KSR Postgame UK MBB at Ole Miss 02/04/25

Summary

KSR Postgame UK MBB at Ole Miss 02/04/25 – Detailed Summary

Episode Title: KSR Postgame UK MBB at Ole Miss 02/04/25
Release Date: February 5, 2025
Hosts: Matt Jones and Billy Rutledge
Duration: Approximately 50 minutes

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Introduction

In this episode of the KSR Postgame show, hosts Matt Jones and Billy Rutledge delve deep into the Kentucky (UK) men's basketball team's recent performance against Ole Miss. The team suffered a disheartening loss with a score of 98-84, marking one of their most challenging games in recent history.

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Game Analysis

First Half Struggles:
The hosts begin by highlighting the disastrous first half, where Kentucky was embarrassingly down by 23 points—a deficit they hadn't seen since a 2013 game against Tennessee. Matt Jones remarks, "This was the first half is one of the worst Kentucky halves to start a game I can remember" (05:00). Billy Rutledge echoes this sentiment, emphasizing the lack of competitiveness and execution from the team.

Second Half Fightback:
Despite the grim first half, Kentucky managed to claw back to an 11-point deficit in the second half. Billy notes, "Unlike that Tennessee game, Kentucky fought back, got it as close as 11" (04:45). However, the damage was done, allowing Ole Miss to maintain a high-scoring game.

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Defense Issues

A significant portion of the discussion centers around Kentucky's defensive failings. Ole Miss only recorded one turnover during the game, a rare feat in the SEC since 1990.

• Lack of Athleticism:
  Billy attributes 50% of the defensive woes to a lack of athleticism:
  "Earlier this year, even when we were good, I said and I didn't think it was controversial but people sort of took it that way that this was the least athletic team in the SEC. And I still think that's true." (05:30)

• Poor Defensive Execution:
  Matt criticizes the defensive strategy, mentioning that big men were consistently out of position:
  "There were 13 points scored out of the first 30 that were big men shooting wide open shots where the big man gardening three times, Amari twice." (06:00)

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Athleticism and Coaching

Athletic Deficit:
The hosts debate the impact of athleticism on the team's performance. While Matt insists that athleticism plays a crucial role, Billy disagrees slightly, suggesting that while the team lacks elite athleticism, it's not the sole reason for their defensive pitfalls.

Coaching Decisions:
Mark Pope, Kentucky's head coach, comes under scrutiny for his strategic choices. The hosts express frustration with his inability to adapt during the game, especially in implementing effective defensive schemes.

Matt observes, "Mark Pope, he sounds like a guy that isn't what he. It's not. Sounds like he said we don't really know what to do. I give him credit for honesty." (07:00)

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Offense Issues

Kentucky's offensive struggles are highlighted, particularly their inefficiency in three-point shooting.

• Low Three-Point Attempts:
  The team took only 25 three-pointers during the game, far below their season average.
  Billy states, "On the offensive we scored 84 but once again I still don't think take enough threes, only took 25." (06:30)

• Ineffective Scoring:
  Despite scoring 84 points, the lack of efficient shooting and over-reliance on few players hindered the team's ability to secure a win.

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Player Performance

Amari Williams' Triple-Double:
A standout moment was Amari Williams achieving a triple-double, only the fourth in the school's history. Billy humorously comments on the unique names of the players who have achieved this feat before:
"... a rare triple double list. Chris Mills, De'Aaron Fox, Isaiah Briscoe, and Amar Williams. Is that not wild that those are the four people?" (07:10)

Other Notable Performances:

• Jackson Robinson and Ortega Owe delivered commendable performances in the second half, albeit insufficient to overturn the deficit.
• Travis Perry contributed defensively with a notable block late in the game.

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Future Prospects and March Tournament

Despite the loss, there's a glimmer of hope for Kentucky's inclusion in the March tournaments. The hosts discuss the remaining schedule, emphasizing must-win games against South Carolina and Vanderbilt to bolster their record.

Matt outlines potential scenarios:
"I am shifting my thought process for these last nine games. Let's just get to March." (07:40)

Billy assesses their tournament chances, emphasizing the importance of upcoming victories to secure a favorable seed.

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Callers’ Input and Host Interactions

The show features interactive segments where listeners call in with their critiques and support. A notable caller criticizes the hosts for their hard-hitting analysis, prompting a robust defense from Billy:

"First of all, I don't go to the press conferences, so I can't ask any questions...I was very critical of the decision to play Chandler and those guys as much as they did the last game." (14:25)

Another caller, Skyler, defends the team's effort despite the loss, leading to a discussion about perceived lack of effort versus strategic shortcomings.

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Coach Mark Pope's Mindset

Towards the episode's conclusion, the hosts ponder Coach Pope's perspective amid growing adversity. They speculate on his strategies to overcome the team's deficiencies and his potential future with Kentucky.

Billy reflects, "Mark knows so much about this that he can't like dilute himself..." (34:36)
Matt adds, "I think when I'm comparing Pope, though, I don't think it's fair to compare him to the first year of Cal." (35:26)

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Conclusion

The episode wraps up with the hosts reiterating the pressing need for Kentucky to address both offensive and defensive shortcomings. They emphasize the importance of upcoming games in determining the team's fate for the season.

Billy concludes, "South Carolina Saturday is a must, must win. We will see you guys later." (47:15)

Matt adds a light-hearted note, wishing the team luck and expressing hope for a stronger performance moving forward.

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Key Takeaways

• Defense Woes: Kentucky's defense is severely lacking, both in athleticism and execution, leading to high-scoring games against weaker opponents.
• Offensive Efficiency: The team's inability to capitalize on three-point opportunities and reliance on a few key players hampers their offensive effectiveness.
• Coaching Critique: Mark Pope faces criticism for his strategic decisions and adaptability during games.
• March Tournament Hopes: Despite current struggles, Kentucky has a pathway to the March tournaments contingent on upcoming game performances.
• Player Highlights: Amari Williams' triple-double stands out as a bright spot in an otherwise challenging game.

