts both display concern, but note it’s early in the season and optimism and belief in Pope’s ability to adjust remain.
• Louisville’s win was significant—the best environment in years—and their star guard Mikhail Brown was the difference-maker.
• Looking ahead, matchups and lineup changes will be crucial for UK’s development, and star recruitment is a clear need.

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Final Notable Quote

“We are built to win games like this. He reconstructed this roster for games like this, and it’s disappointing.…He really created a team to win games like this. And not only did…we not win, we kind of got run most of the game.” – Matt Jones (32:08)

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This summary captures the detailed postgame analysis, key themes, and lively caller engagement from the KSR crew following the 96-88 Kentucky loss to Louisville on November 11, 2025.

Transcript

[Matt Jones]

At Lowe's this Veterans Day and every day, verified military members, veterans and their spouses get automatic silver status in Mylowes Rewards with free standard shipping plus 10% off eligible purchases with no annual limit. It's one way we honor and give back to those who have served and still do. Learn more now@lowe's.com Military 10% discount can't be combined with another offer. Exclusions Terms and conditions apply. Loyalty programs subject to terms and conditions. Details@lowe's.com Terms subject to change. Welcome everyone. It is the local toy dealers KSR postgame show the Cats go down in a disappointing loss in the Yum Center. 9688 to Louisville. You can give us a shout. We'll take your calls beyond till probably about 12:30, maybe a little later. 859-280-2287 it was a game that, that Kentucky obviously at one point was down 20, came back, cut it to a four, had free throws to cut it to a one possession game, end up losing by eight. Looks like Vegas may have known something with that move to six and a half on the spread. But there are really two ways to look at this game. You can look at the first 30 minutes, you could look at the last 10. I'm going to spend I think most of the time talking about the first 30 because that was really what made the game. But I will say in the last 10, Kentucky showed a lot. One thing I am positive about is that they made that a game down the stretch and they made it a game when I think most, I thought we were about to get lose by 25 and they made a game and you know, with, with three minutes to go, had a shot. So I like the heart. I thought the team played with effort all night. I mean I, Billy, I stayed in the gym for the first half and then left, left it after left before halftime, a couple minutes before halftime just because I, you know, you get a sense and the arena there was super loud. I mean that, that, that was, that was a heck of an environment. But I, I did think Kentucky played with effort. I agree with what Mark Pope said. They played with a lot of dumb effort, a lot of it. But the problem occurred really for me in on offense in two stretches there's a period I think we went up like 13 to 8 maybe and then we were down, I don't know, 27 to 10. So there was a run there where I think they maybe went on like a 19 to 2 run. And Kentucky shot selection on offense was so terrible during that Period. I mean, very little movement, bad decisions, wrong guys taking shots at wrong spots. And during that period, Louisville's getting out in transition and Kentucky had no chance. The transition defense for Kentucky tonight was about as bad as I've ever seen Kentucky do it, especially in those first 30 minutes. I mean, they would get, they would get back on defense in transition and they would get out of sorts. And then Louisville didn't necessarily get a ton of layups or, you know, off transition, but like one or two passes in Kentucky would be completely discombobulated and you'd get a wide open three. And that happened over and over and over. And the stat that decides the game is Louisville has 20 assists and six turnovers, which considering the pace they play, to only have six turnovers and scored 96 points is pretty amazing. And two of them were offensive fouls. So like four, four turnovers is, I mean, kudos to them. That's pretty impressive. But we had, you know, we had 14 and then they have 20 assists and we have 14. So you're, you're, you're losing right there. You don't have to tell me any other stat. If you tell me that one team has 20 assists and six turnovers and the other one's 14 and 14, I mean, you know who wins the game right there. But I was really disappointed with the defense, honestly. 32 minutes, last eight minutes, they played pretty good defense. We got some help with all the free throws they missed at the end, but just terrible. Wrong guy. I mean, guys got switched and either a, they went under the screens. You gave these great shooters open looks going under the screens. That's just a work hard thing. Switches were late. Two guys going with one player leaving a guy open, I mean, they did not communicate well. They let themselves. And most of that I put on the players. Now one thing I would put on Pope is that. And they changed this in the last eight or 10 minutes, but they let them switch Mikhail Brown and the kid from Xavier on to low play after play. And I like low. I think Lowe's good. We'll talk about him in a minute. But his weakness is defense. And it's going to be defense. It's going to be all year. Like, he's not, he's not a great defender and you got a scheme around that. You cannot let Mikel Brown, who is awesome, who is going to be an NBA star, in my opinion, you cannot let him get switched off on low over and over and over. That's what Chucky Hepburn did to low last year. When he was at Pitt. So, I mean, Louisville knew what they were doing and we stopped that in the last eight minutes by. Not by, you know, basically saying low would always take the switcher. But I don't know how it took so long for that to happen. That was a real. That was a real issue throughout the game. Mikhail Brown's first half was unbelievable. But as good as he was, that's not why we lost. We lost because we gave other guys open looks and they knocked him down. Fundamentally, going forward, I'm a little concerned about the makeup of the team and here's why. For Kentucky to be good this year, I mean, like, really good. I think they're good now, but to be really good, they got to get great play from the point guard. I think that's going to be mostly low, but Aberdeen can do it too. And I thought in general they gave that until the final three and a half minutes when I do not think low was good. Aberdeen was great. Aberdeen was great the entire game, most of the time playing off the ball, but even on the ball, he was excellent. He's. He's better than I thought. And so he. He's going to be a rock. So you got to get really good point guard play. I think Kentucky got that 80% of the game. You've got to get away, has got to be away. Always got to give you 14 to 17 every night, rebound play, defense, OA just does not look right to me. Now, I know he still had, what, 12 points, but he shot the ball poorly. He's taken different shots. He's not going to the basket. He's not. He's not doing the things, drawing contact, the things he did last year. And I know his shots never been great, but it looks off, off. I watched the team warm up, shooting threes. I got there really early, so I sat and watched them and they didn't shoot well during warm ups. And away in particular, I mean, with no one on him, was shooting poorly. And I thought, man, I hope he doesn't shoot like that during the game. He just doesn't look right to me now. He's coming off an injury. Maybe that is part of it, but I don't know. It just. He just doesn't look like the away we had last year. And I've said this a lot, he cannot be our best offensive player. If he is our best offensive player, we're not going to be very good. But he has to at least do his thing every game. And it just. He just hasn't looked right to me at the start of this season. But more fundamentally, when we play teams like Louisville, I don't know about the bigs, how we're doing it right now. Our starting lineup, in my opinion, might be the worst lineup that we put out there some because we put three guys on the floor right now who can't shoot. When you put away Diabate and Garrison on the floor together, I mean, you can tell me all you want, oh way and Garrison can shoot, but unless always making them, Diabate cannot shoot. And I worry. Listen, Diabate is a great player. He hustles, he is a good defender. But I don't know if he's a Mark Pope 4 because he gets that open look in the corner and it. I don't know who feels like that's going in. And I will note, as much as I love the kid, when we made the run at the end of the game, he wasn't really in. He didn't really play those last eight minutes and I think it caused. It's hard to score with him on the floor if you're going to put Garrison on with him. So I don't think you can play those guys together. I think they're going to have to figure out a different rotation. Maybe you play Diabate with Moreno or you play. I think we're going to have to play four shooters and a big sum and I don't think that's how this roster is built. But that's when we look the best. We look the best. When Cam Williams came in and you were running three of low, Aberdeen away and Chandler, Cam at the four, Moreno or Garrison at the five, that's when we looked the best. That's when we made a run. And I don't know what that means for some of these other guys. I thought Yellowch played well in the first half. Maybe he could have played a little more in the second. I'm not sure. But you just. Right now it feels like a lot of pieces that just don't really fit and we do not have a great player. I don't think we have a great player. I think we got a lot of really good players, but I don't know if we have a great player. In a situation like that. It becomes imperative that you have the right guys in. In the right sequences. And it just didn't feel like we had that for a lot of the game. So going forward, we're not going to play too many teams that are as efficient offensively as Louisville. I look at our schedule, probably Alabama is The only one we're going to play that'll be as efficient offensively as them. And it was an amazing environment. I mean it was. That is one of the better non conference road environments I've been to. So kudos to them for that. I've been in that arena a lot. Not in the last few years, but even back in the old days, like they would have good environments. But I thought for whatever reason they seem particularly amped tonight. But our defense has to be better and our shot selection in periods of time has to be better. And I do think Mark's got got to be better in. In figure in like game planning this stuff. Kelsey Kelsey was better prepared for 30 minutes. Now I do think Mark adjusted and I actually think Mark, he got low to where he didn't have to guard these penetrators at the end he took out Diabate. I thought in the last 10 minutes, but it took too long. That took too long. And from moment one it was clear what Kelsey's game plan was. Get in transition, get low, isolated and make Kentucky's bigs have to guard their guards. And we weren't able to do any of those three things. And it feels like it took Pope a long time to counter all that. And then when we did, we played pretty well, but by that point it was too late. Couple things down the stretch. Low was not good down the stretch. I still like him being in there. I mean, I think sometimes we take for granted with him and Aberdeen how much movement they create. Lowe's got to be bet he can't like jump up and then not have anyone to pass to. And you know, he took a couple, four shots. I didn't like his transition three, but go back and look at the plays when he wasn't in and look how stagnant we look. So I still like him, but he's got it at the end of games. He can't. This hit and pit where you have to take every shot at the end of games, create the shots and then kick out. And if you go back and look at the play where he got fouled when it was a four point game, Billy, I don't know if you saw it. Well, you're listening on the radio. But they called the foul. But he was kicking it out to a wide open. Colin Chandler in the corner. I wish they hadn't called that foul.

