KSR - KSR Postgame UK MBB vs Ohio State 12/21/24

Episode Date: December 22, 2024

Matt and Billy recap the Cats' 85-65 loss vs Ohio State at MSG.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I mean, Kentucky was really, really bad, both offensively and defensively. There's a lot of different ways you can go with this, but I'm going to, let's take a little big picture here at the beginning. You know, when this team was built and sort of Pope created it, I said at the time it was built, I thought we were one player short. from being really good. And, you know, at times this year, it's felt like maybe O'Way could be that guy and that they could go. And he still may.

I mean, it's hard to tell. But it was honestly, when I looked at the roster, it was games kind of like this that I was worried about because while I don't think Ohio State is necessarily good, they are athletic, they are physical, and there is clearly a blueprint on how to play, now. Really starting with Billy's Western Kentucky team all the way through Gonzaga and Clemson and now Louisville and this game, even Colgate, there has been kind of a,

the way to play this team is get physical with them, make them beat you off the dribble, and then let them see if they can finish at the room. And we've had half, where we've been successful. Second half against Gonzaga. We scored 93 against Louisville. I think in general they scored pretty well. But we haven't, it has definitely caused us problems. And today was the worst.

They shot 28% from the field, 19% from three. And you saw, I think for the first time this year, this team looked like a team of mid-major guys playing against guys who were significantly better athletes. I was worried that we might look like that quite a bit this year. I don't think we have, but I do think that's what we look like tonight. And, you know, when Pope was hired, I went back and watched some of his BYU games, because I had seen them play a couple times.

I watched when he beat Kansas at Kansas at one point. I think he was up like 20 in that game. And then I watched a game where they played on the road to maybe back. Baylor where they lost by like 20. And I went back and watched those games. And it was very, and you may remember in the preseason me saying, I think there are going to be some times we demolish teams. I think there's going to be a couple times where we beat teams that maybe are better than

us. And that's happened with Duke and Gonzaga. But there are also going to be times if you look at Pope's record where they just lay an egg. And if you go back and look at Pope's time at BYU and even at Utah Valley State, sometimes they just would lay an egg. And tonight was one of those eggs. I think this is going to be an issue going into SEC play. There are going to be a lot of teams we play, maybe most teams we play,

that are more athletic than us. And that physical athletic style just really seems to give this team trouble offensively. Now, on the defensive end, that was a total demolition. I mean, Ohio State kind of got whatever shot they wanted. And we just couldn't, I mean, they would switch ball screens, make sure they got Brea, Robinson, or Carr on whoever they wanted to have the ball. And it was layups. I mean, layups.

The defensive drop from Butler away and to some extent Williams, although even Williams is a step slow, to those other guys, is pretty significant. And if they get them isolated at the top or off a screen, they just get taken. And Mark's going to have to adjust to that. I don't know if this team, you know, at Gonzaga, they played a little zone. I kind of thought we might see that at some point. But then we didn't.

So just both sides are collapse. You know, and there's, I think you can write, look, I thought, I said before the season started, If they went 11 and 2 in the non-conference, that would be great. Well, that's probably going to go. So you've got to be happy about that, and they've beaten the two harder teams and lost to the two worst teams. But I'm a little concerned about, you know, they haven't shot threes well in a, it's like six or seven games in a row.

They haven't shot threes well. You know, Pope talked a lot about in the post game of them trying to, to do what they're not good at. And I think what he's getting at is they were trying to basically beat their guys off the dribble, and that's not the strength of the team. And he's completely right about that. I don't know that any of our guys, except maybe Butler, are really good going off the dribble. But I do, you know, against Gonzaga, they beat them back door.

That was part of what made them. They just made great cuts to the basket. But Ohio State had clearly scouted that. And they were not allowing that to happen. And we just really struggled finding a way to score. And it's just something to watch going forward. You know, this Florida team that we play, it's going to be two weeks from today. It's going to be a great test.

You're at home. In this SEC, Kentucky's going to have to hold serve at home. They're going to lose a bunch of road games. So they're going to have to hold serve at home. It's 11 a.m. It's a Florida team that plays physical, right? We got two weeks to get ready for that because I think that is going to be a real, like,

sort of symbol of what SEC play is going to be like. This Ohio State team isn't good, although with Bradshaw and the way the Thornton guy played, they're better than their 40-point loss to Auburn would show. but they are athletic and they are physical and that just seems to really give this group difficulty so i'm not giving up on the season you know i i'm not giving up on certainly not giving up on pope i mean this year has already been significantly more successful than i even thought it would be but as far as this team and what they can do this year

it is a little concerning to see five or six games in a row where a certain style of defense has clearly worked against us where it's likely the case we're going to see this all year and we're in a conference that has a lot of teams built to play exactly as Ohio State played. The question is just going to be, are we going to be able to rise to that task? you know, Pope said he thought this would be the sort of linchpinner turning point of the season.

