The Kentucky Wildcats were run off the court by the Kansas Jayhawks on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic by a score of 89-69.
The one thing I’m sure of after this game is that it’s safe to say Kentucky will not be champions again with Mark Pope at the helm. The Cats shockingly got off to a slow start. Despite a couple of fun spurts, the Jayhawks dominated the first half. They took a 46-36 lead into the half that felt a lot bigger.
After the break, it only got worse. Kansas extended its lead to
22 as Malachi Moreno took a three with about 10 minutes to play. That’s pretty telling about how this game went. Kentucky was run out of the gym, and that’s a theme that’s been too common under Mark Pope.
Next up, the Cats will take on Northern Arizona on Friday night in Lexington.
The beginning of the end
The Mark Pope era is probably over. This is not the standard of Kentucky Basketball, and surely, he knows that. The product is not only unacceptable, but it’s also flat-out embarrassing.
I know there’s a lot of season left, but this has gone too far. It was a bad hire made by an AD that isn’t at UK any longer. And for good reason. Even when Pope had a good Year 1, there were way too many games they got run off the floor, something that’s happened far too often under his watch.
It’s one thing to lose. But double-digit loss seasons and blowouts every other week are not the standard. Blowout losses on primetime are not the standard. Something has to change, or this is headed for an ugly divorce.
What happened?
Well, besides the coach being no man’s land, the loss was pretty straightforward.
Kentucky got in foul trouble early. It looked like they were ready to go blow for blow with Kansas, then Moreno and Ousmane N’Diaye picked up two fouls apiece just four minutes into the game, and everything changed. The Cats’ singular advantage was size, and that neutralized immediately.
Defensive rebounding is also a major issue. Kentucky gets bullied down low. Moreno is soft. N’Diaye is bad. Justin McBride is a mid-major player. The Cats are long, but they can’t grab the ball because they’re weak and get bullied by the opponent.
Finally, turnovers. Diallo is careless with the ball. Alex Wilkins is weak and reckless. Moreno wishes he was Amari Williams, but he isn’t. It’s sad to watch.
Diallo Zoomed his way to the spotlight
The entire post can’t be negative. Zoom Diallo was actually really good. He was the only player, or coach, who actually showed for Kentucky, but his performance was undeniable. It was an impressive showing.
The problem is that a team with Diallo as its best player and Franck Kepnang off the bench is just…Washington last season. And it sure looked like it in this game.
However, Diallo faced a lot of unwarranted criticism in the offseason, mainly due to his poor exhibition game showings. That’s really all you need to know. It was all for naught. Kansas made it a point to have Zoom beat them, and he did, but unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly enough.
Now, let’s discuss what just transpired in front of our eyes.