[Billy Gillispie]

Yeah, Chandler was hot.

[Matt Jones]

Chandler was open, wide open in the corner and he was passing to him. And if they don't call that foul, Chandler has a wide open three Maybe it's a one point game. Lowe's got to make that. He's got to be smarter down the stretch. But I need more from away. I need more from Garrison and I also need, like, better decision making because Kelsey's a good coach. He outsmarted us for a lot of the game and, you know, Pope got there, but it just took too long. 859-280-2287. We will take your calls. Congrats to the Cards on the win. Big shout out to the BBN that was there. There wasn't a lot of BBN in the lower level, but if you went up top, there was a lot of Kentucky fans, which means a lot of y' all bought tickets. Some of you probably driving home. It's a shame we didn't get the win, but you guys definitely, definitely showed out. We'll take a break. Take your calls. Cards get one in the rivalry and it's frustrating. We'll be right back. It's local toy dealers KSR post game show. Welcome back. It is the Local Toy Dealers KSR postgame show. 859-280-2287 on the text machine, one person writes. Matt, why do you sound concerned about lineups now when after Purdue, we thought we were going to be elite? Well, it's a matchup thing. I mean, we don't have. We have a lot of really good players. I'm not sure we have a great one. We'll see. But I kind of, I think we have a lot of really good ones. I think we have a couple that are really, really good college players. But matchups are going to matter with this team because we don't have a dude like Mikhail Brown. They got a guy that even if nothing else is going right. And for tonight, they had other things going right, too. But if nothing else is going right, you can give the ball to him and he can go get you buckets. I don't know that we got that guy. Although Aberdeen played really well tonight, I'm not sure that we've got that guy.

[Caller]

So.

[Matt Jones]

So matchups are going to matter and we match up really well with teams like Purdue. I think eventually we'll figure out how to play against teams like Georgetown as well. But you know, remember last year, teams that played like Louisville, we couldn't beat. We could not beat Alabama, we could not beat Auburn. And we could. We, we beat Tennessee, but we struggle with Tennessee. I kind of wonder, like, is this going to be like this too? And it shouldn't be because we're Very athletic. But I just hope. Seems to have built this roster around having two bigs. And I think when you play teams like Louisville, if our two bigs are not gonna be able to shoot, then you can't play two bigs. Maybe Malachi we talked about. Somebody said the best lineup might be o way Aberdeen, Lowe, Moreno, Diabate. I could see that. I just. Somebody just sent me Billy. That lineup played 70 seconds together tonight.

[Billy Gillispie]

That's it.

[Matt Jones]

I would have been interested to see if they had played the more together and maybe even you substitute Diabate for Cam Williams or Colin Chandler. But they. I don't. I don't think we got a lot of that lineup. I just. I'm. Unless always starts hitting shots consistently. I don't think you can play the Abate and Garrison together. I just don't. I don't. I just don't think. I don't think you can get the offense and I don't know if you can even get the defense against the team of guards. All right, who's up first?

[Billy Gillispie]

Edward.

[Matt Jones]

Edward. Go ahead, Edward.

