[Cactus Jack]

The Cats were up by 5 at 69-64 with 3:36 to play and we gave up 18 points in the last 3:36. In that last 3:36 we gave up 5 offensive rebounds and had 4 turnovers.

The loss itself isn't as troubling as the way we lost.

And make no mistake, we have a trend of losing to teams with inferior overall talent that are desperate for a win.

Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, Vanderbilt, and arguably Texas all had less overall talent than what we were able to roll out against them. I say arguably for Texas because we were so hamstrung by missing so many guards, and that's what really bit us.

Arkansas and Ole Miss had more talent than what we had avavailable, but we had more skill.

Alabama is the only team we've played whose roster (talent, skill, and continuity) I like more than ours.

The 2nd Tennessee game is the only game we've won where I'd say that the opponent needed the win more than us, though I guess you could also make a case for the first Tennessee and Florida games as well.


Kriisa isn't coming back tomorrow, but even if he were, he's been out awhile and getting back to form will take some time. We'll take him back at any point, but should temper expectations on what he can actually bring. I'll be surprised if he's back and really able to be effective at any point this season.


Seeding is going to matter a lot for a team that has stacked losses to less talented teams whose backs are against the wall. There's a pretty big disparity in talent on a #16, 15, 14, and 13 seed-- probably the largest gaps between seed lines in the entire field. I would feel much less confident in a 5/12 game. The 12 or 13 line is generally where you stop expecting to be able to roll in and squash teams with inferior talent. There are exceptions to the rule, but lots of your 13s to 16s will have (more experienced) players with Perry and Noah's size and athleticism getting major minutes. Those teams are generally going to be reluctant to try to press Kentucky to death or put a lot of pressure on our guards because it risks getting into a running game. Landing a #2 or #3 seed means getting a game that we should be able to win without Butler and Robinson.

At the same time, playing strictly for seeding and putting Butler, Robinson, or Carr back out too soon risks them (re-)injuring something that puts them out through the first weekend. That happening would essentially close the book on any chances we'd have in the tournament.

It isn't a very enviable situation, especially since Calipari deemphasized the SEC Tournament to the point that fans were sick of it.