KSR - KSR Postgame UK MBB vs Georgia 2/18/26

Episode Date: February 18, 2026

Matt and Billy recap the Cats' 86-78 loss to Georgia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome, everyone. It is the local toy dealers, KSR postgame show. The Cats with an extremely disappointing loss at home 8678 to Georgia. Their second home loss in the SEC this season. And a loss that, as we'll talk about in just a couple minutes, I think we'll have major ramifications for Kentucky, even if they do finish the season well.

This was, I think, a game where Kentucky made way too many mistakes to win. And the mistakes, in my opinion, were the exact mistakes that Kentucky has made all season long. the same issues that have plagued them all year showcased themselves in this game. And I think it's probably like six things. But the sixth one to me is the biggest issue, so I'll finish with that.

The first is these first halves in general. I'm going to give you some stats that are pretty amazing. I mentioned this this morning. Kentucky now has been losing by 12 points at some point in the game, in 13 of its 19 games against major conference opponents this year. That's over 66%

of Kentucky's games when they have played a team from a major conference. Not even necessarily good teams, just teams from a major conference. They have been trailing by at least 12 points, 13 to 19. They have been trailing at halftime, Billy, in 15 of the 19 games.

That's unbelievable. Fifteen of the 19 games Kentucky has played this year against major conference teams, we have been losing at halftime. That is atrocious. I mean, atrocious. That stat, it is almost shocking how bad that stat is. So when you keep giving yourself a deficit to come out of,

there are going to be games that even if you start playing well, you're just not going to be able to do it. And this was one of those. And the reason gets to my second point, which is consistently this year, against teams that they can't do it against, they do not guard the three-point line well. I don't understand looking at Georgia.

The only way Georgia is going to beat you tonight. And Georgia's not bad, but you're at home. They're small. Somptoe. and his backup are really the only bigs they have. And they actually play the best when they have four guards out there. The only way they're going to beat you is if they hit threes. That's how they're going to be.

And we do not guard the three well. Now, granted, they're like 290th in the country in threes. They actually don't shoot the ball very well, but they take a lot of them and then they get out in transition. Those are the things that they really like to do. But for the second straight game, Kentucky has played a team that doesn't shoot three's great, but has given them wide open looks at it by playing poor defense and then they don't adjust.

They never adjust during the game. Georgia's threes, they hit a few in the first half, but in the second half, every, we started playing pretty well offensively in the second half and every time we made a run, they had somebody to hit a three. You play against teams that are this much smaller than you, and we back way back off the shooter and just let these guys take shots. It drives me crazy, or we don't fight through screens, and we give shots, which gets me to my third thing. Earlier this year, I thought effort was an issue in every game. In SEC play, especially recently, I think they've been pretty good at giving

consistent effort, but they have these moments in games where, to quote Mark Pope, they take plays off. And they do. They take plays off. Almost every player on the team has, possessions where they take plays off. The only couple of exceptions, I don't feel like Moreno takes a lot of plays off. I think Aberdeen rarely does, but most of the other guys will take plays off defensively. And when they do, we get burned. And you saw it in that run at the end of the first half, Kentucky, if you were to go back and watch those plays, because I did at halftime, you can find. on nearly every possession, a player who either can't guard or is taking a,

is like taking the possession off. And Mark, to his credit, said it after the game, but it happens. You can watch it, and that lack of consistency on defensive effort kills us. Fourth, we missed too many free throws. We're 12 of 20 from the free throw line. We're shooting, Billy, 69% from the free throw line in SEC play. Not good enough. That's not good.

And it's not just, it's not like our bigs, our guards are missing them. You know, it's not just that, like, Modi Abate gets fouled and he's not a good free throw shooter. Everybody misses them. I mean, at one point in the first half, we were one for four from our, in what should on paper be two of our best free throw shooters away and Noah. You can't miss those. You can't miss those in big games. and we 12 of 20s not good enough when you're in a game that's going to come down to the wire turnovers the I mean you could probably say that if you just saw one stat the stat that defines the

game is Georgia had 20 assists and seven turnovers and we had 13 assists and 13 turnovers which means we didn't share the ball and we were sloppy with the ball where they shared the ball, and we're not sloppy. The only reason we were really even in the game is that Colin Chandler shot the ball amazing and O.A. carried us for a few stretches. That's the only reason we're in the game. I mean, those two guys, not for those two guys, we get run off the court on our home court. So the sloppiness and turnovers, we've been an issue all year. And then I think sixth is, to me the most important thing,

was Pope's substitution pattern specifically at the end of the first half. I'm a big numbers guy. Like I believe numbers don't lie. I believe in the idea of analytics. Not only do I believe in it, I think if you look at the coaches and the programs and the NBA and college basketball, really every sport that master it, if you look at the best teams, they've also mastered analytics.

So I'm for it. But I admit that I don't understand the way Mark uses analytics. Not that he shouldn't use them, but I don't understand it's like he and I see the same numbers, and it feels like we come to completely different conclusions. It is objectively true that if you have been down at halftime, 15 of the 19 games against Power Conference teams, Billy, wouldn't you say you need to adjust what you're doing in the first half?