[Caller]

Hey, Matt. I. I was at the game tonight. Shout out Cam Williams and Denzel Aberdeen for a really solid game. First of all, would it be all right if I gave like just two small, quick thoughts in a vacuum about hope? I mean, I'm very. I'm very appreciative of them. Think he's a great coach. I think he's the coach for us. But here's where I get concerned. Last year I called into his postgame show with. With Tom Leach and asked, Mark, you've coached for 15 years, what makes a good defensive team? Because, you know, a knock on him besides the tournament stuff going back to last year was he's never really built an elite defensive unit. Main points were versatility, length and playing connectively or just playing together. Communication. All that. I just. Nothing I've seen so far. Even though we built this roster around some of those physical attributes, I'm just a little concerned watching the ball screen defense, and I understand that's a very elite backcourt. One will probably. We won't face too many of those. Probably. Right. But just.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Caller]

Being at the game and watching some of those flare screens and how they're wide open, missed assignments, trying to go over and letting McNeely Calmwell or Mikel get a free shot. It was just frustrating.

[Matt Jones]

I mean, I think that's a great analysis. I'll let you do your second one in a second, but I think that's a great analysis. I. I think he's Right. That the way to be elite defensively is to have length, communication and athleticism. He clearly built this roster trying to do that. Every player on this roster, especially the ones he brought in, except low. That's what they are. Right. But they didn't look like it. And I guess what I would say is, if you're going to sacrifice what is, what is your, and by your, I mean Pope's signature kind of player, which is a guy who could knock down threes regularly. If you're going to sacrifice that to get these defensive guys, I understand that decision. But they better communicate well and they better play defense, and that didn't happen tonight. So you sacrifice some of the shooting and you're not making up for it on the other end. That's a recipe to lose. Yeah.

[Caller]

No, I think you're spot on. And I mean, I, I think Louisville was doing, especially in the first half, something, especially when we went in that little lull of offense that you were describing in the middle of first half. They were doing something that we should have been doing. They were blitzing low every time he came off the screen.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Caller]

And they would essentially have a double for about a second or two and the roller would be open every time. So we kind of played into their game. We're jacking up threes, taking some, some weird mid ranges, like forcing things. And I don't think offense was the problem here. I think it's mainly a defensive thing.

[Matt Jones]

I agree. We scored 88. I mean, it's easy to forget we scored 88. And it gets. Most teams when you score 88, you ought to win. So I, now granted, we hit threes at the end, but you know what that we, we missed a bunch earlier, so it was time for us to hit some. You score 88, y' all to win. And I appreciate the call. That was a good call. The, the defense is the issue for me. I mean, it's just, it's so bad and it was so bad and I'm really disappointed in, I thought our bigs were particularly bad defensively. I mean, you're just gonna, you have to know that if Jalen Lowe's playing, you're gonna have a defensive weakness, but I think he makes up for it on the offensive end. But you have to cover up that weakness. And not only do they not cover it up, some of our guys played even worse defense than him. It felt like, I mean, I, I, I hate to keep picking on him, but I don't know what owe was doing a lot of the game. I. I was like, I think that's the worst I've seen him play. And I don't know why that should have been like his. He loves these environments. It was. Was really odd to me. That's the worst I've seen him play. I really do think that's the case. Who's next?

[Billy Gillispie]

Skyler.

[Matt Jones]

Skyler, go ahead.

[Caller]

Yeah. Good to talk to you again, Matt. Picking up on what you just said, I think Ortega plays with, as the kids would say, a nonchalant nature right now, and we really need him to wake up and. And dial it in.

[Matt Jones]

I wonder why that is. I agree with you, Skyler, but I wonder why that is because I would have never said that about him last year. One time. Right. And I felt like that in. That. In the. In the Georgetown game. I think that was the Georgetown game and I felt like that now he. That is a good way to put it. And it just doesn't really seem like him.

[Caller]

Yeah. Yeah. He had a drive and an edge and a chip on his shoulder last year that I hope. I hope returns. Maybe preseason SEC Player of the Year kind of can linger in the back of your mind.

[Matt Jones]

Maybe.

[Caller]

I'll just say this, too. I'll just say, too. I was. I have not thought about Louisville for years and didn't. Didn't know what team they were even bringing in. I was actually impressed a little bit with the intensity that they brought to the game. They fought really hard, so kudos to them, I think. I don't know if our guys were prepared for that or not or surprised by that. That's what I'm saying. That nonchalant nature by Ortega, even his response to the prior comment kind of bled into that first 20, 30 minutes. And maybe the question I have is, where do you see Trent Noah fitting into this?

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. I don't know.

[Caller]

Did miss some key. Some key rebounds at the end of the game.

[Matt Jones]

We did that.

[Caller]

I'm hoping Jaden can. Can pick up where Malachi kind of got bullied around a little bit. I'll hang up and listen a little bit.

[Matt Jones]

Some of those. Appreciate. Some of those rebounds at the end were just like Louisville actually shot bad threes and the shot was so bad that they got their own rebound sometimes. You can't really help that. I think that happened a couple times on those possessions. Yeah. I think nonchalant's the word. Also, by the way, the best our offense looked except at the end when we started running hit threes was at the beginning when Low and Aberdeen were in there together. And they were penetrating and giving it to the bigs for dunks. And I thought they did a great job. And then Louisville, basically, they. They started doing what the caller said. They blitzed low. He did. He would get the ball. He wasn't able to pass to the bigs. And then we would get to the secondary guys. And again, not to keep picking on him, but o way would get the ball and it would be just like he would die in his hands. And I don't really know why that happened. Colin Chandler, by the way, becomes the first Kentucky player to hit four threes. Billy. In his first three games of the season.

[Billy Gillispie]

Is that right?

[Matt Jones]

That's according to Corey Price. I think that's what the stats said.

[Billy Gillispie]

Well, they needed him. He hit that one.

[Matt Jones]

He hit some big ones. He hit some big ones. I wish he'd gotten to take that one. In the corner. Who's next?

[Billy Gillispie]

Michael.

[Matt Jones]

Michael. Go ahead, Michael.

[Caller]

Yeah, I. I just have two quick things for you, Matt. I think number one. And again, you know, this seems to be. Obviously, we only have last season and now predicated this season, but it is clear again that we do not have just that player, like a. Like a Walter Clayton, like a Makai Brown, like a, you know, Shabazz Napier, like a Kimba, like that can just go and just take over a game in college basketball, you need that. And.

[Matt Jones]

But I don't know how you get like.

[Caller]

You can't.

[Matt Jones]

They don't. You can't just. Well, okay, everybody's going to keep bringing up the $22 million, but what I would ask you is who was in the portal? That's that guy. Okay. I think there was.

[Caller]

They had him and they lost them.

[Matt Jones]

Who?

[Caller]

The. The guy that went to the one. They lost. That. Where'd he go to Indiana or talking.