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Note: Timestamps correspond to the approximate moments in the podcast where the quoted statements were made.

Transcript

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Get $1,000 off [e-mail] simplify that's V A N T A dot com simplify for $1,000 off welcome everyone. It is the local Toyota dealers KSR post game show Kentucky loses 9884 in a game where they were embarrassed for a half, fought back in the second half but a pretty bad loss on the road in Oxford. Kentucky now 4 and 5 in the SEC. It is only the first time since 2013 that they gave up as many points as they did in the first half and it's one of only a couple of times in the last 15 years they've gone one in four in a row in SEC play. The other time was 2017 2018. So look, this was the first half is one of the worst Kentucky halves to start a game I can remember. You know the I saw, I think it was Corey Price said the last time we were down 23 in the first half in SEC play was to Tennessee in 2013. And that actually was the game that as I was Watching I thought of that was the last time I remember watching Kentucky play a game and thinking we are just not even in it. And that was the game after Nerlands Noel got hurt. And even though we didn't have anyone new get hurt in the last game, that Nerlands Noel loss was kind of a oh, this season's in trouble. And I wonder if the Arkansas game had a little of a similar effect at least for a half. Now, unlike that Tennessee game, Kentucky fought back, got it as close as 11. But you let a team score 98, you're not going to win. Kind of some unbelievable numbers in this game. Ole miss only had one turnover. One turnover. It's only the second time since 1990 that a team has played a game in the SEC and only had one turnover. And it's a testament to the big storyline from the game which is our defense is right now awful. Second half it was a little better. Ole Miss made some difficult shots but we are lost on defense. Part of it, I think 50% of it is athleticism. You know, earlier this year, even when we were good, I said and I didn't think it was controversial but people sort of took it that way that this was the least athletic team in the sec. And I still think, and I think that's true and I think most people would now agree we, we just don't have great athletes on the team and there's nothing any of those guys can do about that. I mean they're, you know, they are the athletes they are. So 50% of it I, I don't know that you can fix. I mean there are a couple of guys on this team that they're not going to be able to stay in front of their man one on one no matter what. But the other 50% I do think is if not fixable should be an improvement is they just, they get lost, they make odd decisions and there's a hustle factor that just isn't there that I don't understand. There were 13 points scored out of the first 30 that were big men shooting wide open shots where the big man gardening three times, Amari twice. Garrison didn't even get a hand up. I mean didn't even get a hand up. And not surprisingly all 13 were nothing but net the defense in the first half. I'm not sure when I can remember Kentucky playing worst defense. Offensively we scored 84 but once again I still don't think take enough threes, only took 25. I looked it up. Kentucky has taken 30 threes in only three of the nine SEC games, if you remember, Pope said, 30 to 35 is a goal every game. We've hit it three times, and I think more damningly, we have given up six. Six of the nine games. The other team has made more threes than us. Earlier this year, we led the nation in three point shooting, and we now only three of the nine games. Forget about percentage. Only three of the nine games have we even made more than the other team. You're not going to win like that. I mean, we're just not going to win like that. And I. I don't know. I don't know what we do about it. We look lost on defense and we all too often look lost on offense with any ball pressure. Ball pressure is killing this team. And a big part of that is you don't have a point guard, you don't have Lamont Butler. But if you listen to Mark Pope talk, he doesn't talk like a guy who thinks he's going to get Butler back. He. He was asked about it tonight and he said something like, we got to figure out how to be better now without Butler. Hopefully we get Butler back. I still think we will, but you know what happens until then? It's frustrating. You know, Amari Williams made history tonight with a triple double. I mean, it's only the fourth one in the history of the school. And by the way, Billy, what an absurd group of names on our triple double list. Chris Mills, De'Aaron Fox, Isaiah Briscoe, and Amar Williams. Is that not wild that those are the four people?

[Matt Jones]

What a list.

[Billy Rutledge]