Yes. I mean, to me, that is, like, it's obvious. We are 10 and 9 in games against power conference teams, which, by the way, isn't good. But we

are 4 and 15 in the first half. So that would tell you we've got to do better in the first half. And yet, he just keeps doing the same thing. We play, it's almost like we live in a,

let's distribute equally during the first half minutes. And it never works. And I don't want to read that, like I'm not, I'm not trying to be like harsh, but numbers, to some extent are numbers. The plus minus for this game. Only two players had a positive plus plus, minus Colin Chandler and Mo Diabate.

Colin Chandler was plus one, Diabate was plus two. Yellowvich was minus one, Aberdeen was minus two, Garrison was minus two, Moreno and O'Reilly or minus five. Tritnoe was minus 13 in eight minutes of action.

Jasper Johnson is minus 16 in 14 minutes of action. If you go back and look at that run. We had, our two worst defenders in my mind, are Yellovich and Jasper. Yelovich can sometimes be good guarding, sliding his feet, but he gets lost off the ball and his help defense is bad. And Jasper just does not, I mean, Jasper's just a bad defender, at least at this point

in his career. And they played those guys together and there was a 9-0 run. and then after the game Mark is asked about substitution patterns and he said well the numbers show us that if we play guys 36 to 38 minutes a game they will be tired

and their performance will go down at the end right I believe him but I'd like to Billy see it happen because what I have seen happen is we've play, we don't do that, and we fall down in the first half. If we play O.A., Aberdeen, and Chandler, huge minutes, and at the end, they kind of wear

down, so be it. But I know what doesn't work is the substitution pattern that we've seen, four and 15 at halftime. So I don't understand how Mark can look at those numbers, and he said about Jasper specifically, I thought he did really well and play, really well for us tonight. Well, he was minus 16 in 14 minutes. No offense, I'm not criticizing the kid. I'm criticizing what are you seeing? Like, how are you looking at those numbers and coming to those conclusions?

Two for eight from the field minus 16. I don't understand. So I, it is without question a problem that in the first halves, during the Mark Pope era, Kentucky has been bad. They've just been bad. If I told you we're 4 and 15 in the first half, I don't care what school you're coaching at. That's a disaster.

And you're at Kentucky. Now, in the second half, they've played for the most part really well. But that is, you lose games like tonight because you got down so much in the first half. The deficit at halftime is why we lost tonight. And then at the end of game, we had some chances. Chandler had two open threes. Can't criticize him for missing him because he was five or six before that, but they were opening just didn't go in, or six of seven before that.

Two open looks just missed. O'Wea had to drive to the basket. He was there. He had 28. Another huge night scoring for him. Just dribbled off his foot. Three big opportunities by your two best offensive players. And it just didn't happen.

But the reason we were in that situation is all that stuff. that happened in the first half. So, you know, now Kentucky has put themselves in a spot. I said after the game, we're 17 and 9, but we're not certain to make the tournament. I think we will, but we're not certain. We have five games left. We will be the underdog in four of those five games. We'll be the underdog Saturday at Auburn.

We'll be the underdog at A&M. will be the underdog at home to Florida and we'll probably be the underdog at home against Vandy although that one maybe it goes the other way but we're probably the underdog will probably be a favorite at South Carolina we should win that game and if you win that

but if you lose the other four you'd be 18 and 13 I think that would get you in but I'm not certain you probably at least would need to win one in Nashville And by the way, if we lose four or five, we might be playing on Wednesday in Nashville. So this was a huge game. I thought if you won the night, you're in the tournament.

And we didn't. And now you go to Auburn Saturday, and you're probably looking at it and saying, you know, you need to steal that one. And maybe they will. I mean, they are perfectly capable of going to Auburn and winning. But the problem so far in the Mark Pope era has not necessarily been the fact that we can't go to all. Auburn and win. We went to Arkansas one. We went to Tennessee and one. The problem is we can't keep losing to Georgia and Missouri at home. Georgia's won three of the last four games against Kentucky. They hadn't done that since the 20s. Wow. Since the 20s. I was encouraged by how they played

against Florida. But one of the things Drew said, I do think has some validity. We can't. just accept that like this stuff happens no it doesn't you don't lose you really shouldn't lose any home games at rup but if you're good you shouldn't lose to anybody at rup that's not great and you certainly shouldn't lose twice to mid-pack SEC teams at home and that's what we've done that's very disappointing. And at some point, I hope Mark Pope, who is an immensely smart guy and is a good coach, at some point, these numbers that he always talks about, it's not just about looking at the numbers. It's what you do with them.

And I just don't see how a coach can justify the way we play in the first halves of these games. and when asked about it, refer to numbers. I just don't know what set of numbers he's looking at, because the one I'm looking at is 4 and 15 in the first half this year. 859-28027. It's a big loss. It's not the end of the world. They can still come back from this,

but there are some possibilities they're now in play that I thought when we beat Tennessee at home, we're kind of off the table. Now I think, unfortunately, they're back on. We'll take a break. Be right back. It's the local toy dealers, KSR postgame show. Welcome back.

It is the local toy dealer's KSR postgame show. There's a video. I can't just be bummed all night. You got to play this video, Billy, of Mick Cronin, talking about the Michigan, getting asked a question, and maybe being the biggest jerk I've ever seen on an answer. I saw him kick out his own player, but this is the post-game press conference you're saying?

Yeah, just Google Cronin, Michigan State student section. And we got to play that. Make sure there's not a cuss word. But then I just want you to hear it. Like, that may be one of the biggest jerk answers I've seen a coach to ever. Like, see if you agree if we play it. All right, this is a late night show and we lost a disappointing way. So this is one of those shows where, like, a lot of people probably said, you know what?