[Matt Jones]

About Lamar Wilkerson, he went to.

[Caller]

Yeah, whichever.

[Matt Jones]

He's not that dude. I mean, he's a great shooter. I'd love to have him, I actually think, but he's not that dude. The only dude that was in the portal, the guard that was like that to me, is Donovan Dent. And we just got outbid by ucla. I mean, they came in at the last minute. He was that dude. But I actually think after him, there wasn't one of those guys. And so one of the things about living by the portal is there's going to be. In the portal, there's going to be a lot of guys like Denzel, Aberdeen or Diabate who are going to be great players to bring in, who can be parts of Your roster. But you're. You're right. You. I think most teams need that guy. And the problem is we don't have that guy. But they also don't grow on trees, which means you probably have to go get them in recruiting or develop them now, right? Think about Pelts, first class. There wasn't that guy to develop. Maybe one day Colin Chandler will be that. I don't know, maybe Jasper Johnson will be that. But yeah, we did. We have not been able to get that guy in recruiting yet. You hear me talk about a lot. When's he going to get his elite guy? I'm kind of talking about when's he going as Mikhail Brown? May. Maybe it's. Maybe it's Stokes this year, right? Maybe. We'll see. But you're right. We don't have that guy. But you also. Those guys don't grow on trees.

[Caller]

That's true. And then just the last thing I have is, like you said before, like, like you said already, just to reiterate and to bring it home, is this team is not like, I think last year's team would outshoot this team blindfolded. And if, if you're going to sacrifice the shooting, then you better, well, again, not to bring up the $20 million, but you better, well have a defense. And I know you built this defense to face to, to, to face the gauntlet of the SEC season, but you.

[Matt Jones]

Built this defense for tonight. Just to be clear, you built this defense for teams like this. Okay, then this is why you built this defense. Like, like I do. Like, take last year's team. Last year's team would have beaten, like, Georgetown better. They wouldn't have lost to a team like that. But last year's team would have had a real hard time with this Louisville team, like, because who. They wouldn't have been able to guard anybody on the team. So you built this team to kind of beat teams like this Louisville team, but you got to go do it, right? Like, you can't build a team to play defense like that and then not switch and do all the things they did tonight.

[Caller]

I agree. Thanks.

[Matt Jones]

Appreciate it. He's right. If you're going to sacrifice the shooting, then you can't give up all the open looks we gave tonight because we gave a lot of open looks and to be fair, we gave a lot of open looks in some of these other games. I'm really surprised, like, they were so good defensively against Purdue, but maybe that's just because Purdue can't beat them off the dribble. These teams that are, they're doing these high ball screens like we're, we're struggling. Last year's guys weren't athletic enough to do it. This year's guys are athletic enough. They're just making terrible decisions. Who's next?

[Billy Gillispie]

Todd is next.

[Matt Jones]

Todd. Go ahead, Todd.

[Caller]

Oh, Matt. I thought Louisville was the best team tonight. I hate to say that, but for sure they, they definitely look like the best team. And we did make a couple of wonderful comebacks. But have you looked at the full box score yet?

[Matt Jones]

I did, but. What are you talking about specifically?

[Caller]

Well, it, it's just, it seems so even.

[Matt Jones]

I think we outreach except the turnover versus two assists. That's the difference.

[Caller]

Right?

[Matt Jones]

You're right. Everything else, like, like, like, like just to your point, like if you look at everything else, okay, rebounds, 42, they had 40. Assists is 20 to 14. But the turnovers is a big difference. Field goat three point percentage. They were 35%. We were, let's see. We were 32.

[Caller]

We were 35, I think.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, exactly. We, we were 35. They were 32. 47% field goal, 45 for them. So you're right. But that assist to turnover ends up being the big difference.

[Caller]

Yes. And I, I, I was trying to find points off turnovers to see if.

[Matt Jones]

They don't put that in the box score, but I saw that on social media here. What is that?

[Billy Gillispie]

He had 10 points off turnovers and what did what? Louisville had 19.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I mean, that's, and guess what? We lost by eight, so.

[Caller]

Right.

[Matt Jones]

You know, there you go.

[Caller]

They shot, they shot nine more. They hit nine more free throws, I think, than we did. The fouls were about the same, but they shot like 31 free throws where we shot what, 16. Yeah, we was 12 of 16.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, they missed a lot. Well, some of that's skewed because we were found them at the end. Right. So like some of that's that they had more free throws in park because we kept following them at the end.

[Caller]

Yeah, yeah.

[Matt Jones]

But, yeah, I, I, I appreciate the call. I think I, I think the, the assist, the turnover is a big deal, but early in the game the problem was they'd made a bunch of threes and we didn't. Now we kind of caught up to that at the end and so the disparity doesn't look as bad as it did with 10 minutes left. What's interesting, Billy, is we got down 18 in the first half, came back, cut it to five, I think, and then we got down 20 in the second half. And because we made two big runs. Yeah. In the first half and the second.

[Billy Gillispie]

And Louisville scored on all three of their first possessions in the second half. I mean, that was a huge hair out. You think the game's over. And.

[Matt Jones]

And that was a huge. The two. The two. There were five minute stretches that caused us to lose that game. That stretch I mentioned where it was 13 to 8 and then it became 27 to whatever. And then the. The stretch there in the second half where they went from. I think they went from up 8 to 20 in about a minute and a half. But still we had a shot. We had a shot, but they were the better team. Had we won, we would have stolen it. Basically. Let's do one more. We'll take.

[Billy Gillispie]

And where. If Kentucky would have been without Aberdeen tonight, I mean, he was.

[Matt Jones]

Well, Aberdeen had 26, but in my mind, I would say he was make like what Aberdeen did is what I think low or, excuse me, always should have been doing. Right. I'm not saying he should have had 26, but I'm saying, like, Aberdeen played like the player that I am hoping OA is. And low. I mean, I. I'm gonna be an apologist for low because I just think when he's not playing, this team really struggles on offense, but he's got to be better down the stretch. He was pit low the last three and a half minutes, and we don't need that. He. I think he did it because he was such a big part of us coming back. But then once it was a four point game. Now we need you to be the point guard that we brought you. We don't need you to be pit low. We kind of needed you to be pit low when we were down 20. Once we cut it to 4. Now we need you to be put. That free throw was big. I mean, listen, man, point guards, you got to hit free throws. One more. Who's next?

[Billy Gillispie]

Dave.

[Matt Jones]

Dave. Go ahead, Dave.

