[Old School Hound]

I don't think the Cats defense(what little they have) is good enough to win a title...any title.

[Bluecat]

This was exactly the game I thought we would see. I hate that we lost but I'm not mad. Bama and UK put on a show today.

[Old School Hound]

Cal's team that lost to Oakland decimated this Bama team last season. What would you be saying if a Cal-led UK team had lost to Bama today ? Not saying Pope did anything wrong, just saying that Cal beat this Bama bunch by 40 billion points with a worse team than what Pope has.

When have we, as UK fans, changed from being mad after any home loss to being "okay with" just "hanging with" Alabama at Rupp Arena. I am a littl e bummed that we couldn't play just some assemblance of defense to get this win over a team Ole Miss held to 64 points.

[Old School Hound]

I think this KY team is good enough offensively to win a couple(or maybe three) tournament games but too awful defensively to win a title. Last year's team couldn't defend either. Hence, an opening round loss to the Oakland Raiders.

[Old School Hound]

From an online poster:

"If you have the athletes to consistently score over 90 pts, then they have the ability to at least play a little better defensively.

Very underwhelmed with Pope's ability to get this team to play any defense. How many times do we have to watch out guys go under screens and give up wide open threes? That has absolutely nothing to do with athleticism, at all.

No reason UK shouldn't be better. Cal had no excuses last yr, Pope has none this year. Very alarming, to be honest."




There have been five games in UK history where the Cats have given up 100 points in a home SEC game. Two of those have been this season, and we are only five games into the SEC campaign. Better defense...PLEASE!!!

[Old School Hound]

Cats go to Knoxville in ten days. That will be fun. Gotta win home games in this league.

[Old School Hound]

Online post from a Harlan County Big Blue fan:

"Have to play much better defense. Losing scoring 97 points at home is not acceptable Coach Pope.

Given up a 100 points twice at home this year. This has to be addressed. Tourney run will not happen imo if it's not changed."

[Cactus Jack]

Alabama beats almost anyone when they play at the level they played at today.

[plantmanky]

Cant put a streak of wins together. No defense (then again anymore basketball teams dont play defense anymore, even in HS ranks)

[rookie57]

Alabama beats almost anyone when they play at the level they played at today.

Absolutely

[Granny Bear]

Well Vandy beat Tennessee, so I feel a bit better.

[jetpilot]

Cal's team that lost to Oakland decimated this Bama team last season. What would you be saying if a Cal-led UK team had lost to Bama today ? Not saying Pope did anything wrong, just saying that Cal beat this Bama bunch by 40 billion points with a worse team than what Pope has.

When have we, as UK fans, changed from being mad after any home loss to being "okay with" just "hanging with" Alabama at Rupp Arena. I am a littl e bummed that we couldn't play just some assemblance of defense to get this win over a team Ole Miss held to 64 points.

"that lost to Oakland"
The only fan base that wishes they had their old coach back is Arkansas.
To be clear how Alabama looked last year has ZERO to do with the Alabama we saw today. If anything that loss in addition to stinking it up against Ole Miss last game only motivated them and made them more dangerous. They are insanely talented, as beings ranked #4 in the country indicates. And they played like it today.

[jetpilot]

Alabama played an almost perfect game. They beat anyone playing like they did today. Love it the UK matched their intensity. Those two teams put on a show today. Two loose balls created by Cats D that went right to Alabama and immediately resulted in 3's late in the game didn't help matters.
Great things ahead for this program.

[rookie57]

Alabama played an almost perfect game. They beat anyone playing like they did today. Love it the UK matched their intensity. Those two teams put on a show today. Two loose balls created by Cats D that went right to Alabama and immediately resulted in 3's late in the game didn't help matters.
Great things ahead for this program.

I agree, no reason at all to feel negative about this game, can we improve, absolutely. But we matched their physicality and their abilities, just came up a couple plays short

[Granny Bear]

Cal's team that lost to Oakland decimated this Bama team last season. What would you be saying if a Cal-led UK team had lost to Bama today ? Not saying Pope did anything wrong, just saying that Cal beat this Bama bunch by 40 billion points with a worse team than what Pope has.