I'm going to bet. And I understand that. So if you called, this is a good chance to get in And probably a good chance to let me have me let you talk longer than I normally would. So that would be nice. Who's up next? Jack. Jack. Go ahead, Jack.

Hey, Matt. Just want to see if I'm crazy. The last two games I've been to, when we've been down, we call these timeouts. And Mark Pope and all the other coaches are standing to the side of the huddle for the first minute of the three-minute timeout. The players are just sitting in the circle, fiddling with their hands. So I don't know if I'm crazy, because you look over at the Georgia,

coach, he's in their grill. So I don't know what the deal is with that stuff. They, I don't love that. I agree with you. Again, okay, so he's like, I'm sure what he would say is that he's discussing with his coaches, what's happening. They're getting collective intelligence

of what they're going to say to the, to the players. And in general, I think that's not the worst thing in the world, but I agree with you. I don't know if it makes sense right off a timeout to just have them sitting by themselves for, it always seems to me, about half of the timeout. So I find it odd. Now, with that said, there's a lot of different ways to coach a team. And so maybe, you know, maybe that can work, I think.

But I've found it odd. I don't think other coaching staffs do that at least as long as that. So I've noticed the same thing. But, you know, if it were working, I guess I wouldn't care. But I can understand why people would wonder about that when we're losing. Yeah, exactly. You'd think when you call the timeout down nine, you'd want to get in them right away, start motivating them or something. And I don't know, it's just disheartening, honestly seeing that.

And as a fan, it's definitely not what you want to see from, from, your leader, you know? Yeah. Well, I appreciate to call. I mean, I understand why you say that, and I would say, like I said, I don't know. I don't know. I would want to hear what his explanation is for that. And, and, but I'm sure that would work on some teams.

Maybe this is a team where it doesn't work quite as well. I've felt all year that, like, sometimes I just, it seems to me this team has never been totally connected, but then there are moments where they do look connected. So I have found this team impossible to understand. I cannot think of a Kentucky team that I feel like I have less of a grasp on what motivates them and how they're never really know how they're going to play in any given moment. So it's been hard to understand. Who's next?

Peyton. Peyton. Go ahead, Peyton. Hey, Matt. What's up? Do you have like any explanation why? all these teams come in here that shoot like poor three shot percentages yeah because we don't guard them and they shoot like lights out every every single time well we don't guard them i mean that that

rup is not a great shooting gym just visually but we don't guard them we leave these guys wide open and then i'm sure they step up their game when you come to rup i mean like you know if you're george this is most people going to see you play all year right this is will be be Georgia's most watch game both in person because they're not going to play an arena bigger than ours and on television because it's prime time on ESPN. So for them, this is their biggest game of the year in terms of how they're going to be. So like they're going to want to play well. But when you don't get a hand in their face, when you don't get a hand in the face, you're not going to stop them. But go ahead. Well, I didn't want to use Cal Perry's Super Bowl

analysis of every team. He's right. He's right about that. But, I didn't know if that would reflect to the Pope era that we could just keep using that as an excuse that this is every team Super Bowl game. Of course. All these kids, all these kids, even the ones that are on teams that are better than us, still probably wanted to play here, or at least at some point in their life, thought they did. Like that's just Yeah Yeah and then you know There's a month

Yeah But even like But even like Yeah I appreciate the call Even like Aberdeen And Diabate Both those guys

Played for Alabama and Florida And Florida won the national Championship But there still is value In playing at Kentucky There just is Especially I think a big part of it It's because how many of our guys

In the NBA We are associated with that So like you step up But still when we're not guarding them. That's part of why they make so many. And that also then, you know, our crowd, if it's not, if we're losing, the crowd can't be as loud. And that affects it too. Do you have the Kronin audio? I do. That was a bit much by him. All right. So this is, I guess this kid ask a question,

and this is like 45 a seconds. Go ahead and play it. What was your thoughts in the student section? Channing Booker's name? I could give a rat's ass about the other team's student section. I just met the overall the way that you would like to give you a kudos for the worst question I've ever been asked. All right, I'll take it. Did you like the, the preparation of the... Do you really think I care about the other team's students? No, I don't mean. I don't think you care about the other teams.

Are you raising your voice at me? No, I'm sorry. Yeah, you are. Yeah, you are. Come on, dude. No reason. Come on, yes you were, everybody's standing here listening to you. Everybody, this is on camera, they can hear you.

I answered the question. I could give a rat's ass about the other team student section. I coach UCLA. I don't care about Michigan. state students. Who cares? The preparation. There you go.

What a jerk. Geez. Don't you think? What a jerk. I mean, the reason he asked the question is a kid from, is it a kid from UCLA transferred to Michigan State or Michigan State transferred to UCLA? Former Michigan State Forward now plays for UCLA. Okay.

So they were, the student section was focused on him and he was asking the guy. It's a perfectly reasonable question. I mean, maybe it's not the best question, but it's a question. And if you look at the video, he's staring at him like he wants to fight him. Yeah, he keeps looking back at him. He keeps looking at him. And then he goes, that's the worst question I've ever heard. And then he picks at the kid again and goes, you don't think it was?