You know, I think I agree with him. He is obviously hoping, and I'm hoping, and I'm even expecting, that it will be a turning point for the positive, that they sort of realize, look, this is what we're going to see. We've got to find a way to scheme around it. We can't break down, try to go one-on-one. you know, to use a term we're used to. We can't play like Cal's teams did. We don't have the dudes to do that.

Our guys aren't good enough to play like that. But the question is, can we come up with a system to counter it? Because at least as of today, we didn't have that. 859-280-2287. We'll take your calls. You know, I try to find something positive to say. Shout out to Otega Owey, who went Billy 13 for 13 from the free throw line. That's pretty good.

That is pretty good. But, yeah. Is that all you got? That? Well, I mean, I don't know what else do you do. We didn't have one guy on the team shoot 50% from the field, not one. And Ohio State shot 58% as a team. So, and Aaron Bradshaw, a former player here, had his best game, maybe of his career.

Yeah. I'm not sure he's, I mean, I don't know. Maybe he had one game at Kentucky last year that was that good. I can't remember one. And, of course, he played excellent. Joel Justice sitting over there on the sidelines. Was that him? Oh, I didn't see Joel on the sideline.

Was he there? There was a guy that looked like him. I know Joel was at NC State last year, but I think, look up and see if that was him. If it wasn't him, his twin was sitting there on the sideline. I hadn't followed where he was. Associate head coach at Ohio State. I thought that was him.

I thought that was him sitting there on the sideline. Yeah. So, you know, a couple guys with UK ties got the last laugh. And kind of what's disappointing is, you know, our fans took this game seriously. We had a lot of big blue nation in the crowd. Ohio State, they might have had seven fans there because they were all caring about this football game. And yet they still, they still ended up with it. 859-28027, Tennessee, after an absolutely horrible start at Ohio State,

has just made it 2110 going into half. If they cover seven and a half, Billy, this will be one of my better gambling days in history. So oddly, I'm kind of, I want Tennessee to lose, but I need to get them within seven. We'll see what you think. The rest of the playoff game's kind of been a dud,

but the cats also threw up a dud. We'll take a break and be right back. It's the local toy dealers, KSR post game show. Welcome back. It is the local toy dealers, KSR post game show. Two things before we go to the break. I'm going to read you a quote that Mark Pope said on the postgame show. On the official one, a lot of you all listening on podcasts may have not heard that.

So let me read this. He said, this way he said to Tom Leach, we're going to lose a lot of sleep over this. It's hard to go into a break with a loss like this. We've got to find a way to do better when we are under duress like this. Three like this is. This is going to be one of the lynchpin moments in the season that's going to change us for the better. So, you know, that's definitely different than we're fine. We're built for March.

But, you know, we'll see what ends up happening. Secondly, somebody sent me a picture, Billy, the college game day bus and crew, not the Herb Street people, but like the people who literally drive it around, right? They are in Corbyn right now. They showed me the bus is parked at like a, well, I don't want to say where it's parked because I don't want people to all, like, show up there. But it's parked in Corbyn right now. Wow, what a place to visit on your way across the country. Probably I'm sitting there thinking what they're going to do.

So where's the best game next week? The best game next week will probably be whoever wins Ohio State, Tennessee versus what, Oregon, maybe in the Sugar Bowl or whatever it is. That's in New Orleans. Or Georgia, Notre Dame. Or Georgia and Notre Dame in Atlanta. So they probably left Columbus. And the easiest way to get there, right, is to probably drive through Corbyn, right?

Down through Tennessee, wouldn't you think? Yeah, no, that checks out. Or they might be based in Charlotte. That may be another thing. They might be based in Charlotte. And so, because ESPN has a lot of production stuff in Charlotte and they're driving back to Charlotte. But either way, if you drive around Corbyn tonight, you might get to see the Game Day bus. Isn't that exciting?

Yeah, only if I could see the guys, you know, the equipment managers. You don't think seeing the truck would be exciting? No, I'd like to yell at the bear, you know, or something like that. He doesn't work for, he hasn't worked for game day in like two years. What? Yeah, I think he's been on Fox for at least. Well, that's news to me as somebody that watches game day every Saturday. You clearly don't watch it much.