I mean, it's that. That is a wild list. But Amari joins the list tonight. And kudos to the kid on the pregame show who predicted it. Yeah, I mean, Mason, what are the odds you could have gotten on a triple double before the game when there's only been three in the history of the school? But he got it. Unfortunately, it's for. Not because of the loss. So Amari played well, although still, I don't know what, I don't know what it is about him putting his. Not putting his hands up on defense, but on offense. He had a great night. Jackson Robinson played well. Ortega Owe played really well in the second half. But it's too little too late if we're giving up 98 to teams we're not gonna win. And you know, Mark Pope, he sounds like a guy that isn't what he. It's not. Sounds like he said we don't really know what to do. I give him credit for honesty. But that's not the most confidence inducing thing in the world. But I do give him credit for honesty on that. But they gotta figure something out. You know, I'm sitting here, I'm looking at the schedule. All right, so we are. I am shifting my thought process for these last nine games. I'm kind of shifting my process to. Let's just. I sound like Cap. Let's just get to March. But I do think it's worth noting March is not assured. We are 15 and 7. We do have as good a wins as anybody. So if it's close, we'll get in. I think if you're 19 and 12, you're almost certainly in 20. You're definitely in 19, you're almost certainly in. And you might even be in with 18, but I think you need 19 or 20 to be sure. So let's look at the schedule. You play South Carolina Saturday. Billy must win, right? Have to win. Yeah, they don't have a win in the sec. They don't have a win in the sec. Yeah, you lose that game, all of a sudden, like it's a whole different thing. Gotta win that. That would get you to 16. You later play Vandy at home. I know you lost to them, but you gotta beat him at home. That would be 17. And then you later play LSU at home. That would be 18. Now, those are three games against teams that if you don't beat those at home, those are bad, terrible losses. I'm going to assume they get all those. That's 18. That might get you in. But let's say you need another one, Billy, because I think 19 is for sure. 18. You're shaky. All right, let's say you need 19. Let me give you the rest of them. Tennessee at home at Texas, at Alabama, Auburn at home, at Oklahoma, at Missouri. I mean, none of those are gimmes, and none of those. I'm going to go so far as to say, I don't know if. Except the Oklahoma game, I'm not sure we'll be favored in any of those games. I bet we won't, actually. So, you know, while I still think it's much more likely than not that they're in the tournament. And once they're in the tournament, especially if Butler's back, I think they can beat most any team. It's not certain as far as the SEC tournament, you know. You know, this year the field changes. We will have four games on Wednesday, which means teams nine through 16 will play on Wednesday. And as of now, we would Be playing on Wednesday because right now we are in 10th place in the SEC. And again, you look at that schedule, you know, the chances of playing on Wednesday are greater than, what, 30%? I, you know, I think it's. I get. Unless you're 500 in the SEC, you're probably playing on Wednesday. So I'm shifting my brain a little bit to my hopes when conference play started. Come in the top four in the sec, get a double buy, get a top three or four seed so that you get placed in a region that's closer to your home. I'm kind of putting all that aside. I think the loss to Vandy and the loss to Arkansas took that off the table. So now we just, for me, need to start playing significantly better. Beat these teams. We're supposed to get some of these. The other six, I said get a couple of them. Whichever couple you can get, get them. And then go to March, hope we're as healthy as we've been, and then play with the same kind of aggression and no fear to lose that Arkansas did on Saturday because, you know, the team that played tonight, I mean, we're not doing anything if it's that team. But a week ago, we won in Knoxville. So I'm not giving up. I see people giving up. I'm not giving up. But we got to find a way. We can't have performances. We lost that game tonight in, like, the first six minutes. We can't keep having that happen. And hopefully Pope and his staff will start being able to come up with a plan to change it, because right now, what's happening in these last two games is not working. 859-280-2287. We'll take your calls. I'm going to try to have a little bit of fun because starting at midnight, I can't eat again until Thursday at like, 4:00pm yeah. And so I'm gonna eat, like one candy bar right before bed. I don't eat after, like, 7:00. It's like, you know, a way to, like, lose weight.

[Matt Jones]

Right, right.

[Billy Rutledge]

But I'm eating tonight because I can't eat for a long time.

[Matt Jones]

You're gonna be hangry tomorrow.

[Billy Rutledge]

Wait till Thursday show. Yeah, yeah, exactly. We'll be right back. This is the local Toy Dealers KSR Postgame show. Welcome back. It is the local toy dealers KSR postgame show. 859-280-2287. Let's just get started. Billy. It was no fun night, so let's just get to the phone. Who's up first, let's go to Wes. Wes, go ahead.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, what's up, Matt Jones. First off, you guys are awesome. I. I wanted to say something, though. I normally call with a different name. I'm calling today with my actual name because I am going to be critical, and I think you, you know, out of respect, I'm going to use my. My real name because I'm going to be critical with you guys and, you know, if you'll give me that chance at Louisville. The reason why they went to where they are is because I think it wasn't just Patino was the worst person in the world. I think he was allowed to just be not. Not questioned, not. Not. Not spoken against. And. And that builds and builds and builds. And that's kind of where we are in the country in everything, to be honest. And right now, we're in a situation where I can't like Mark Post because I do. But the last four games have been one of the most coaching.

[Billy Rutledge]

But who's saying you can't be critical? Hang on, hang on.

[Matt Jones]

When. When have you got a single question?

[Billy Rutledge]

No one has to. First of all, I don't go to the press conferences, so I can't ask any questions. I've been very critical of. I literally started this segment by saying that's one of the worst games halves defensively that I can remember. So of course you can ask a question. So, I mean, I don't know. That's not fair to say. No one's being critical. I'm not there to ask Mark Pope because I'm not in Oxford, because I'm doing things like this show, but I am being critical. And to some people, I'm being way too critical. Of course you can, but that's just not fair to say. No one's being critical.

[Matt Jones]

And you're 100% right, if that is what I was saying. But let me respond because I have written down the first thing you started your show on was you. You told the fan base that you believe that 50% of the reason that we are bad at defense is because of athleticism. And you're so.

[Billy Rutledge]

You're.

[Matt Jones]

You're telling me right now that's how you started the show, Matt.

[Billy Rutledge]

But I believe that that's not. That's. I believe that. Oh, no. Jackson Robinson is not. Hang on. Jackson Robinson is not a great athlete. He's a. He's good. He's a good athlete. But Kobe Braya, Ansley Almanor, Travis Perry, Trent, Noah, Brandon. Brandon Garrison should be a good athlete. He's Just not a good defender. Okay, but. But that doesn't mean they're great athletes. I mean, Jimmy. I'm not the only one said this. Jimmy Dyke said during the game, we have an athletic disadvantage at almost every position without Butler. And I agree with that. Amari's really the only one is more.

[Matt Jones]

Athletic than we are.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yes, of course.

[Matt Jones]

We believe that they.

[Billy Rutledge]

Of course.

[Matt Jones]

Well, that's. That's. That I do not agree with. But, hey, we're allowed. We're allowed to disagree.

[Billy Rutledge]

I'll get offline. How do you explain them beating us off the dribble play after play? If we're. If you're. If. By the way, saying they're not good athletes is not an excuse. It's a. Just a reality.

[Matt Jones]

But that's what it is.

[Billy Rutledge]

No, it's not. Because he recruited them. And if he's going to have a team of guys that are athletes. But that's. But that's different than saying they're not an athlete does not mean that you are absolving the thing. He recruited the team. He has to. He has to create a defense around what he has, and right now, it's not happening.

[Matt Jones]

You're right, but that.

[Billy Rutledge]

But I can't just say these are great athletes when some of them can barely dunk.

[Matt Jones]

Okay, I think that's a stretch. And. But I will say I agree with you. You know, I'm not. I just say that's how you started the show. And the show should have started with, hey, let's be real here. Like, the last four games, some of the coaching decisions and just pure coaching has just been astronomically bad.