When have we, as UK fans, changed from being mad after any home loss to being "okay with" just "hanging with" Alabama at Rupp Arena. I am a littl e bummed that we couldn't play just some assemblance of defense to get this win over a team Ole Miss held to 64 points.

Has absolutely NOTHING to do with this game, or these teams.

I think this KY team is good enough offensively to win a couple(or maybe three) tournament games but too awful defensively to win a title. Last year's team couldn't defend either. Hence, an opening round loss to the Oakland Raiders.

Another empty projection.  You are so negative!!

Cats go to Knoxville in ten days. That will be fun. Gotta win home games in this league.

Vols may be hungry.  Vandy just handed them their ass.

Alabama played an almost perfect game. They beat anyone playing like they did today. Love it the UK matched their intensity. Those two teams put on a show today. Two loose balls created by Cats D that went right to Alabama and immediately resulted in 3's late in the game didn't help matters.
Great things ahead for this program.

I agree, no reason at all to feel negative about this game, can we improve, absolutely. But we matched their physicality and their abilities, just came up a couple plays short

EXACTLY!!

Tennessee lost today, Arkansas is currently down 17 to Missouri. Georgia came awfully close to taking Auburn down.
We are not going to win every game.  But more importantly we have a coach that sees what's wrong and is making strides in teaching our kids how to be better.  This is a brand new team, still learning and still gelling as a team.  Give Pope half the chances you gave Cal.
OSH, even if Kentucky won every game, I believe you would still find something to bitch about.

[King Kong]

Exciting game,  Congrats to Bama on the win. 

I agree with many coaches and TV analysts when they say UK has a final 4 offense.  For the most part we do.  I agree with some on here about our defense.  How far can we go with our defense like this? You know,  we score in the 90s and our opponent lands over 100. The same can be said about the defense of several sec schools,  including Alabama. 

Don't get me wrong, this was a action packed game,  I love these types of games and our team.  I still think we have the potential to go places this year. I believe Pope and the staff will continue to work on this.  Plus no one in the SEC is going to be close to perfect this year. 

On to the next one.

[Old School Hound]

Alabama beats almost anyone when they play at the level they played at today.

And KY wins two tournament games and then bows out with the level of defense they played at today.

If KY sticks the D to Bama like Ole Miss did, KY wins today. I know, I know we can't play D like that that blue blood of a school,  Ole Miss. My, how far we've fallen in our expectations.

[Old School Hound]

Well Vandy beat Tennessee, so I feel a bit better.

If KY loses at Vandy and at Tennessee in the next two games, mark my words, there will be BBN goons calling for Mark Pope's head. Not saying anyone on here will, but it will happen.

[Old School Hound]

Cal's team that lost to Oakland decimated this Bama team last season. What would you be saying if a Cal-led UK team had lost to Bama today ? Not saying Pope did anything wrong, just saying that Cal beat this Bama bunch by 40 billion points with a worse team than what Pope has.

When have we, as UK fans, changed from being mad after any home loss to being "okay with" just "hanging with" Alabama at Rupp Arena. I am a littl e bummed that we couldn't play just some assemblance of defense to get this win over a team Ole Miss held to 64 points.

"that lost to Oakland"
The only fan base that wishes they had their old coach back is Arkansas.
To be clear how Alabama looked last year has ZERO to do with the Alabama we saw today. If anything that loss in addition to stinking it up against Ole Miss last game only motivated them and made them more dangerous. They are insanely talented, as beings ranked #4 in the country indicates. And they played like it today.

Alabama lost to Ole Miss  by 10 at home. Since when do we, as UK BB fans,  apologize for home losses to football schools. I know when...since Calipari left here. Gotta think the ol' ball coach told his roommate, Ellen, "see, they couldn't duplicate what we did to Alabama last season."

You can outscore a team or two in the NCAAT but you're not going to win a title with bad defense. Offense wins games  but defense... oh well, you know how it goes. I think in the KenPom era, Kansas is the only team to win a title with a defensive efficiency rating outside the top ten, and they were something like 17.  Kentucky is currently #86. Forget it , UK fans, we're not winning a title this season. But, I will say this. They are an entertaining offensive team. And all I really care about is being entertained. Titles are nice, but as long as they are fun to watch, I am fine with it. Last year's team with Reed and Company was entertaining, for the most part.