And then he gets mad because he raises his voice. What a jerk. Mick Cronin is a jerk. And unlike some other jerks in college basketball like Danny Hurley, he doesn't even win. At least Danny Hurley wins. What a jerk. That's like, I don't know why it makes me so mad, but it does. Who's next?

I would have melted if you would have came back at me. No, I mean, if I was, if I was in, let me tell you something. If I was in college or whatever and he did that, I would have melted. If he did that to me now, I would have been. Fireworks? You might have been a different video. He's also like three feet tall. Yeah.

You know, sorry, who's next. Aiden. Aiden, go ahead. Aiden. Hey, how you doing, Matt? Good. What's up? I'm just disappointed in the UK fan base tonight. I thought Rupp Arena was really lackluster from being there at the game.

Well, okay, so we have this conversation a lot. Tom mentioned that when we were coming back, they were loud. I have complaints about the Rup crowd sometimes, but I really don't know what people want them to do when we're losing. Like, what do you want them to do? Like when they go on that 17 to 5 run, what are we supposed to cheer for? I mean, they get told to sit down. I mean, you want to be a good environment, right?

Well, did that happen? Did that happen to you? Did you, were you told to sit down? I mean, yeah, it happens every game. Where do you sit? Where do you sit? I mean, sit all over. But I mean, are you, were you told to sit down tonight?

My buddy was. Okay. I mean, I don't think people should tell people to sit out. I know that does happen. But I also, like when you're losing, it's hard to know what's, I mean, what are you going to cheer for? I mean, we were up a little bit when we were standing up and people told us to sit down. We went down a little bit. Oh, you snuck down?

Well, I'm all right with that. No, I'm not saying we snuck down. I'm saying like we were up in the game. Oh, you're going to sit down. I see. I got you. Okay. Well, that's, I mean, I agree.

If people shouldn't tell you to sit down. I'm a big believer that, like, if people, People want to stand during the game, they should. As long as they're courteous, like, you don't have, like, a disabled person or something behind you. I'm just trying to make the bigger point that Rupp Arena and Kroger Field especially need a better environment from BBN. And that comes from the athletic department as well. All right. I appreciate the call.

I don't disagree. I mean, I don't totally – I certainly don't disagree about the environment vis-a-vis the athletic department. I have some sympathy for fans who come at 9 o'clock at night. and get rewarded with some of that effort that we saw at the end of the first half. But I get it. I do think, you know, the rough environment is, it's frustrating sometimes. But I, that's not what frustrated me the most tonight. It was what we talked about in the first segment.

Who's next? Drew. Drew, go ahead, Drew. What's up, Matt? How are you doing? Good, what's up? bro i just bro i feel like we need to address this free throw issue man like it's ridiculous i've been a u k fan all my life and i've never seen a team struggle so poorly at the line on such a

consistent basis and it's really aggravating as a fan and i feel like it's the reason why we're close games like it would change a lot of these games outcomes i agree with you i'm surprised how bad are on paper who should be our good free time row shooters are. Like that's what I that's what surprises me. So like O way is three for six Aberdeen is four for seven. Noah is O for one. So I bet you and Colin Chandler didn't have any free throws. So those are probably our four best free throw shooters. Chandler O way Aberdeen Noah. They combined tonight to go seven for 14. So our so the misses were not our bigs. Garrison was two for two, Moreno was two for two, Diabate was one for two. So that means our bigs went five of six

from the line, but our guards and Noah went seven for 14. Guys, what are you doing? You're the guys are supposed to make it. The other guys are supposed to be the one that struggle. So I'm with you. That is very frustrating. You cannot have your guards go seven of 14 from the free throw line. You just can't. I'm on the same page with you, Matt. Also, I wanted to say something about the last call, or Aiden. I was at the game as well, and there was no energy in Rupp tonight. I was at the Tennessee game, too, and it was probably one of the loudest games I've ever been to. It was awesome, but I don't understand why we're not that loud every night.

There was a minute left in the game, and it was a three-point game, and we were on defense after the O-A turnover, and nobody was yelling. It was so frustrating. Like, I don't understand why. So you talked about after O-WA turned it over? After O'A turned it over? Yeah. Yeah, and it was a three-point game, and we were,

on defense. Because we got to stop the play before. Yeah. No, you're right. You're right. That play should, if that play wasn't loud, that play should have been loud. Because it was loud the play before when we got when we got to stop, and you're right, I appreciate the call. I think when Oway dribbled it off his foot, I guess that probably deflated the crowd. So what's the problem? Is it an older crowd? Let me say this. Maybe. I mean, both those guys sound like young callers, and I understand. If you're, If I was a young Kentucky fan, a college fan or just out of college, and I saw the environments that are at some of these other schools, they want that at Rupp.

And I can see why they're not wrong. So I may have made it sound like with the first guy that he's wrong. I don't think he's wrong. He's right. The environment needs to be better. And if it wasn't loud on that play, it should have been. I guess the other stuff just frustrates me a little more. Let's do one more and we'll take a break.

Darlene. Darlene, how are you, Darlene? Hey, Matt Jones. Hey, good. How are you? Hey, what? Okay, I'm just arguing with you a little bit tonight. I listen to all of your, you know, analyzing everything.

I'm not an analyst like you guys, but I just wanted to speak up because I'm just this big cat fan. I have a hard time seeing that glass half empty. And I'm just thinking, you know, Kentucky, was down 14, 17 with Tennessee. We come back. We beat them. We won at Arkansas.