[Billy Rutledge]

Give me an example of what you mean. I can't make him come on the show.

[Matt Jones]

You're right. You're right. And I wish he would. You're right. That's right. That's 100.

[Billy Rutledge]

Right.

[Matt Jones]

You're right. But I would say I do know that you guys have the biggest. You know, y'all have the. You have a bigger spectrum than you know. That's because you've earned that. This show deserves it, and it's awesome. So I just wish, you know, I was at the Arkansas game and I left, and I remember me and my dad were talking, and he never gets critical, and I was like, man, why can't they act like I'm at the game and I watch Brea and Amar and. And then come in to check in in a TV timeout, and the entire fan base went up in cheers because they were like, finally, thank you. Put these players back in the gate.

[Billy Rutledge]

Can we play our starting. I appreciate the call. I. I get it. I was. I mean, I. I'm not exactly sure what your first call is about me and what we're saying or we're not. We were very critical of the decision to play Chandler and those guys as much as they did the last game. But if objectively, the reason we can't play defense man to man is that our guys are not good defenders. But that's not an excuse to give up 98 points. I mean, again, athlete is 50% of it. But did we, Billy, have better athletes than St. Peter's in Oakland? Yes. Yes. And we lost. You know why? Because our athletes didn't play well and they out schemed us. Mark Pope has. Has. And I'm not even being hugely critical of him. He. I think he got the team he could get considering everything happened. But we have to create a defense for this team. And if we put Kobe Braya on an island with a guy that's 511 and fast, he is going to give up basket after basket. And that's what happened a lot of the game. So, you know, maybe it's play zone, but they went zone and they gave up a wide open quarter three. And I love Andrew Carr, but he was playing zone with the back to the guy in the corner. That ain't going to work. So I don't know who's next.

[Matt Jones]

Phew, what a start. Let's. Let's switch gears a little bit. Go. Glow girl is next.

[Billy Rutledge]

Glow girl. I will say this, by the way, his point though, about how you can love a coach or like a coach and still be critical of them. I agree with that. That was my frustration with some of our fan base during the end of the Cal era is like you couldn't criticize it or you were like, didn't support the team. You can be critical of Pope and still think he's the guy for the job. That is totally fair. Go ahead. Glow guys.

[Matt Jones]

That.

[Billy Rutledge]

Would you.

[Matt Jones]

Glow girl. Glow girl. Glow girl. Okay, I just. I was at the game and first of all, I disagree with Jack Pilgrim acting like the atmosphere was substandard or whatever word he used because it was packed. The lower bow, it was so loud by ears were ringing by the time I left. They played music the whole time. Their student athlete, their student section goes three ways around the arena. And some seats were empty in the upper level, but the lower level was full. They were loud. They were festive. It was a beautiful new arena. And the other thing I want to Say is they. When you. We can't shoot threes when they're constantly taking us out of the position, like they were guarding so well that we can't just lob up a bunch of threes when they're not open.

[Billy Rutledge]

Well, you can however you can. And we did this in the second half. You can create hard backdoor cuts, which leads to drives to the basket, which when they then cut off the drive, you can kick out the shooters. We did that a lot in the second half and it worked. The first half we did none of that. We had guys try to go one on one. We tried to force it into the post, and a lot of that stuff didn't work.

[Matt Jones]

Uhhuh. Right.

[Billy Rutledge]

We missed a bunch of layups. We missed like seven or eight layups that.

[Matt Jones]

Well, that's so frustrating. That was last year too. But that's the most frustrating that those layups, they miss and those hook shots, they miss, but they tried. I mean, but when you say, well, and I look on Twitter and it makes me sad because everyone's saying they aren't trying, they aren't trying. They looked like they were gave a lot more in the second half, but even in the first half, they're doing what they can do. You know, they work hard. And I go to all the home games and I've gone to some of the away games, so I do hate to hear the criticism that they're not trying hard. Maybe they just can't help it, like you say, because I've called, you talked about.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yeah, I, I think they try. There's a difference between trying. I, I, it's hard to articulate. I think they try. It's not like I think these dudes are like quitters. There's a difference between trying, though. And let me give you an example. This was one play. Probably nobody remembers it. There's a play towards the end of the first half, there was a loose ball. It got knocked. It was right at the top of the key on our offensive end, Jackson Robinson, who I love. And if, who, if we didn't have Jackson Robinson, we might not win another game this year. So this is. He's, he might be my favorite player on the team. So this is not a. Not saying anything bad about him, but he, There was a loose ball and he reached for it, and you could almost see he could either put his shoulder down and go grab it or he could reach for it. He reached. Old miss guy came and grabbed. Old miss guy got it. Layup. If Robinson does that, he gets it. He stopped. It was like he saw contact and he said, I'm stopping before this contact. And contact got the ball because Ole Miss did it. I think our guys do that a lot. It's like they shy from that final moment of aggression. That will go get you the ball and I think that hurts us a lot.

[Matt Jones]

Okay. Okay. Well, thank you very much.

[Billy Rutledge]

All right, thank you. I mean, I, you know, we, you have to play as, as Pope, I think said in a game earlier this year, like your hair is on fire. Go back and watch how Arkansas played Saturday night. That's what they did. They play and which is crazy because oftentimes I didn't, I thought cows teams didn't do that at Kentucky. This team was playing like that earlier in the year and in the first half now I thought in the second half we did do it, but we were down too much. But in the first half we just, we didn't do it. And then you throw in. You know, I think away missed three shots at the rim. I don't know what the garrison back to the basket hook shots are. I mean, those aren't going to go in ever. I mean, I, I, I, we did that on three of four plays in a row. I, I, I didn't.

[Matt Jones]

There's a 10 second call in the first half.

[Billy Rutledge]

It was, yeah, walked it up the court, walked it in. I mean, Chandler picked the ball up into a trap. It's like, what? All right, what's next?

[Matt Jones]

Taylor?