[Caller]

Hey, Matt. As a UK fan who lives in Louisville, it's a brutal night. Just I would. Everywhere I wore my Kentucky shirt today, gas station, everywhere I rent, everybody's like, go, Cards. And it was just like, gosh, you guys would be in Chesky and you know, they have a good team. But I guess I'll just say, you know, it's been a long time, you guys. Welcome back to the Robbery and you've been gone a long time. So I just need some advice on how to deal with these Louisville fans that I work with and surrounded by.

[Matt Jones]

They're gonna be. They're gonna be brutal. I mean, they're gonna be brutal because this is like, you know, I mean, this is their biggest win in a long time, certainly since COVID but it's probably one of their biggest wins since before that. You know, you just got to take it. Like we, I mean, a lot we could do about it. I mean, they beat us and they were better and you know, they have. They're going to be excited about Mikhail Brown. He's going to be explosive for them. And they're really good now. I think they're. They're going to have a problem later. I don't think their bigs are very good. Okay. So I do think they're going to have some problems when they play physical teams, like really physical teams. I think they're going to have some problems because I don't think their bigs are very good. Although they do pass well.

[Caller]

Yeah, their guard.

[Matt Jones]

Their guards are. Their guards are great. I mean, Cromwell and Mikhail Brown are great. And the third kid, the kid from Virginia is a good shooter. So they're. They're good. I mean, they're good. And we, but. But we, we are built to win games like this. He reconstructed this roster for games like this, and it's disappointing. I think the reason he sounded so sad in the post game is in part we lost to Louisville, but in part he really created a team to win games like this. And not only did not. Did we not win, we kind of got run most of the game. Yeah.

[Caller]

Well, it's still early, so, you know, let's see what happens. Got a long season ahead of us and hopefully we'll maybe see them in the tournament. Yeah. All right.

[Matt Jones]

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Michigan State because I think Michigan State will play a lot like Georgetown play this. They're going to be physical, so we're going to need. I mean, we're. That's a different set of weaknesses. So it'll be interesting to see what happens in that game. But we won't get another team like Louisville until, well, St. John's a little bit like that. We'll get another kind of test like that with St. John's we'll take a break. 859-280-2287. We'll take a break. Be right back. Local toilet dealers, KSR Post Game Show. Welcome back. It is Local Toy Dealers, KSR Post Game Show. 859280, 2287. One person writes. Matt, you sound way too negative. We're gonna be fine. Well, I mean, we can be fine. I still think this team has a roster to be really good, but some things will have to change, obviously, and we'll see if they do. You know, Kentucky did have a chance. People reminded me of getting Caleb Wilson, who went to Carolina. He could have been that guy. He's got to get one of those guys in the recruiting class. He's got a chance at two or three of them this year. He needs to close on one. It hasn't happened yet. Stokes would obviously be one, but there are others. Christian Collins, the. I think his last name is Holt. I don't know the recruiting class as well as I used to, but we. They got to get one of those guys. Pat Kelsey dislocated his finger celebrating. He was giving high fives and got it stuck on a curtain and he said it bent 90 degrees.

[Billy Gillispie]

Oh, wow.

[Matt Jones]

So he's such a dork. But. But he did a good job. I mean, he did. He had a great game plan tonight, and they executed it well. Who's up next?

[Billy Gillispie]

Jordan.

[Matt Jones]

Jordan. Go ahead, Jordan.

[Caller]

Yeah. Man. Of all the things I'm disappointed with, I have to be honest. Brandon Garrison probably tops the list. Defensively, he is. It's like he's lost on everything. His defense, on the pick and roll. He's always in the wrong spot. A lot of those flyer screens, if you watch a lot of times because Garrison is kind of getting out of position, and when they kick it over the wing, our guy from the corner have to come up and help and just throw everything out.

[Matt Jones]

Totally agree with you. I think I thought he. In the first half, he was really bad defensively. I think I got a little better in the second half, but in that first half, you're right, he was. I would say three or four of their open looks are directly attributable to his screwing up something on a. On a switch.

[Caller]

And it's almost like. I know we. You guys have talked a lot about that second year leap with Pope, but it's almost things like Garrison's kind of progressed or. Or at least say the same, because a lot of the mistakes he was making last year, it's like he's making them this year. And it's.

[Matt Jones]

Well, you would have hoped to have seen improvement from Away and Garrison. Right. And I. And. And because those are our two main returning guys that got a lot of minutes. And so, yeah, it is a little disappointing.

[Caller]

I just, you know, with Louisville's big. I know you'd mentioned that they're not very good. And unfortunately, Garrison in a Lot of ways made them look very good. I just don't know if this team. Hopefully Clayton comes back and is okay, but if we're having to rely on Garrison for a lot of minutes, I just, I just don't know if we can reach that potential that we.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I agree. I think Moreno, I appreciate the call. Is potentially more of a starter and, you know, the, probably the person that stayed in front of Mikhail Brown the most were on two plays yellow Vich got switched on him, actually.

[Billy Gillispie]

He didn't look bad.

[Matt Jones]

He actually played, stayed in front of him both times. I was like, well, I'm surprised yellow bitch didn't get a few more minutes in the second half. But I do think Pope was, I mean, Cam Williams doesn't even get in the game till eight minutes to go, so Pope was clearly trying to find what is going to work and it just, it just wasn't. I Garrison defensively, though, in that first half, that tape is not going to be kind to him. When they look at that in practice. What's next?

[Billy Gillispie]

Aaron?

[Matt Jones]

Aaron. Go ahead, Aaron.

[Caller]

Hey, Matt. You know, I was at the game tonight, and I thought that's probably going to be the most electric that the young center has seen in quite some time.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, for sure. Sure, for sure. I mean, they've had great atmospheres in the last few years, but then like, they get killed at the beginning and it goes away, like against Duke. But tonight was great. I mean, I was there the whole first half and it was as loud as I've seen it in, in a decade.

[Caller]

Yeah, it was crazy. And I know that was, it was kind of our first road test. So I, I feel like maybe that was a part of it. But it also doesn't help that it felt like in the first half they were. Louisville was shooting like, you know, NBA 2K shots from three. It felt like they could not miss. I'm not super worried about this game, but at the same time, I, I, I did feel like, was this the game to, for, for Pope to really kind of play around? I don't really think that he was playing around totally with lineups, but it felt like he had a lineup at the end of the game that could have worked. And I'm kind of like, why did we wait?

[Matt Jones]

Well, he did. I mean, it took him a long, long time not just to put in Cam Williams, but to decide to go with one big. And I don't, I don't know. I think we're going to have to do that a lot this year. I think I Think the, the strength of this team is on the perimeter and. But we got a lot of big guys and I. Part of me wishes we could trade one of those big guys for a dead eye three point shooter. You know what I mean? I'd like to. This would be. If it was the NBA, maybe you'd make a trade one of our bigs for a guy, you know, for a dude like Kobe Brayer. So that would be nice to have.