We beat Rick Petino. I'm sorry. I just have a hard time feeling like a big loser tonight. Well, you don't have to feel like a big loser. Well, Darlene, I appreciate your positivity. And you should, and listen, you just mentioned four really good wins, right? I mean, we came back against Rick Petino, came back against Tennessee twice, came back against Arkansas. So that's great.

But we also can't lose to Missouri, lose to Georgia at home. We can't lose by 40 to Gonzaga. Matt, you're a lot younger than me. I've seen this for a lot more years than you have. I mean,

I understand. I know what you're saying is so true, but I can't help but still stay on this positive side. I'm just pulling for my cat. I still am seeing the end of the turn. I'm feeling like we're going to get there, baby. I love it.

All right, good. Well, we need people like you to be positive, too. I appreciate the call. We need those people, too. I like Darlene. Love that positivity. Everybody needs a fan at 1 a.m. calling to say, keep your head up and be positive.

I mean it. We need that. So we'll take a break. 859-280-2287. Be right back to Local Toy Dealers, KSR Post-Gap Show. Welcome back. Local Toy Dealer's, KSR postgame show getting some good comments from people saying their team

Darlene. So, Darlene adding positivity. One person writes, Matt, I was like those kids at the game tonight. I was kind of disappointed with the crowd when we were making runs. I agree with you, you can't be loud the whole time. But I think on the play they were talking about, the fans were not as loud as he could have been. Yeah, probably people just got deflated after that O-WA turnover.

I thought only played very well. I mean, 28 points. They're not in the game without him. He carries him on his back like he does sometimes. He had four turnovers, but he also had four assists. But, I mean, I thought he played really well. It was unfortunate. He had a couple defensive plays that weren't great.

But, I mean, I thought he was really good. He played 35 minutes. You know, I sit here and I look at the minutes, and you just go, you know, these guys, they do play a lot. of minutes. But I almost wonder if you just have to blame him. Can't take them out. We just take such a, I mean, when they go out, we just take such a drop.

Moreno, too. I think when we lose him, we take a drop. But now he's got to get tougher with the basketball. He gets the ball and he brings it down. He had blue cane on him. He needed to dominate blue cane, but he brings the ball down. When you bring it down, you're bringing it to his level. He's got to be a little strong with the basketball.

I think he will get that in the offseason, which is why I think he's going to be so good next year. But, you know, I think Pope went to Garrison and Diabate a little bit because you have to be able to lock that rebound up. You know, Diabate had nine rebounds in 19 minutes, including a couple big offensive ones at the end. He was a beast. Man, I wish he could shoot because then he would be a complete guy

because he really gives you effort on the glass. Who's next? Tyler. Tyler. go ahead Tyler. Matt Jones, good to talk to you tonight, man. So I feel like since the previous callers have said something about it, I feel like I need to mention it, and I got one thing after this.

But I will say I haven't been to a game in a little while. I think I was at the Missouri game, which was a loss, and it was pretty close coming down the stretch. But I remember the guy sitting next to me, one of the people behind us said boys we can't see and i didn't turn around and say it but i said it out of lot i said hey just because you can't see doesn't mean we had to sit down i don't know if i was out of line for saying that but i was like leave us alone like if we want to stand up and cheer we can that kind of thing um i don't know what your opinion on that is yeah i mean it depends you know

i think people should be able to stand but also you know we've got some older folks down low so it's a tough thing. I am on the side generally of don't tell people to sit down. I've also been the guy sitting behind looking at people standing up and it does frustrate you, but we need the energy. So I'm more on your side than the other, but what's your second thing? Okay. Well, and I don't want you to BS me when I ask this, but I feel like we're at a point now after last year, which wasn't insanely bad, but now we're at a point this year. It's like, okay, what are we doing? And we have no recruits as of now coming in next year obviously the transfer portal is something we could work with but um October of 2028 Mark Pope isn't or is head coach I think it's more I think it's more likely

than not he is um let's see 2028 so that would be after next season which would be 27 oh wait at 27. So that's, that would be like the start of year five of the poet, uh, five, right? Because next year would be,

oh, he said October of 27, right? 26, 27. Year four would be 27 of 28. I thought he said, I think he said 28. Oh,

okay. So I would be the start of year five. Um, I'm going to say more likely than not, yes, but it's all going to come down the next year. I mean, I actually don't think year four equates.

for me now if we go on a run this year we make the second weekend in the tournament then what i'm saying is not true but let's assume we go out in the first weekend next year we'll decide his fate because i don't think in october of twenty twenty seven mitch barnhart will be the athletic director and so it's going to be a different situation um so i think i think more likely than not yes But next year will be crucial for Mark. And I am worried that we don't have recruits and all that, but we'll have plenty of time to talk about when the season ends.

I do think at October of 2028, we will need to have a new athletic director. I mean, I've made my thoughts about that fairly clear over the last few months. Who's next? CK. CK. What's up? CK. All right.

All right. No, CK. Who's next? Chad is next. Chad, how are you, Chad? Hey, Matt, first time, long time. Who are? What's up? Hey, just got home from the game.

You know, I'm trying to not be super negative, Matt, but I got to tell you, this one is like a knife in the heart, man. I'll tell you. And because I think what really affects me the most is it feels like we have two players, O.A. and Chandler, just given their all, and it feels like their teammates just aren't putting the same effort out there. The second thing, though, I really want to say. I totally don't agree with you.