[Billy Rutledge]

Taylor. Go ahead, Taylor.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, Matt. I'm struggling with two words tonight and those are expectations and perception. My or obviously our expectations are Final Fours championships. Certainly not being down by 23 at half in the SEC. My perception is colored a little bit by the fact that the last time we had a new head coach, it was John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And now I'm, I'm looking at the schedule a little bit and Frankly I see 18, 19 wins. 20 maybe.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And so I'm kind of.

[Billy Rutledge]

But a much, much tougher. Much tougher.

[Matt Jones]

You're exactly right.

[Billy Rutledge]

Much tougher.

[Matt Jones]

Exactly right.

[Billy Rutledge]

I went back before the, before the Arkansas game. I watched that clip. I think we've talked about it. That was an hour and 20 minutes of one score from every UK game that we won during the Cal era. And one of the things that struck me is how bad the SEC was during some of those years. Like we were beaten teams by a million. It's a much tougher SEC if this, if, if we were in the ACC right now. We'd have gimme games. There just aren't many gimme games in this league right now.

[Matt Jones]

No, and I agree with that. But. But that our present is the reality. And so I kind of wonder with the expectation being what it is, how do we view this team if. If in fact what plays out looks like it's going to with, you know, 18, 19, 20 wins, you're looking at a 7, 8, 9 seed. And then you don't know what happens.

[Billy Rutledge]

I think it depends on what happens in March, right? I mean, so let's say, let's say we win night. Let's say we win 19 and we're 19 and 12, we go down the SEC tournament. Let's say we win two games, which in some years would have gotten us to the finals, but this year might only get us to Friday, right? And then, so we go in the tournament with 21 wins. Say we're with that record of eight seed, we win that game and then we play Iowa State in the second round. The reality is how that Iowa State going game goes, my friend, is probably how we look at the year, right?

[Matt Jones]

I mean, would you agree it is, it is an Anthony Davis and Julius Randall and the Harrison twins aren't coming, I guess.

[Billy Rutledge]

No, they're not. They're not. But remember about the Julius Randall, remember about the Julius Randle year, awesome year. If James Young misses that three, we lose in the second round. And then how do we look at the year?

[Matt Jones]

I was there. We looked terrible. I was there, but it was awesome.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yeah, and that's, that's really to some extent, when you're not dominant, how you look at the year is going to be like what do you remember of the Jamal Murray, Tyler Ulis year losing to Indiana? And you remember losing to Indiana, right? Like that's what you remember, you know, I mean that's kind of how these things go is that, you know, and I'm as guilty as anybody, the St. Peter's year, we were a two seat. We were good. But what we gonna remember St. Peter's you know, so I mean on to some, some respects and I appreciate the call. Unless your team is dominant, like the John Wall team or like the 2015 team or even like the 2017 team, you're inevitably going to look through the lens of how it ended as to how you judge it. I thought this team had a chance to go 25 and 6 and even if we got upset in the tournament, people say, wow, that was still a heck of a year, man, that was fun. Well, I don't know if people will look at it like that if we're 19 and 12. So then it's just going to be what we do in March. And I don't think it has any judgment on what's going to happen for Pope in the future because it, he had a month to build this roster and unlike Cal, he didn't have four five star guys already committed to him at another school. But yeah, it's, it's different because I think in large part because the Butler injury, we just changed the way things are going. Let's do one more. We'll take a break.

[Matt Jones]

Who's Nathan?

[Billy Rutledge]

Nathan, Go ahead, Nathan.

[Matt Jones]

I'm at longtime listener, first time caller who.

[Billy Rutledge]

What's up?

[Matt Jones]

So I was at a game tonight and I want to say I really like the effort that we gave the second half. I think starting out and they could have just dropped the bomb and kind of given up. Saw a lot of, a lot of strength in those backdoor cuts. Like you were saying. I think there's hope there. But it's been. Seemed to be a trend the past few games that when teams are pressing us super high on the court and we can't get those threes off, especially in the first half, it takes us super long to adjust. I just don't know what we should. What needs to be done about that.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yeah, I don't either. I mean, I, I, you know, there's probably a part of it and I appreciate the call that when. What did Ole Miss shoot in the first half, Billy? 65%. I mean, a lot of that's because we helped them. But you know, they hit, when they hit threes like that, we're probably going to lose either way. But it was just, I think, I think what was frustrating to me about the first half is that we were down 23. It felt like we were never in it. We were down 23. And in some ways, Billy, I feel like we were lucky to be down 23. But you know, like zero turnovers in the first half. An Ole Miss one in the game.

[Matt Jones]

That's unacceptable.

[Billy Rutledge]

That's, that's crazy. It's, it's, and some of it's a lot of it's them, but some of it was us and we were just bad. And you know, I do, I, like Mark Pope said, there are no moral victories at Kentucky. There aren't. That was unacceptable. If it's the biggest halftime deficit since 2013, that's bad. We'll take a break and be right back. It's a local toy Dealers KSR Postgame Show. Welcome back. It is the local Toy Dealers KSR Postgame Show. I haven't had a Snickers in a long time, Billy. And I just ate the first bite. That was really good.

[Matt Jones]

You're not yourself when you're hungry.

[Billy Rutledge]

You know, I can't eat these because then I'll get big again because those are really good.

[Matt Jones]

You got discipline. You can have a Snickers every now and then, right?

[Billy Rutledge]

I don't know, man.

[Matt Jones]

Clusters.

[Billy Rutledge]

Like, it's a. Yeah, but I'm down. Like, that's not true. Not anymore. I eat like. I, like, literally don't eat more than, like, six a day. Like, I mean, like, six clusters, not six bags.

[Matt Jones]

I was gonna say bags.

[Billy Rutledge]

Like, six clusters. I mean, I've lost. You don't give me any crap. Lost a lot of weight. No, I'll give you a lot of credit.

[Matt Jones]

You have lost a lot of weight.