[jetpilot]

Cal's team that lost to Oakland decimated this Bama team last season. What would you be saying if a Cal-led UK team had lost to Bama today ? Not saying Pope did anything wrong, just saying that Cal beat this Bama bunch by 40 billion points with a worse team than what Pope has.

When have we, as UK fans, changed from being mad after any home loss to being "okay with" just "hanging with" Alabama at Rupp Arena. I am a littl e bummed that we couldn't play just some assemblance of defense to get this win over a team Ole Miss held to 64 points.

"that lost to Oakland"
The only fan base that wishes they had their old coach back is Arkansas.
To be clear how Alabama looked last year has ZERO to do with the Alabama we saw today. If anything that loss in addition to stinking it up against Ole Miss last game only motivated them and made them more dangerous. They are insanely talented, as beings ranked #4 in the country indicates. And they played like it today.

Alabama lost to Ole Miss  by 10 at home. Since when do we, as UK BB fans,  apologize for home losses to football schools. I know when...since Calipari left here. Gotta think the ol' ball coach told his roommate, Ellen, "see, they couldn't duplicate what we did to Alabama last season."

You can outscore a team or two in the NCAAT but you're not going to win a title with bad defense. Offense wins games  but defense... oh well, you know how it goes. I think in the KenPom era, Kansas is the only team to win a title with a defensive efficiency rating outside the top ten, and they were something like 17.  Kentucky is currently #86.  Forget it , UK fans, we're not winning a title this season.    But, I will say this. They are an entertaining offensive team. And all I really care about is being entertained. Titles are nice, but as long as they are fun to watch, I am fine with it. Last year's team with Reed and Company was entertaining, for the most part.

Your silly arguments wouldn't sway an 8 year-old of average intelligence. 
Doubling down on the Cal excuses by you was as predictable as it getting dark tonight and light tomorrow morning. Cal now 0-5 in the SEC and Arkansas fans know they got snookered. Nobody wants Cal, period.

Everyone who has ever watched a basketball game knows Alabama is 100x better than they looked against Ole Miss and would bounce back. 
That's what excellent teams do and that's what they did. There is a reason they are ranked 4th in the country. Bringing up last year's game or the Ole Miss game to try to argue that Alabama is bad is just plain ignorant and pretty much everyone on here and elsewhere gets it. And Alabama has won 4 SEC basketball championships since Cal last won one so the football school talk is gibberish. Only you would want Cal back after sucking bad for 5 years and 0-5 this year and be bitching about Pope when he has more Quad 1 wins than anyone coming into today with a complete roster he threw together on short notice and just 1/3 into his first SEC schedule in his first year here. But you never fail to double and triple down when you are obviously wrong, which is pretty much always.

[Wildcat_blue]

Alabama played an almost perfect game. They beat anyone playing like they did today. Love it the UK matched their intensity. Those two teams put on a show today. Two loose balls created by Cats D that went right to Alabama and immediately resulted in 3's late in the game didn't help matters.
Great things ahead for this program.

I’m loving your positivity!! Alabama did what big time teams do, they knocked down shots in a hostile environment and was unfazed!  But, I think we both agree the D needs to get a little better but I have all faith Pope. He will have this team come tournament time ready, like we haven’t seen in a long long time; men and big boy ready not just talent and hope.  Heck this will probably be Popes worst team we see haha. Man let’s be happy and enjoy, he put an unreal roster together on a short amount of time.  I will say as well, can u imagine imagine the SEC tournament this year haha.  Absolutely brutal but gonna be fun

[Cactus Jack]

Alabama lost to Ole Miss  by 10 at home. Since when do we, as UK BB fans,  apologize for home losses to football schools. I know when...since Calipari left here. Gotta think the ol' ball coach told his roommate, Ellen, "see, they couldn't duplicate what we did to Alabama last season."