Let me just say. I'm going to let you say the second thing, but I don't totally agree with you on that. I think there's nobody on the team that I don't think gives effort. I think some people take plays off, including OA sometimes. So I think effort was a big issue early in the year with Garrison and O'Way and there was a couple other guys. I think Aberdeen plays hard the whole game. I actually think he, if you were to tell me who gives effort the whole game,

I would actually say Chandler, Moreno, and Aberdeen. The other guys, it comes and goes, in my opinion. But I don't think any of them are dogging it. I just think some of them do some really dumb things and then occasionally have little lapses of effort. But go ahead with your second thing. Yeah, you kind of hit the nail on the head on the second piece. It's around the Moreno piece. It's so frustrating for someone that is that large in stature.

You know, what is he, seven foot, probably 250, 270 to bring the ball down almost consistently every single time when he checks it high. Just don't the ball. Don't the ball. It's so weird to me. Garrison does the same thing. He's not as talented as Moreno. But they both do it. And I don't understand.

You make yourself three feet tall when you do that, right? And they're both bad about it. I appreciate the call. I mean, that's one thing. Diabate's not nearly as tall, but he doesn't really do that. He'll keep the ball high. But it's a consistent issue. And let me say, they were really, really good.

at the start of the game. Dame Bradshaw noted this. At getting, when inside, and when cut off, kicking it out. And then sometime in the middle of the first half, that just went away. And it was like they got to a point when you were in that pump that they were shooting. And they missed a lot doing that. Early in the game, they were really good about getting two feet in the paint and then kicking. And in the second half, we ended up with these one foot floaters and it just didn't work. One more.

And then we'll take our last break. Who's next? Before that, let's give our Johnny Rocker personal injury attorney moneymaker of the game. Injured, get small town compassion with big city results when you call the Rocker at 2703-4-29. And the moneymaker has to be Colin Chandler. 18 points, 6 of 10 from 3. That's a career high, 6 3-pointage for Colin. He had four rebounds and one crucial steel that led to an 0-way and 1 in 34 minutes.

The last two games, he's been great shooting the ball. Chandler is money and he is our money maker of the game besides the shot that would have tied the game. Did you write that? That sounded like you were reading like a pre-written script. Just the info about Johnny Rocker. The rest was all off the dome. Look at you, Billy. Such a talent coming through in his old age or young age. Who's next? Teddy is next. Teddy. Go ahead, Teddy. Hey, Matt. So I've been positive about the turnaround with injuries and when we were slipping, then we got on this little run. But we don't have someone like, you know, the Alan Iverson, like, who cares about practice,

practice, whatever that quote was. We don't have a stud like that. And there just seems like there's no discipline on this team. Like every start has been a repetitive theme every single time. And that is coaching. And I think he's made a good change to where they're using the best of their abilities. They're getting effort. and they're trying, but they're not executing.

They're not doing the X and O's. They're not run like, I'm a football guy myself, and practices are like, I mean, drills, like something like in the Army. And everything is to a T. And I just feel like this team is not in February. We're having the mistakes that a team in November would have. Well, I feel like Pope is two months behind. Well, yes, he's figured out this team and gotten the lineup,

but he hasn't gotten the exes and he hasn't gotten everything lined up to where people can actually execute and to start off in game and that's just a common problem. Yeah, well, they started pretty well tonight. It was the last eight minutes of the first half. I mean, they started, we were up, we were up eight with like eight and a half minutes to go, and then we were down five at halftime. So they actually started, I thought, all right, but the first halves, that's why I said, and I appreciate the call.

That's why I blame the substitution patterns because somebody counted, and I don't know if this is correct. So I'm quoting someone else's numbers, but somebody wrote online 16 substitutions in the last six and a half minutes of the game, or the first half. Billy, that's crazy.

16 subs in six and a half minutes. Is that right? That's what they said. Now, that could be wrong. But let's say that's right. That's, well, but that's, it felt like that. They were just shuttling guys back in and out. And I don't know how you expect a team to have rhythm when you do that.

And, you know, I mean, what, what do you, how do you expect the guys to be connected? I also think that when you're, when you're talking Aberdeen, Chandler, Oway, and Moreno. I just think it's hard not to have like three of those four on the floor at all times. I mean, I just do not think you can have two of those guys out at once. And at one point, Billy, we had all of them out. This team is not good enough for that. No, we had three of the four out. I don't think we had all of them out.

But we had three of the four out. I just don't think you can do that. For me, O.E. Chandler and O.A. Chandler and Aberdeen, I'm never not having two of those guys on the floor. Well, we're collecting data in the first half. Yeah, but I'm done with the data. We've got plenty of data. Here's the data. We're four and 15 at the half. That's the data I care about. Figure it out. Yeah. To some extent, figure it out, right? Yeah.

I mean, at the end of the day, you could make a strong argument. The only stat that matters is your record at the end of the year. Like we don't sit there after a doctor performs an operation and go, where did he make the mistake with the scalpel? We just say, am I cured or not? Did it work? Right. I'm fine with whatever he wants to do with the data. But the data that matters is we are 17 and 9, and we have a really hard schedule with the rest of the year. We'll take a break and come back.