[Billy Rutledge]

And that's why I believe in you. That's why I can't eat these because they're too good. I'm only doing it for myself tonight because I. Because, you know, people are saying there's no way I'm gonna be able to do the show on Thursday. I'm doing it. I'm just not doing it at the bar. Well, you know, the bathroom's not really close here, either. All right.

[Matt Jones]

You gotta run through multiple doors, down a hallway.

[Billy Rutledge]

I'll make it work. Don't you worry about me. Who's up next?

[Matt Jones]

Okay. Skyler is next.

[Billy Rutledge]

Skyler. Go ahead, Skyler.

[Matt Jones]

Billy, Stop body shaming. Matt Jones. On the. On the.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yeah, no kidding. Like, I. You can't. I. I had my physical last week, and I was 23 pounds less than the last time I was in there. And that's still not a good enough for Billy. Think about him. But go ahead, Billy.

[Matt Jones]

Come on. Hey, a couple things, guys. First, I'm still. I'm still mad at Reed Shepherd. I'm still hurt, but he did a big. He had a big night tonight. 16 points, seven rebounds for this.

[Billy Rutledge]

Reed shepherd did well. Good for him. He still shouldn't have worn that shirt. Still shouldn't have worn the shirt.

[Matt Jones]

Absolutely. Hey, I'm curious what your thoughts are on what you think Mark Pope's mindset is right now. This is kind of tough. The honeymoon has kind of worn. Worn off.

[Billy Rutledge]

He knows. And the thing is, he knows this is what's tough. This is what's got to be tough for. For Mark. Mark knows so much about this that he can't like dilute himself, you know, like if you're been to karaoke and you hear some woman or man get up there and sing and can't sing, but they believe they can sing, in their mind they're killing it, but they're not. Sometimes I envy those people. It's like it doesn't matter. They still feel like they're killing it. Mark knows, Mark knows because like he's, he knows how we feel. He's not listening to this show, but he knows what these calls are and that's got to make it tough.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I think the loss to Cal personally for him probably had to be really difficult because I think that's a big kind of monkey on, on his back that he has to get off almost for his own confidence. And I don't know, but I'm just, I'm projecting that and I think that that likely is really difficult for both Mark Pope and honestly John Caliperi. Because John Caliper is going to be continue to be hated by the fan base because, because he won honestly.

[Billy Rutledge]

For honestly. It's weird. It's weird. If, if Mark had won, I think things would have been better at least with the Kentucky fan base for both of them. You know what I mean? Now it wouldn't have, I mean Cal still wanted to win and it's better for the Arkansas fan base anyway. One, but for the Kentucky fan base. I think if Pope had won, both of them would have been better off. But that's the way it goes.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. And to speak, to speak to the expectations too that the last caller talked about about, you know, Caliper's first team had John Wall and all that stuff. I, I do not miss John Caliperi for a minute. I appreciate the honesty, the in depth analysis from our coach now, the care. He gets it. I know he's feeling the pressure right now. He should feel the pressure. But I, I, I'm just eager to see now how like this is kind of when a coach is made right, when you kind of get, everybody has a plan until you get punched in the face. And so he's lost two point guards and so now, now what is this going to look like for him? I'm kind of, I'm kind of excited to see honestly which way it goes. I'm worried, I'm kind of worried right now that it could go south.

[Billy Rutledge]

But that's a great, I mean, and I appreciate the call. Mark Story wrote in the Herald Leader that you don't become the Kentucky coach until your adversity, if that's true. Then here it is. Right? Here it is. I do think when I'm comparing Pope, though, I don't think it's fair to compare him to the first year of Cal. Cal just took the team he was going to have at Memphis, which was already full of five stars, and brought him here. Then he added Patrick Patterson, who I was pretty good, right? Darius Miller. This is a different situation. Pope didn't recruit five stars to byu, and he only was able to bring one guy from his team last year. Now, the portal makes it easier in some ways than what Cal had to do, but he didn't get to say, hey, John Wall, DeMarcus cousins, we're just moving to a different location. He did do that at Arkansas. So I think it would be fair, actually, to compare his first year at Kentucky with his first year at Arkansas. But for Pope, this is a lot more like Rick's first year. In some ways, he's having to start over. And in some ways, he's done amazingly well. But we've now had some clunkers, too, and that's weird. That's a weird dichotomy. Who's next? Donnie. Donnie. Go ahead, Donnie.

[Matt Jones]

Hey. I'm sitting beside the road up in my hollering pipa passes. And when I get home, Matt, I'm going to have two hot dogs and I'm going to have a cake.

[Billy Rutledge]

Okay?

[Matt Jones]

And why.

[Billy Rutledge]

But anyway, why two hot dogs?

[Matt Jones]

Well, it's in your honor, I think. What? You're trying to lose weight and I'm not trying.

[Billy Rutledge]

Just see. Billy, why did you lose my we part of this conversation? Like, by the way, like, what. What is that about, Billy?

[Matt Jones]

I don't remember. I don't remember bringing that up. I think you did.

[Billy Rutledge]

I think you're trying to lose weight. I have a colonoscopy Thursday. This is the reason I'm not eating. I have to. I have Thursday. This is not about, like, a weight loss routine. I don't get to eat tomorrow because I have to do the colonoscopy prep.

[Matt Jones]

My deepest apologies, but I'll still have the hot dogs.

[Billy Rutledge]

Okay, you have one nevertheless.

[Matt Jones]

Listen, this is so simple. My gosh, you are playing in the most athletic conference probably in the world other than the NBA. I mean, these teams, listen, they can their athletes, but they're athletes who are ball players. They can jump, they can shoot. They have the first step on you. They will get the loose ball. They will get the rebound. Mighty Kentucky comes to town. They are hungry. That is why this Kentucky team is in the position that it's in. Make no mistake if you don't. If you know basketball, you know these. This league is all about athletes. Every team, they will kick your butt. They're good. They can shoot, they can run, they can dunk. They can do it all. They're not only athletes, they are basketball players. Now, that being said, I wish you would comment on that. And here's my question. We don't have a point guard right now. Yeah, Robinson is very uncomfortable with the ball. I think a rather two guard away. He is. He is good off of a pass. I don't think he can. He doesn't have that.