[Caller]

It felt like some of our strongest lineups were a little bit of small ball, but you know, with one big. And I'm like, why didn't we do that a little more? But I get it. It's still early in the season. But it's also. It's Louisville. Come on. Like, let's. Let's play our. Let's play our best lineup here. But it's still early, so I'm not.

[Matt Jones]

It is early. It is early. I appreciate the call. It is early. And he got there. Just kind of maybe took him a little bit longer than. Than maybe we would have hoped. Who's next?

[Billy Gillispie]

Patrick.

[Matt Jones]

Patrick. Go ahead, Patrick.

[Caller]

First time, long time.

[Matt Jones]

Who are.

[Caller]

Hey, just one thing I kind of really notice is paint touches. I just want to get more paint touches and I did find myself kind of yelling run on some of those, so shout out to Coach Cow, I guess, but.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, you mean. Oh, I see what you're saying. Okay, gotcha. I wasn't sure what you were saying, but go ahead.

[Caller]

Yeah, just more pain touches. I think this team will be fine. His third game in. We'll be fine. We'll get some more paint touches. We'll figure it all out. We'll be fine. Go Cats win number nine.

[Matt Jones]

Appreciate the. Appreciate the call. Yeah, we. We didn't do a ton of. But you know, we did early in the game we had a lot of good. I mean, we kind of went away from good going to the, you know, penetrating and kicking, lobbing to our bigs.

[Billy Gillispie]

But they lobs.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, they changed the way they defended it and that's just why we got more three point looks. I think they were daring us to make them and we really didn't make them until the end of the game. Who's next?

[Billy Gillispie]

Hunter.

[Matt Jones]

Hunter. Go ahead, Hunter.

[Caller]

Billy, Matt, it's good to talk to you guys. Hopefully you guys are having a great night tonight. There's a lot of thoughts that. About this game that want to reflect on. I mean, it just. It just seemed like we were just disorganized and we were almost rattled and it kind of Gave me deja vu of the Clemson game last year and I almost feel very deja vu of it with how we played and everything. And Mike and I think now this makes the Michigan State game more important because it's, you know, we got to bounce back, we got to win this, we got to win Michigan State now especially.

[Matt Jones]

Well, all of our games, all of our games in some ways look harder if you think about it. I mean, Indiana might be a little better than we thought. North Carolina might be a little better than we thought. You know, St. John's I knew would be good. Michigan State beat Arkansas. I mean in these non comp. Gonzaga beats Creighton by 30. So in these non conference games, there were a couple games that I think in my mind I was just like, well, we'll win that. You know, none of these are assured in the non conference. So you're right. We, we kind of need to go get that one. In Michigan State you could make an argument that of all those five teams I just mentioned, Michigan State might be the worst of the five. And so we, we do need to beat them.

[Caller]

Yeah, no, it's much more important now because we have to bounce back and we got to answer this and like we're supposed to go in it.

[Matt Jones]

All right, I appreciate the call. Apparently there's people online saying Billy, a G5 solar storm was reached tonight. It's the highest geomagnetic storm level that can be reached.

[Billy Gillispie]

Is that the northern light pictures that I've been seeing that people across the country or Kentucky have been posting?

[Matt Jones]

Oh, is that what that is?

[Billy Gillispie]

Something's going on right now. Yeah, that may be it.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, I don't know what those words mean, but sounds like pink in the sky. Okay, gotcha. Pink in the sky. Who's next?

[Billy Gillispie]

Jamie.

[Matt Jones]

Jamie. Go ahead, Jamie.

[Caller]

Hey, Matt. We were at the game and to say it was electric was an understatement. That place was rocking.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, it was.

[Caller]

I mean we, we had Garrett references. There was a guy named Garrett that did a golf shot and someone said, garrett, get your money up. It was, it was great. What, what do you think about the rebounding? Because we out rebounded them on paper, but I just feel like at the times of the rebounds, they were just so critical and they came at the worst time and yeah, they were.

[Matt Jones]

I mean there were. But I actually thought. We actually thought we were pretty good on the glass for most of the game. You are right that at the end they got some big ones. But as I said, I think it was in part because we kind of forced Louisville into bad shots, and then there'd be like a long rebound. There wasn't a lot I felt like we got out fought for. It's just sometimes, you know, when guys are shooting long threes, the ball's just going to fall in weird spots. And so I actually thought they did a pretty good job rebounding most of the night.

[Caller]

Yeah. And then earlier guys had something about paint touches. I agree. I mean, the foul, the free throw count was 31 to 16. I mean, I feel like that's got to be high. I know we're not a great shooting team. If we're not a great shooting team, we got to be a great driving team.

[Matt Jones]

I agree. Appreciate the call. I mean, we're, you know, everybody. I feel like it could be a good, really good shooting team. But Aberdeen can shoot. Lowe's gonna be somewhat inconsistent, but he can shoot. Noah can shoot. Cam Williams made a couple shots tonight. I don't know. I'm worried about away in shooting. Chandler obviously can shoot, but our bigs, you know, last year, Carr was a big. That could shoot. I don't know, can these. I mean, yellow Vich can shoot, but I don't know how much he's going to get to play. But like I will tell you, every time Diabate shoots a three, I don't like it. I know he's made a couple in the early games, but that form, I mean, they. Louisville left him wide open. I think he took two and they weren't even contemplating guarding him. Let's do one more. We'll take a break.

[Billy Gillispie]

Speaking of shooters, it's time for our Johnny Rocker, personal injury attorney, moneymaker of the game. Matt.

[Matt Jones]

All right, who is that injured?

[Billy Gillispie]

Get small town compassion with big city results when you call The Rocker at 270-321-4429. And he didn't play till late, but I'm giving it to Cam Williams. Five points, two or two from the field, four rebounds, one block in 12 minutes. He had a team high plus 11. He is our moneymaker of the night.

[Matt Jones]

All right. I like that Jason Riley's listening. He's a Louisville fan. Says sound that I sound sad, like I know it's over. It's not over at all. I mean, the game's over. Season's not over. No. Now, if we had lost this game by 25, if we hadn't come back, I think I would have been pretty despondent. But I saw a lot of good things in the comeback. So I'm. No, I'm not sad, but I am a little concerned about the defense. The offense I think will be better, but the defense, I'm a little concerned.

[Billy Gillispie]

How much of this does JQ solve?