You can outscore a team or two in the NCAAT but you're not going to win a title with bad defense. Offense wins games  but defense... oh well, you know how it goes. I think in the KenPom era, Kansas is the only team to win a title with a defensive efficiency rating outside the top ten, and they were something like 17.  Kentucky is currently #86. Forget it , UK fans, we're not winning a title this season. But, I will say this. They are an entertaining offensive team. And all I really care about is being entertained. Titles are nice, but as long as they are fun to watch, I am fine with it. Last year's team with Reed and Company was entertaining, for the most part.

I started a thread on what we'd consider as a success this year. I think the team so far has basically exceeded everyone's expectations. I think you can say that we're a really good team without thinking that we're going to win a National Championship. Plenty of teams can even make a Final Four with subpar offensive or defensive numbers.

If we have four to five years of top offenses and defenses that struggle and burn us in March, then it's a different conversation, but we're a long way from that.

Nelson had 19 on us in the first half and finished with 25 if I'm not mistaken. There were a number of times in the past where Nelson would have finished this one with 30+.

[Old School Hound]

Cal's team that lost to Oakland decimated this Bama team last season. What would you be saying if a Cal-led UK team had lost to Bama today ? Not saying Pope did anything wrong, just saying that Cal beat this Bama bunch by 40 billion points with a worse team than what Pope has.

When have we, as UK fans, changed from being mad after any home loss to being "okay with" just "hanging with" Alabama at Rupp Arena. I am a littl e bummed that we couldn't play just some assemblance of defense to get this win over a team Ole Miss held to 64 points.

Has absolutely NOTHING to do with this game, or these teams.

I think this KY team is good enough offensively to win a couple(or maybe three) tournament games but too awful defensively to win a title. Last year's team couldn't defend either. Hence, an opening round loss to the Oakland Raiders.

Another empty projection.  You are so negative!!

Cats go to Knoxville in ten days. That will be fun. Gotta win home games in this league.

Vols may be hungry.  Vandy just handed them their ass.

Alabama played an almost perfect game. They beat anyone playing like they did today. Love it the UK matched their intensity. Those two teams put on a show today. Two loose balls created by Cats D that went right to Alabama and immediately resulted in 3's late in the game didn't help matters.
Great things ahead for this program.

I agree, no reason at all to feel negative about this game, can we improve, absolutely. But we matched their physicality and their abilities, just came up a couple plays short

EXACTLY!!

Tennessee lost today, Arkansas is currently down 17 to Missouri.  Georgia came awfully close to taking Auburn down.
We are not going to win every game.  But more importantly we have a coach that sees what's wrong and is making strides in teaching our kids how to be better.  This is a brand new team, still learning and still gelling as a team.  Give Pope half the chances you gave Cal.
OSH, even if Kentucky won every game, I believe you would still find something to bitch about.

Nah, basketball games don't mean shit to me. It's an entertaining team to watch, which is what matters for me, in the end. Same for the Reds, the Bengals, the Redhounds. I had a blast with the Hounds this season. Yes, I griped about the flag fest in Paducah and the horrible sportsmanship by the Blue F-0's but I had a helluva football season. The Bengals and Reds did not entertain me much. This KY team has been fun to watch. Can't I say that if they even played any defense at all they would win games like today? It's frustrating but, in the end, it doesn't matter one iota. Losses to Vandy and Tennessee in succession will bring out the bad in about 20% of BBN. Some will calling for the head of Pope on a Mormon alter. Not Old School, but the one out of five crazies in the KY fanbase. I think Pope has been fine but let's not act like he has taught defense any better than the Hall of Famer did. His team's defense, outside of Butler , is garbage. Look at the defensive efficiency ratings for proof.

[Old School Hound]

Alabama played an almost perfect game. They beat anyone playing like they did today. Love it the UK matched their intensity. Those two teams put on a show today. Two loose balls created by Cats D that went right to Alabama and immediately resulted in 3's late in the game didn't help matters.
Great things ahead for this program.

Alabama was far from perfect. They played some bad defense, as well. Unless one of these two teams gets their defensive efficiency rating at 20 or better, they ain't winning crap. Watch and see how Bama falters when they face an Ole Miss type defense in the tourney. Defense wins titles. These two can't play a lick of D. Now, some will interpret that as Old School being negative, but it is simply stating the truth.