Final segment. It's the local toy dealers, KSR. Post-game show. Welcome back. Local toy dealers, KSR Post-Gam Show. Texas Tech just lost to Arizona State, but more importantly, J.T. Topping got hurt. That's a big deal if he's hurt and out because it looked like a knee injury. I mean, they're really good, but without him, they, I mean, he's their guy.

He came back for this, too, so, like, you know, I would hate to see him. He's a great player and I like watching him play, so I hope he's okay. All right. Who's next? Michael. Michael, go ahead, Michael. Hey, Matt. I just think, there's two quick things.

Number one, out of the Blue Buds, Kentucky has the second worst home environment. It's just, it's ridiculous. We are the second winning as basketball. I don't agree. Who do you consider the Blue Bloods? Who do you consider the Blue Bloods? Like, who are you talking about? Kansas, dudes.

There's are better. I think North Carolina has the worst. Yeah. Well, UCLA's is pretty bad. And UCLA is... Well, I don't consider them a blue bud anymore. All right. So, you're talking about ours.

It's better than North Carolina. Danny Hurley, just this week, said he thought UCon had its worst environment. It's, like, that their environment is terrible. He literally said that this week. He's, yeah, but he's nuts. He thinks everything's terrible. I've watched their games at Yukon. their environment is much better than Kentucky.

But they're also playing, I mean, to be fair, to be fair, though, they play in like a 9, you know, a 10,000 seat gym. It's tough because Rupp is, you can, no, that makes it easier, dude. A 10,000 seat gym can get a lot louder than our arena can. If you want environment, you want it to be 9,000 to 12,000 people. It's enough people for it to be loud, but it's enclosed. so the noise stays in. So that's why Kansas Duke and Yukon,

you can's a little bit bigger than that. But that's why there's environments are so good, is because they're small. Now, pick these arenas that are big, and you don't have environments like that. Now, you could say we should make we're up smaller, and I don't necessarily think that would be the worst thing, but you can't really compare a 9,000 to 11,000 seat gym

with a 21,000-seat civic arena. You're just going to have different environments. And Carolina, of all the ones you mentioned, is the only one whose arena is like ours, and they have the same problem. Yeah, they're worse. I think they're worse than Kentucky. They are.

I agree with you. Carolina's worst in Kentucky. But I mean, I'm just saying, I don't, I don't. But again, it's much smaller, and it's old. So, like, that makes it a lot easier to have a great environment. Okay. And my second point, and I think I've been listening to you on this one is, you have said for, since I've been listening to you, since the very beginning of KSR, since you have said, the worst thing that a program can do is higher its own, when its own hasn't proven to be a quality championship coach. We did it and we all hated it and then we got on board with it.

and we gave Mark Pope a lot of grace for last year. He had some big wins. Well, no, we have grace. We went to the Sweet 16. Yeah, it wasn't, it wasn't a disaster. He, we didn't, we didn't give him grace. It wasn't a disaster. He went to Sweet 16 in his first year.

Yeah, I mean, that's good. That's good. Yeah. Well, I mean, it's good, but with some really questionable losses, some questionable coaching decisions, things like that. Then he went out and said he had a Ferrari, $22,000. million dollars, that whole deal, and it's been an absolute disaster. I just do not think it is, it is showing over and over again that Mark Pope is not the coach

to get Kentucky back to the gold standard. And how long do we endure this before we... Well, okay. You're making, let me just, let me address, let me address, no, we're not. Let me address your Indiana, we are not Indiana territory. Indiana territory is a program that hasn't really been relevant since the mid-90s. Okay? So no.

Now, are we in danger of slipping? Yes, I'm totally with that. But Indiana is a whole different category. Okay. When's the last time Indiana made the Final Four? Is it like, I don't even know. Anyway, point being, to your question about my stance for a long time about not hiring a guy who played here.

I've always believed that. I still believe it. However, you have to go back to where we were when we made the hire. If we didn't hire Mark Pope, do you know who the coach would be at Kentucky? Somebody I wouldn't have wanted. Shocker smart. Shocker smart would have been.

Oh, gross. Oh, really? Yeah, that's who the coach would have been. Once they eliminated and we can have strong discussions about whether or not these people should have been eliminated. But once Bruce Pearl, Nate Oates, Chris Beard and Sean Miller, once the university said we're not, we can consider those guys, we were down to Mark Pope and Shocka Smart. And so part of the reason I ultimately think that was the right decision is, would you rather have Shaka Smart?

I mean, I wouldn't. So you have to consider like, now the other option is they could have waited a couple weeks and tried with Billy Donovan, but Billy Donovan told Mitch Barnhart twice no. So like waiting on a third time, you might have gotten no again. So I'm not saying that that theory is wrong. I still think I'm right.

But I think in this situation, because of the way the search went, it's what happened. Now, before we say like, how long are we going to give him? How many seasons is he finished? one and three-quarters. And he went to the Sweet 16. This season is not over. Okay.

What if we go to the Sweet 16 again? By the way, which is certainly possible. We also could miss the tournament. So there's a wide variation in what could happen this year. And I do think we need to wait and see what. So before you say, how long are we going to give him? How about we wait and see how this year ends? Right?

I mean, we need to see what happens. And then I don't think there's any scenario at this point where he will not be the coach next year. But where you and I agree. I don't think so. So where you and I would agree is we have to see what happened. Like next year is his year. Next year is going to be crucial. And I think what I would say is I'll have a lot more thoughts on that once I see what happens next year.