[Matt Jones]

Very little. I don't think our problem. Yeah, I mean, I say very little. He. He will protect the rim, but we didn't lose to Louisville because we weren't protecting the rim. We lost because we gave him open shots and we couldn't guard guys. So he will help. Don't get me wrong. He'll. If he plays. I'm assuming he will. He'll help against a lot of teams. I'm not sure this game was the game that it would have made a huge difference. It'll make a huge difference. Like I, I think he would have helped against Georgetown, for instance. But this one we'll see. I don't know. I. We're go. We. If we see. If we were to see them again in the tournament, it. We're going to have to be. We're going to have to be a lot better defensively if we're going to win. 859-280-2287 we're going to take a break. Be right back. It's the local toy dealers KSR post game show. Welcome back. It is the local toy dealers KSR postgame show. One person writes, Matt, do you still after this game believe Jalen Lowe is the key to the season? Yes. Because when he was good tonight, that's when we played our best and when he was bad, we didn't. I mean, you go look at the moments where we were rolling the best. He was in there with. Usually with Aberdeen. I mean, our big runs came with him and Aberdeen on the floor together and then other guys, but they were the two consistent ones in there most of the time. So. Yes. Now, him being the most important doesn't mean he's always going to be good. Right? I mean he's. But when he was good tonight, we were good. When he struggled, we kind of struggled. He played 29 minutes plus minus. I'm not sure what it was. Our worst plus minus. It looks like Billy was. Was garrisoned. Is that right?

[Billy Gillispie]

No, it was o Way at minus 16.

[Matt Jones]

Oh, away was minus 16.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

See that. I mean if you're otega way, you cannot be the worst plus minus on the team.

[Billy Gillispie]

Second was Diabate. Minus 15.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. So think about that. Those are supposed to be your two rocks.

[Billy Gillispie]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Right. Those are supposed to be your two rocks and they are your two biggest plus minus. And I have to tell you to Be honest with you.

[Caller]

If you.

[Matt Jones]

It felt like to me they were the two worst. It really did. I'm. I. It felt like to me that when they were in there, we just looked lost. Whereas even though the other guys made mistakes, we just felt a lot more free and like, huh, that's interesting. Let me get who is the best? I mean, is it Cam, I guess.

[Billy Gillispie]

Yeah, it was our moneymaker Cam and he was in the Comeback.

[Matt Jones]

Okay. And who else then? What? Maybe Chandler.

[Billy Gillispie]

Then it's a drop off to plus three and that's Jasper.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, he only played like five minutes.

[Billy Gillispie]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

So that doesn't.

[Billy Gillispie]

Six minutes.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. So that's not really.

[Billy Gillispie]

And then it was aberdeen with a plus 1 and 30.

[Matt Jones]

Aberdeen. That makes sense. All right, who's up next?

[Billy Gillispie]

Tim.

[Matt Jones]

Tim. Go ahead, Tim.

[Caller]

Hey, what's up, Mr. Matt? What's up, Mr. Billy? Thanks for having me. I was just thinking before I called in, I was talking to my buddy Hollywood and I was like, it's funny how things are completely opposite from. I called in last season about this time and I was, you know, I think we had one and everybody was excited and I was kind of critiquing and kind of worried because I was just not used to it, you know, because we went from cows a completely different way we play.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Caller]

And anyway, so now fast forward to now I'm talking to him that I'm the one being like, it's going to be all right, man. This is a completely different team than last year. Last year we got one guy that can drive and four shooters. This year we got four guys that can drive in one shooter. And they're just gonna have to figure that out. So anyways, I just think that's funny.

[Matt Jones]

But you're right about that. In some ways, you're right about that and they're gonna have to figure it out. And I guess what you. What I wonder is I don't know if Mark Pope's ever coached a team like that. And so he's gonna have to figure that out because this team. I understand why he built the team. I know he. If you want to know why we have this roster, you go back and watch those three games against Alabama last year. We really didn't have a chance to win any of them. And I think Mark Pope was like, I gotta be produce a team that can win those games. Well, maybe he has, but now they actually have to play the defense he recruited them to play.

[Caller]

I. I totally agree with that. And I think that's the statement of the night. I mean, I, I was saying last year, I mean, I love that team. How exciting was it? But like, I don't think anybody really ever thought that was a national championship winning team because of the defense. And like this year he built a team based because Bart Pope's smart and he's like, we got to win a title. So I got to get some players. And I think they did it. So that's what I was telling everybody in bvn. Just hang in there. I mean, I was you last year and I didn't believe in it and I saw the team change and I understood and. And it's just your own stuff. But anyways, I wanted to also say that I thought it was hilarious that ESPN announcers really emphasized how Louisville had only had one sellout in the last six years. They did that several times. Very gratifying to me.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, that really surprised me. I appreciate the call. I didn't know that stat until, I mean, you know, they've played us, they've played Duke, they've played North Carolina, and their only sellout was this game. Which tells you how broken they were. But this is going to reignite them. You can just feel it. You can just feel that. Like this is, this is going to be what that program needed. They've needed a win like this for a while. Let's do four more. Who's next?

[Billy Gillispie]

Brennan.

[Matt Jones]

Brennan. Go ahead, Brennan.

[Caller]

Hey, Matt. First time, long time.

[Matt Jones]

Who are. What's up?

[Caller]

So I've been listening to you since I'm. I'm 29 years old. I've been listening to you since I was 17. And I have to say I'm from Northern Kentucky. So this one really stings because it's like half of everybody that I go to high school with either goes to UK or UofL and we've kind of owned them.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah.

[Caller]

Since I went to high school or since I went to college. But I, I do think with this, The Mikel Brown Jr. You know, you. You can't allow him to score 20 points in the first half.

[Matt Jones]

I agree. But I don't know, like sometimes dudes like that are just going to do that. You know what I mean? Like sometimes, sometimes a guy that talented, there's. I was less upset by the. By Mikhail Brown's 20 than the other dudes points. You know what I mean? Like, you can't let Miguel Brown score 20 and then let all the other guys score too. That's the right thing. You got to stop somebody.

[Caller]

Yeah, I 100% agree, but. And that, that Leads to Denzel Aberdeen. You know, he had what, like 26 or something at the end of the game? 26 and 7 or something like that. But I don't know. Is. Do you think Jalen Lowe is that guy? Like, for us, like, is. Is Pope's offense. Like, is. Is it Otago way? Is it Jalen?