[Old School Hound]

Cal's team that lost to Oakland decimated this Bama team last season. What would you be saying if a Cal-led UK team had lost to Bama today ? Not saying Pope did anything wrong, just saying that Cal beat this Bama bunch by 40 billion points with a worse team than what Pope has.

When have we, as UK fans, changed from being mad after any home loss to being "okay with" just "hanging with" Alabama at Rupp Arena. I am a littl e bummed that we couldn't play just some assemblance of defense to get this win over a team Ole Miss held to 64 points.

"that lost to Oakland"
The only fan base that wishes they had their old coach back is Arkansas.
To be clear how Alabama looked last year has ZERO to do with the Alabama we saw today. If anything that loss in addition to stinking it up against Ole Miss last game only motivated them and made them more dangerous. They are insanely talented, as beings ranked #4 in the country indicates. And they played like it today.

Alabama lost to Ole Miss  by 10 at home. Since when do we, as UK BB fans,  apologize for home losses to football schools. I know when...since Calipari left here. Gotta think the ol' ball coach told his roommate, Ellen, "see, they couldn't duplicate what we did to Alabama last season."

You can outscore a team or two in the NCAAT but you're not going to win a title with bad defense. Offense wins games  but defense... oh well, you know how it goes. I think in the KenPom era, Kansas is the only team to win a title with a defensive efficiency rating outside the top ten, and they were something like 17.  Kentucky is currently #86.  Forget it , UK fans, we're not winning a title this season.    But, I will say this. They are an entertaining offensive team. And all I really care about is being entertained. Titles are nice, but as long as they are fun to watch, I am fine with it. Last year's team with Reed and Company was entertaining, for the most part.

Your silly arguments wouldn't sway an 8 year-old of average intelligence. 
Doubling down on the Cal excuses by you was as predictable as it getting dark tonight and light tomorrow morning. Cal now 0-5 in the SEC and Arkansas fans know they got snookered. Nobody wants Cal, period.

Everyone who has ever watched a basketball game knows Alabama is 100x better than they looked against Ole Miss and would bounce back. 
That's what excellent teams do and that's what they did. There is a reason they are ranked 4th in the country. Bringing up last year's game or the Ole Miss game to try to argue that Alabama is bad is just plain ignorant and pretty much everyone on here and elsewhere gets it. And Alabama has won 4 SEC basketball championships since Cal last won one so the football school talk is gibberish. Only you would want Cal back after sucking bad for 5 years and 0-5 this year and be bitching about Pope when he has more Quad 1 wins than anyone coming into today with a complete roster he threw together on short notice and just 1/3 into his first SEC schedule in his first year here. But you never fail to double and triple down when you are obviously wrong, which is pretty much always.

Alabama loses to the first good team that D's them up in the Big Tourney. Watch and see. Sad how KY fans have become apologists for losing home basketball games. Not Old School. I expect my team to win home games against football schools. We're Kentucky, not Brigham Young.

[jetpilot]

Cal's team that lost to Oakland decimated this Bama team last season. What would you be saying if a Cal-led UK team had lost to Bama today ? Not saying Pope did anything wrong, just saying that Cal beat this Bama bunch by 40 billion points with a worse team than what Pope has.

When have we, as UK fans, changed from being mad after any home loss to being "okay with" just "hanging with" Alabama at Rupp Arena. I am a littl e bummed that we couldn't play just some assemblance of defense to get this win over a team Ole Miss held to 64 points.

"that lost to Oakland"
The only fan base that wishes they had their old coach back is Arkansas.
To be clear how Alabama looked last year has ZERO to do with the Alabama we saw today. If anything that loss in addition to stinking it up against Ole Miss last game only motivated them and made them more dangerous. They are insanely talented, as beings ranked #4 in the country indicates. And they played like it today.

Alabama lost to Ole Miss  by 10 at home. Since when do we, as UK BB fans,  apologize for home losses to football schools. I know when...since Calipari left here. Gotta think the ol' ball coach told his roommate, Ellen, "see, they couldn't duplicate what we did to Alabama last season."