Once I see what kind of team we get in this off season. I'm worried about that too. But I'm not ready to go how much grace we're going to give him. How long is it going to be? It's been a year and a half. And this season's not over yet. I hear what you're saying there. I totally hear you saying.

But I guess my counterpoint to you would be is you always say this is Kentucky. This is Kentucky. This is the gold standard. This is the greatest tradition in college basketball history. If we keep settling for a sweet 16 or we keep settling for, well, we got to give them. Settling for, he's only been here. I mean, to some extent I want to say, he's only been here a year.

He's finished one year. Let me go back to history. What did Cal do in his first year? Do you remember how far they went? Elite eight. Okay. And now they were great that year. But they still lost.

But they were great that year. They were great. But there were people in that second year. Because you were a little kid then, right? There were people in that second. No, I was in college. Okay, so you're in college. There were people in that second year, in the middle of that year when Brandon Knight's team stunk,

because they did stink for part of the year, who go, I just don't know if he can win here. There were people who said that. And then when the season was over, they were in the final four. So I'm just saying, let's just be patient. There's only five games left. We're going to know here in a few weeks. And then I think that's a conversation for. late March, early April.

And then we can evaluate what these two years were locked. It's not looking great. Appreciate the call. But I'm appreciate the call, but I'm not giving up yet, even though I'm very frustrated about this game. Let's do two more, we'll call it tonight. Who's next? Kelly.

Kelly, go ahead, Kelly. Hey, Matt, I'm going back and talking about the free-thos shooting. Likesington, Kentucky has two of the best. SEC pre-throw shooters and Kyle Macy and Jim Masters. And Pope likes to ask back all of these players to goombayah. I have an idea. How about we invite Kyle Macy and Jim Master to practice to teach him how to fundamentally shoot a free throw?

Well, my guess is that we have people on staff who know how to shoot a free throw. And while you and I... Well, obviously, it's not translating. But Jim Master is... Kyle Macy was a coach. I don't know if Jim Master has been a coach. But regardless, like, you and I know

who Kyle Macy and Jim Master are, right? And like, they mean something to us. These kids don't know who they are. If you brought... Well, I mean, but someone has to teach them to shoot a free throw... But I would bet you they have people who... I mean, I...

I would assume they have people who do that. And at the end of the day, though, I will say about free throws. That's ultimately on the player. They got to execute. Mark Pope cannot make them make free throws. You know, I mean, and I appreciate to call. Otega Owe knows how to make a free throw. He went three for six.

Denzel Aberdeen knows how to make a free throw. He went four for seven. That's on them. I think Denzel Aberdeen's like what, an 85% free throw shooter? 82 or 83. Like, you got to make them, man. So, I mean, I, you know, if Pope wanted to do that, I'd before. But I don't think that's like a, I don't think it's that they don't know how to make it.

I think it's a matter of like mentally locking in and making it. One more. Who's next? Mark. Mark. Go ahead, Mark. Hey, Matt. Fellow Middlesboro graduate here.

Oh, all right. Jackets, Jackets. I graduated in 79. I was going to use the word Mark Pope is failing, but I think that's probably too strong a word because we have had some great comebacks this year. But I'm going to ask you, here's another question about your opinion.

I think he's in over his head. and a lot of the Kentucky fans that I talk to believe that, and if he don't get himself the right kind of help, especially in the recruiting department, I don't think this is going to work. So my question to you is, do you believe he is in over his head right now? I wouldn't use the term over his head,

but I do think I might say this year it has felt like to me he was in his head. Right? That, you know, Kyle Tucker, who's back covering college basketball, he had an article today about Mark that said, and it quoted Rick Petino as saying a lot of people close to Mark were really worried about him and the way he was talking and acting early in the year. And it's a good article. You should read it. And I agree with that. I think it is clear that he does need help on the recruiting stuff. On that, I totally agree with you. He needs a GM, and it is clear Mark Pope has not recruited the level of player that he now needs to get at Kentucky, and maybe the methods he used to recruit guys at Utah Valley and BYU is not what you do to recruit the top stars to Kentucky, and he needs help, and I'm disappointed he hasn't done that yet.

As far as a coach, as far as a coach, I don't think he's in over his head, but I think he's in his head and it is not working like I would have hoped yet. So now how do you fix that? I don't know him well enough to answer the question. But in over his head would almost mean like

he's not intelligent enough to do this and I don't think that's true. Okay, well, thank you for your... Appreciate it. That's just my opinion. I'm not saying, and I appreciate the call.

And I, you know, listen, I'm disappointed by this loss, but I also would say there are five games left. This is the kind of team that can lose this game, Billy, and then go to Auburn and win. Right? We've seen it, yeah. We've seen it. So this is the kind of team that you could argue you should have beat Missouri, should beat in Georgia, you should have beat North Carolina, we should be, you know, 20 and 6.

You could also say, we could have lost LSU, we could have lost Tennessee. We could be like not making the tournament. So let's see what happens. But this is a bad one. This is one that's going to cost them. At best, it's going to cost them a seed line at the NCAA tournament. And at worst, it might make us on that bubble. And they're going to have to go steal one.

Thank you folks very much for staying up late tonight. Thanks to Billy as well. We'll be back on the radio here in eight and a half hours. This has been the local toy dealers, KSR, post-game show. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel

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If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to, he's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

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