[Matt Jones]

I don't think we have one. We don't have that guy. We don't have that guy. Yeah, we don't have that guy. And I appreciate the call. We don't have it. That's the. But that's the problem is we do not have him. So because we don't have him, we have to, you know, we're going to have to find other ways to win because. No, we don't. We don't have that guy. So, you know, there's not anybody as good as him. Mikhail Brown is the kind of dude you don't. Louisville's not had a guy that good since Donovan Mitchell. So that's the way it is. Who's next?

[Billy Gillispie]

Monk is Monk.

[Matt Jones]

Three more. Go ahead, Monk.

[Caller]

Hey, what's up, baby banks?

[Matt Jones]

What's. What's up? Is this a Louisville fan?

[Caller]

No, not at all, buddy. But Mikhail Brown is real deal like he is. I don't know if we've had a guy like that recently at all.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I mean, the last guy. Are you talking about Louisville or us?

[Caller]

Louisville. Mikhail Brown.

[Matt Jones]

So you are a Louisville fan. You just said we. You said. You said we haven't had a guy like that, which means Louisville, Kentucky hasn't.

[Caller]

Had a guy like that.

[Matt Jones]

Billy Brown. Billy.

[Billy Gillispie]

I think he told on himself.

[Matt Jones]

I think you told on yourself. You gave. You called me the nickname. You called me the nickname that Louisville fans like to do. Especially old school Louisville fans. And you just said. You just said we about Louisville.

[Caller]

No, I said we as in Kentucky haven't had a guy like Mikhail Brown. That guy's a baller. Like, he went off like, for a reason. Because he is a baller. He's real deal. Okay. No, I'm a UK fan. True and true. Cal Macy is my favorite player. My favorite numbers for just saying though, like, okay, anyway. And Jordan, he is our Jaden. Well, okay.

[Matt Jones]

I appreciate the call. You don't even know the guy's name. He's a Louisville fan. And I, I listen, it's been a while since you all have. Have decided that you had the nerve to call the show. But remember, I sniff you all out like a disease. I could tell when you said we. First of all, I could Tell when you said Maddie Bank. Nobody calls me except Louisville fans. I don't even have that hair anymore. Wish I did. And then when you say Jalen Lau. Come on, you're a Louisville fan. It's all right. You won. But we caught him before he was about to say something bad. Billy, I can.

[Billy Gillispie]

Yeah, we've done pretty good. I mean, this is the last segment.

[Matt Jones]

Two more. Who's next?

[Billy Gillispie]

Tate.

[Matt Jones]

Tate. What's up, Tate?

[Caller]

I mean, I think these Louisville fans are bad liars. First off. Okay, I just want to. I just want to call in and say or ask y' all what y' all think about the Mark Pope kind of overthinking these big games. Because, I mean, we've seen last year, like with the Arkansas game and now this year with the Louisville game, feels like since he, like, used to kind of play for Kentucky, he might kind of overthink these games. Like, I'm a high school golfer myself, and I feel like if I look forward to a tournament so much, it feels like he kind of just makes me underperform a lot of times. Whether I used to say that Rick.

[Matt Jones]

Patino wanted to win the game against Cal so much that he would actually not do a good job, I think that's possible in games. And we don't have a huge sample size. Right. We have the Arkansas game last year. We have this. But remember, he also. He beat Duke last year. He really wanted to win that. You know, he beat Illinois in the second round of the tournament, which I think was a huge win for him. So, I mean, I can't say that's always the case, but tonight I appreciate the call. They got out. Game planned. They did. And it took him too long to adjust. And I think he would say that. I think he would. I think he would completely acknowledge that. You know, sometimes. Sometimes you just get. You get out. Out funk. I think he got out funk tonight by Kelsey. And then we just had guys who also played really poorly, especially on defense. Let's do one more. Who's next?

[Billy Gillispie]

Doing good.

[Matt Jones]

All right, go ahead. Doing good, Matt.

[Caller]

I'm doing good. Hope you're doing well. Not real happy over the loss tonight. However, I will remind a lot of Kentucky fans, we have a lot of good things to look forward to. Number one, we have an incredible top five NBA talent waiting in the wings that if he was present tonight, let's say, you know, in March, a tournament scenario completely changes the outcome of this game. We did come back from a 20 point deficit on a very hostile twice away court.

[Matt Jones]

Twice.

[Caller]

Thank you. Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Yes.

[Caller]

Made it very close. So really happy about that. So let's not get. You know, I give them some props. Louisville played really well. They're a lot better than I thought they were. I don't want to really give them much more positive, more than that. And I just. Sometimes it happens exactly the season.

[Matt Jones]

And so early in the year is so early in the year, you couldn't really know about either team. I mean, Louisville had not played. Neither of us had played anybody good. Both of us had had what turns out to maybe be misleading preseason games, theirs against Kansas and ours against Purdue. And so, like, you didn't really know anything about them. So part of what made it so weird is that it was so early in the year. If the game was in mid to late December, we'd know more about both teams. But that was kind of why it was such an awkward. Odd thing is you didn't know what was going to happen. And then we saw what happened.

[Caller]

It was. And here's the thing. Going forward, who do you think will make the best adjustments for their team? Basically, who is the. Who is the most intellectual coach? I'm putting my money on Pope.

[Matt Jones]

I think they're both pretty good money on Pope.

[Caller]

All. All day, every day, man. I think we're gonna.

[Matt Jones]

I actually think, oddly, I think Pope has more work to do. Not just because I appreciate the call, not just because Louisville's better, but I think Louisville is what they are. Louisville knows exactly how they want to play. They've got a superstar young guy. They've got another sort of really good secondary player in Cromwell, or. What is that his name? Cromwell. The kid from Xavier.

[Billy Gillispie]

I was seeing them all. Yeah, Conwell.

[Matt Jones]

Conwell. And then they've got a great shooter in McNeely. And then they've got some decent. That they know who they are. So I think Pat Kelsey is just going to be trying to make the most efficient version of his team possible for Mark Pope. I don't know that we still know what we are yet. And so I actually think Mark Pope has a lot more work to do. Not just because we lost, but because he probably had a vision of this team that I kind of. I'm not sure is going to work. I don't know. I don't know if you're going to be able to put away Diabate Garrison out there at the same time in crunch time and win games. So you're going to have to figure out a different way to do it. And he likes the challenge. I think he's up for it. But I think we saw tonight that probably what we all thought this team was gonna look like, they might not be elite doing that. So they're gonna have to do something probably a little bit different. Thank you all very much for staying up. We'll be back on the air here in just a few hours, so we'll see you then. We'll see you then at KS Bar at 10am tomorrow. This has been the local toilet dealers KSR postgame show.

[Caller]

Foreign.

[Matt Jones]

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