You can outscore a team or two in the NCAAT but you're not going to win a title with bad defense. Offense wins games  but defense... oh well, you know how it goes. I think in the KenPom era, Kansas is the only team to win a title with a defensive efficiency rating outside the top ten, and they were something like 17.  Kentucky is currently #86.  Forget it , UK fans, we're not winning a title this season.    But, I will say this. They are an entertaining offensive team. And all I really care about is being entertained. Titles are nice, but as long as they are fun to watch, I am fine with it. Last year's team with Reed and Company was entertaining, for the most part.

Your silly arguments wouldn't sway an 8 year-old of average intelligence. 
Doubling down on the Cal excuses by you was as predictable as it getting dark tonight and light tomorrow morning. Cal now 0-5 in the SEC and Arkansas fans know they got snookered. Nobody wants Cal, period.

Everyone who has ever watched a basketball game knows Alabama is 100x better than they looked against Ole Miss and would bounce back. 
That's what excellent teams do and that's what they did. There is a reason they are ranked 4th in the country. Bringing up last year's game or the Ole Miss game to try to argue that Alabama is bad is just plain ignorant and pretty much everyone on here and elsewhere gets it. And Alabama has won 4 SEC basketball championships since Cal last won one so the football school talk is gibberish. Only you would want Cal back after sucking bad for 5 years and 0-5 this year and be bitching about Pope when he has more Quad 1 wins than anyone coming into today with a complete roster he threw together on short notice and just 1/3 into his first SEC schedule in his first year here. But you never fail to double and triple down when you are obviously wrong, which is pretty much always.

Alabama loses to the first good team that D's them up in the Big Tourney. Watch and see. Sad how KY fans have become apologists for losing home basketball games. Not Old School. I expect my team to win home games against football schools. We're Kentucky, not Brigham Young.

You literally were an apologist for Cal for years of sucking. Nobody has to apologize for Pope halfway through his first season and leading the country in Quad 1 wins while your boy Cal is 0-5 in the SEC. And again, Alabama has 4 SEC basketball championships since Cal last won one. Not a football school but keep on repeating something everybody knows better than. Keep doubling down, you are nothing if not free entertainment while incapable of feeling embarrassment.

[jetpilot]

Cal's team that lost to Oakland decimated this Bama team last season. What would you be saying if a Cal-led UK team had lost to Bama today ? Not saying Pope did anything wrong, just saying that Cal beat this Bama bunch by 40 billion points with a worse team than what Pope has.

When have we, as UK fans, changed from being mad after any home loss to being "okay with" just "hanging with" Alabama at Rupp Arena. I am a littl e bummed that we couldn't play just some assemblance of defense to get this win over a team Ole Miss held to 64 points.

Has absolutely NOTHING to do with this game, or these teams.

I think this KY team is good enough offensively to win a couple(or maybe three) tournament games but too awful defensively to win a title. Last year's team couldn't defend either. Hence, an opening round loss to the Oakland Raiders.

Another empty projection.  You are so negative!!

Cats go to Knoxville in ten days. That will be fun. Gotta win home games in this league.

Vols may be hungry.  Vandy just handed them their ass.

Alabama played an almost perfect game. They beat anyone playing like they did today. Love it the UK matched their intensity. Those two teams put on a show today. Two loose balls created by Cats D that went right to Alabama and immediately resulted in 3's late in the game didn't help matters.
Great things ahead for this program.

I agree, no reason at all to feel negative about this game, can we improve, absolutely. But we matched their physicality and their abilities, just came up a couple plays short

EXACTLY!!

Tennessee lost today, Arkansas is currently down 17 to Missouri.  Georgia came awfully close to taking Auburn down.
We are not going to win every game.  But more importantly we have a coach that sees what's wrong and is making strides in teaching our kids how to be better.  This is a brand new team, still learning and still gelling as a team.  Give Pope half the chances you gave Cal.
OSH, even if Kentucky won every game, I believe you would still find something to bitch about.