[Billy Rutledge]

He's not. He's not a huge. Yeah, he's not a huge offensive talent. So it makes it hard for, like, Jackson Robinson, create his own shot. But you're right. He doesn't want to be. He. He's not. He doesn't look 100% comfortable as a point guard.

[Matt Jones]

Okay. Okay. Here's my question to you. Here's my question to you. I don't think we have a point guard right now, and you know more about this than I do. You know, I'm very tempted to throw Perry out there and live.

[Billy Rutledge]

He played all right. He played all right tonight. I appreciate the call. He played all right tonight and he was aggressive. But the. But he was also playing against a dude that was closer to his height. You know, he. He did not fare as well against the Arkansas guards for the couple minutes he played then. Yes, Perry, I think there are games that can work. I actually thought he played pretty well in the minutes he played in the first half. To your point, on the athletes, we are the most unathletic team in the. In the sec. We just are. We just are. Now, I think we are more skilled than all but a couple of the teams, but we are the most unathletic team, and we're not used to that because in the Cal years, we were either the most athletic team or like the second most athletic team every year. Well, now it's the exact opposite. And so, you know, long term, we'll have to see. Can you win in the sec? Because the thing about the SEC is even when the guys weren't talented, they were always great athletes. The SEC's had great athletes my entire life. The talents come and gone, but the athleticism's always been there. Pope tends to not recruit like that. How's that going to work? We'll see next year. He's already got better athletes coming in than we have this year. But we'll see. But this year it is what it is. Like you know how many dudes on this team, Billy, are as athletic. Think about last year's Kentucky team. Rob Dillingham, Reed Shepherd, Justin Edwards, D.J. wagner, Aaron Bradshaw. Think about those guys. Antonio Reeves was a good. Antonio Reeves might be the best athlete on the team if he was on the team this year and he was the worst athlete last year. Year. You know what I mean? Like it's just a different team. And so we have to. That's why we have to make shots. That's why we have to out scheme people because we're not going to out athlete people.

[Matt Jones]

I mean they could use a Trey Mitchell too.

[Billy Rutledge]

I mean, I mean Antonio Reeves was probably like the 8th best athlete on the team last year and he might be the best athlete on this team except maybe away. So it's just different. And so it's like we, and for us Kentucky fans, we Kentucky fans, we've just not seen a team like this here. It's fun when it's rolling. Think about the Duke game and the Florida game and all that, the Gonzaga game. But tonight it was tough to watch. 859280, 2287 we will take a break and be right back for the final segments. The Local Toy Dealers KSR Postgame Show. Welcome back. Final segment. It is Local Toy Dealers KSR Postgame Show. 859-280-2287. Thank you all for listening and calling in. We got five people on. Let's do them and then we'll get ready for tomorrow and hope we can forget about this game. This won't be one that will stick in the memory banks, at least for me. What's next?

[Matt Jones]

Jonathan.

[Billy Rutledge]

Jonathan. Although it was history, actually, I say we won't remember. We probably will, Billy, because. Yeah, yeah. I mean because the triple double and then a rare 28. What do they call it? Trillion. Basically. Ansley Almanor and Trent Noah both played more than 10 minutes. Ansley Almanor, 15 minutes. Trent Noah, 13 minutes. Neither one of them had a stat.

[Matt Jones]

Not a single one.

[Billy Rutledge]

All zeros. That's amazing. Just for perspective, the last Kentucky player to play more than seven minutes and have all zeros was Perry Stevenson in 2009 played nine minutes. So we had two guys tonight have all zero for stats with more minutes than Perry Stevenson. First time that's happened in 20 years and it happened twice in one game. That's wild.

[Matt Jones]

All right, go ahead, Jonathan.

[Billy Rutledge]

Jonathan. Go ahead, Jonathan.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, Matt, quick couple questions here. You were talking about Seating earlier and even after the Arkansas lost, ESPN's Joe Linardi, he has us still as a three seed today. And then also just, you know, just, you know, curious as to, you know, I'm curious in the fact that won't the committee evaluate Kentucky's resume differently with Lamont Butler being out several.

[Billy Rutledge]

The first question is, yes, you're right about that.

[Matt Jones]

That.

[Billy Rutledge]

And that's why, I mean, normally if you went, say, 19 and 12, you would not be a seven seed. You'd be in like the first four. But the reason we would be, I think, is because of how good the SEC is and how good our resume is with Lamont Butler. Here's what they'll do. Because I've been on this mock committee. They will look at our record and if our record with Lamont Butler is significantly different than without him and he's playing, then, yes, they will consider it. If, however, he comes back and we go like 2 and 2, then it probably won't make that much difference. Does that make sense? So if they can look at a gap on our record and go, well, they were one in eight when he was gone, but the rest of the time they were this, then yes, they will consider that it might move us up like one seed line.

[Matt Jones]

I understand that. And my, you know, it'll be interesting to see. I think next Saturday is when the committee does their top 16 seeds that they reveal. So that means we have South Carolina and Tennessee, but the two games before that. So we'll. We'll see what they think of us and hopefully we can pull these next two off.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yeah. So if we want to. Yeah. If we won the next two, I bet we would be on that list if we didn't the South Carolina game. Here's what's going to happen. Even if we win, it's going to hurt us because it's going to bring our strength of schedule down.

[Matt Jones]

Down.

[Billy Rutledge]

Because that's the only team in the SEC that's not a. What? Quad, whatever. Right. So in some ways, even beating them doesn't help you. But if we could beat Tennessee, then you're. Then you're probably right.

[Matt Jones]

Just hope we get in the tournament. I think if we get in the tournament, I don't want us to blow all those good wins away where we could have had a good season, a real good chance to make a good run.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yeah, I agree. I appreciate the call. Four more. Who's next?