Nah, basketball games don't mean shit to me. It's an entertaining team to watch, which is what matters for me, in the end. Same for the Reds, the Bengals, the Redhounds. I had a blast with the Hounds this season. Yes, I griped about the flag fest in Paducah and the horrible sportsmanship by the Blue F-0's but I had a helluva football season. The Bengals and Reds did not entertain me much. This KY team has been fun to watch. Can't I say that if they even played any defense at all they would win games like today? It's frustrating but, in the end, it doesn't matter one iota. Losses to Vandy and Tennessee in succession will bring out the bad in about 20% of BBN. Some will calling for the head of Pope on a Mormon alter. Not Old School, but the one out of five crazies in the KY fanbase. I think Pope has been fine but let's not act like he has taught defense any better than the Hall of Famer did. His team's defense, outside of Butler , is garbage. Look at the defensive efficiency ratings for proof.

Riiiiight...then why are you posting in this thread? You don't know whether to sh!t or wind your watch from one minute to the next lol

[King Kong]

Alabama lost to Ole Miss  by 10 at home. Since when do we, as UK BB fans,  apologize for home losses to football schools. I know when...since Calipari left here. Gotta think the ol' ball coach told his roommate, Ellen, "see, they couldn't duplicate what we did to Alabama last season."

You can outscore a team or two in the NCAAT but you're not going to win a title with bad defense. Offense wins games  but defense... oh well, you know how it goes. I think in the KenPom era, Kansas is the only team to win a title with a defensive efficiency rating outside the top ten, and they were something like 17.  Kentucky is currently #86.  Forget it , UK fans, we're not winning a title this season.   But, I will say this. They are an entertaining offensive team. And all I really care about is being entertained. Titles are nice, but as long as they are fun to watch, I am fine with it. Last year's team with Reed and Company was entertaining, for the most part.

I started a thread on what we'd consider as a success this year. I think the team so far has basically exceeded everyone's expectations. I think you can say that we're a really good team without thinking that we're going to win a National Championship. Plenty of teams can even make a Final Four with subpar offensive or defensive numbers.

If we have four to five years of top offenses and defenses that struggle and burn us in March, then it's a different conversation, but we're a long way from that.

Nelson had 19 on us in the first half and finished with 25 if I'm not mistaken. There were a number of times in the past where Nelson would have finished this one with 30+.

Agreed CJ,  this team has likely already exceeded most people's expectations for them this year.  I remember many of was was just hoping for a 500 year.  Now look at how many big time wins we already have.  Plus TV analysts saying we're a potential final 4 team.  Our expectations have changed pretty quick since before season started.

---

Alabama played an almost perfect game. They beat anyone playing like they did today. Love it the UK matched their intensity. Those two teams put on a show today. Two loose balls created by Cats D that went right to Alabama and immediately resulted in 3's late in the game didn't help matters.
Great things ahead for this program.

I’m loving your positivity!! Alabama did what big time teams do, they knocked down shots in a hostile environment and was unfazed!  But, I think we both agree the D needs to get a little better but I have all faith Pope.  He will have this team come tournament time ready, like we haven’t seen in a long long time; men and big boy ready not just talent and hope.  Heck this will probably be Popes worst team we see haha. Man let’s be happy and enjoy, he put an unreal roster together on a short amount of time.  I will say as well, can u imagine imagine the SEC tournament this year haha.  Absolutely brutal but gonna be fun

Excellent point WildCat.  It's amazing what Pope and staff have put together in limited time.  Amazing how our players,  once strangers have bought into things quickly and are playing as a unit. 

With what this teams accomplished in limited time,  I can't wait to see what Pope's future teams look like.  Especially now that he's got more time to build and work on things.

[Cactus Jack]

Outside of the NBA, I don't think that there are teams that can defend like peak Ole Miss and score like peak Kentucky.

[-STAT-]

Didn't get to watch the game as I was at a funeral around the same time the game started. I was telling a co-worker about it last week and they said "well you're going to miss the UK game!" I said there will be plenty more games to watch, some things are just bigger than basketball in my eyes, don't get me wrong I'm an avid fan of the sport, probably the biggest you'll find on this site, but I am also a realist, and know my boundaries. I honestly haven't even seen a clip or a highlight of the game, and I will keep it that way just due to the day I had Saturday.

All I'll say is, looked like Bama shot a ton more free throws than Kentucky did, and it was another shootout, score 97 points on your home court and lose? That's a tough one to swallow if you're Pope.

But again, there will be more games, plenty of time to get things right at Vandy Saturday.