[Matt Jones]

Steve.

[Billy Rutledge]

Steve. Go ahead, Steve.

[Matt Jones]

Hi, Matt. How are you tonight?

[Billy Rutledge]

Good.

[Matt Jones]

The real problem tonight, let's get to it. You know, I know the defense isn't good. We only had one steal. That was Jackson, Robinson. We only had one block. That was Travis Perry, of all people.

[Billy Rutledge]

Is that right? Wow. Is that right? We only have one block. It was Travis Perry. I didn't realize that.

[Matt Jones]

Yes, yes. But you said yourself these guys are getting older and defensively we shouldn't expect them to get much better. And they're not going to. The real problem is our offense. Amari Williams is awesome, but 10assist says a lot about how good he is, but also just how much he's, you know, handling the ball.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

And. And we need a point guard. We need Butler back healthy, and we need Car back healthy so that Ansley Almanor and Kobe Brayer can return back to their normal positions and coming off the bench. And our offense flows better that way.

[Billy Rutledge]

I agree with that.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. Even when Florida scores over 100 on us, when we score more than them, we win. So we can't really expect our defense to get much better. We really need our offense to get sorted out.

[Billy Rutledge]

Totally agree with that completely. I appreciate the call. I mean, the thing is, one thing that's clear is until Butler was hurt, our offense was pretty good even when we lost. That really hasn't been the case the whole time since he's been gone. And hopefully, hopefully that changes if he returns, which we really need him to. Who's next?

[Matt Jones]

Todd.

[Billy Rutledge]

Todd. Go ahead, Todd. Hello, Matt.

[Matt Jones]

Like he was talking about earlier, Pope.

[Billy Rutledge]

Has got a use what he has.

[Matt Jones]

And it is amazing he was able to put together a team even this good and when the short time he had. But I was wanting to touch on what you said too tonight about how the team seemed to get better the second half. You know, it looks to me like we should have made those changes in the first half. Surely, you know, to wait till halftime. You know, soon as you see what's.

[Billy Rutledge]

Happening, it looks like you need to make a right then because it seemed.

[Matt Jones]

To me when we kind of doing.

[Billy Rutledge]

That against Tennessee, we were. I'm sure Pope wanted to do it. The guys just weren't executing it. And then I think this team really has a tendency. I. I think Pope is. Is one or two plays short on calling timeouts sometimes. Jack Givens mentioned that on the post game. Mark may just have to say I'm going to take a timeout one play quicker than I'm used to because they we've given up 8, 0100 runs very quickly now in multiple games in a row.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah. And if I have figured correctly and you might could have Billy to look it up too. The way I figured, we're averaging, giving up 78 points a game.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yeah, you may be right. I don't know.

[Matt Jones]

I actually thought it might be more than that, but when I figured it up, he's like 77.7.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yeah, that's still a lot, though. I mean, that's a lot. And in SEC play, it's more than that, I bet. I mean, so. Yeah, that's a lot. And it's going to. You know, for us to win like that, our offense has to be pretty flawless, and that hasn't. Hadn't been the case yet. Appreciate it. Todd, two more. Who's next?

[Matt Jones]

Todd number two.

[Billy Rutledge]

Todd number two, what's up?

[Matt Jones]

Hey, man, appreciate you taking my call. A couple points. First thing I know we're down two point guards, but somebody on that team has got to light a fire under these guys to get them more intense on defense. We're so kind of lackadaisical that it seems like the other team gets in a flow and it's just like we have no defensive answer for that.

[Billy Rutledge]

We had no answer for him in the first half. I mean, when they went zone, what. What. What scared me about when they go at zone is how lost we looked on. So like, yeah, no communication at all. That possession when they played zone, if you go back and look, that was a horrible defensive possession. I mean, I don't know that any of the dudes knew where they were supposed to be and when they got. That's why he didn't play it anymore is I think they would have scored a thousand if we stayed in zone because those. Right from the beginning, all four, five of them were looking at each other like, where are we supposed to be? It was. That was not going to go well.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, there. There was no communication at all. Carr and I think Robinson were like on the same man. And then the guy that hit 63 just standing on the corner wide open. I'm like, God, somebody's got to be like, go, go, get. You know, I've got him. Roll back or something. But second point offense, I know people are pressuring up on us and we're starting the offense like 30ft from the goal. I get that to a degree, but the dribble handoff is killing us. We're getting nothing out of that.

[Billy Rutledge]

No, we're not.

[Matt Jones]

And then we wait to backdoor people when we're down 27. I mean, we should be doing that within the first five minutes. There's no screens away from the ball to free up the guys that can't create their own shot.

[Billy Rutledge]

Yeah, well, so Bray can't get separation, right? No, neither can Carr. Neither can all manure. So the only two guys that can get any separation are Away and Robinson. So they're really the only ones that can come off that screen and get any downhill momentum. And the problem is that Robinson, apparently that dude that was guarding Robinson is like one of the best defenders in the league. And so really, now you're to away. And if you'll notice, in the first half, oh, we owe got the ball downhill towards the rim, but he. How many times did he miss the finish? So again, like, yeah, we just couldn't get anything to work.

[Matt Jones]

Yeah, I'd like to see him go downhill and then slide Berea off the wing to the corner and have someone set him a screen like. Like kind of a backdoor screen to make free him open or something. Because we've just got to find an open look versus a contested look. And good luck Thursday, by the way.

[Billy Rutledge]

Thank you very much. All right, so tomorrow I will be at KS Bar and Thursday I'll have Billy in charge of keeping the door open in between the studio and. And everything. That'll be something.

[Matt Jones]

There's no doubt about that.

[Billy Rutledge]

Thank you all very much for staying up. Tough loss. Next thing, you just got to beat South Carolina Saturday. South Carolina Saturday is a must, must win. We will see you guys later. Cats go down 98 to 84. This has been the local Toyota dealers KSR post game show.