Who's up first? Casey is a third. Casey, go ahead, Casey. What's going on, boys, sitting here watching the game tonight? How are you doing, but first? Doing good. What's going on? Not too much. Soaked in this L. Didn't feel good about it.

Just on the internet, taking in the vibe tonight. Wasn't too good from the nation tonight. Yeah, I had somebody write me during the break and say, what do you think about the fans on the internet? This is just my take on internet comments after the game. I've watched this since Twitter started. I think they're getting worse by the, the day. And I think that's

across the board, by the way. I don't think it's just Kentucky fans. I think it's fans in general. I think the toxicity of especially Twitter, but even Facebook, that has been part of politics is now coming to sports in such a crazy way

that like, it's just who can be the most outrageous. And I looked at it for a minute. And then I was like, man, why am I looking at that? There's no reason to look at that. So whatever is the reaction, I was in a barful Kentucky fans at KS. Bar tonight. And people were disappointed, but they were not

cussing or anything. They were just like, well, I hope we get better. So I don't think that's a representative of the fans. Oh, yeah, exactly. I mean, like last week, we was the straight cats, and this week, we were two games to the negative, I guess, so to speak, and now the world's ending. Like, what do you mean? We're

straight cats. Now we're only two L's and now we can't do anything. What do you want us to do? Yeah, I mean, there's some concerning stuff from tonight, but, you know, let's say we had beaten Ohio State. Oh, yeah, yeah. Let's say we had beaten Ohio State beat Clemson, lost to Gonzaga, lost to Duke. Like, that's what we thought was going to happen. Well, now the opposite happened, right?

But we ended up kind of with exactly the record we hoped. But would Twitter head rather than the other happened? Would they have been happy? Yeah, I just don't, I think you have to remember it's still a relatively small, all set of people that's on social media and it is not representative yeah fact well me and my boy daran i just wanted to give you a shout out glad you're doing what you do keep keep keep being happy do your thing love y'all boys appreciate it thank you very much yeah i i will say though billy i'm not sure that me watching the games at ks bar i don't feel like i have a very good record with that

are you is are they losing when you watch the game at the bar they got it got destroyed today and I watched the whole game against Duke I was there the first half got nervous went home and then we came back at one Missouri last year remember we all got there and watched it to try to turn the vibes around and that was bad we lost by about 50 if you remember so I don't feel like I have the best record there I think the bar maybe does better without me watching there The owner of a sports bar not watching the games at his sports bar. Well, I mean, it's like when the teachers, if the teachers there, the kids won't speak freely. Maybe that's the problem.

Okay, they're playing tense because you're at the bar watching them. I think they know I'm at the bar and it makes them play tens, yes. Who's next? Bill. Bill. Bill, go ahead, Bill. Hey, Matt. How you doing?

Good. Yeah, that was, I mean, there's. poorly as we played, I cannot believe how many layups we missed. We missed a lot. I mean, that alone, that alone could have made a difference. Robinson missed two, Robinson missed two where there was no one near. Like, he literally just the ball slipped out of his hands twice. You know, it's just, it's, you know, it's one of those things.

I mean, the really bad thing about it is I grew up in Ludlow, Kentucky. but I moved to Columbus 30 years ago. So I get to hear about this tomorrow at church. So I'm thinking about staying. You think they're going to care, though? You think they're going to talk about this tomorrow? They're going to talk about their football team. They know, they know I love my wildcat.

They were telling me last week, you know, take it easy on us. Take it easy because of what happened with Auburn, you know. And I'll tell you one thing. I mean, I saw what Auburn did to Purdue today, and Purdue's not a bad team. And they beat them by, I think, over 20. You know what's odd, though, is I think we're actually good. They're great. I think Auburn's the best team in the country.

But I actually think we're going to match up better with Auburn than some of these other teams. Because Auburn still wants, now they're physical, but they're going to play faster. I mean, Ohio State, they scored 85, but their tempo, I mean, they slowed it down. and we were never really able to get in a rhythm. We couldn't get into a flow. We couldn't get into rhythm. I mean, it was, you know, and it's just, you know, I mean, it's frustrating, but like you said,

it's one game, if you would have said going in, getting ready to go in the S.C. Play, if we'd be 11 and 2, which is where we should be, we probably thought we would have, you know, one, maybe one of the, one of either Duke or Gonzaga, and then either Clemson or Ohio State. And so, you know, it's just, It's just, I don't know, it just makes you, and you can hear it in Mark's voice in the press conference

or in the postgame show with Tom just, I mean, he just sounded like he was, you know, totally lost almost. I mean, it was, it's surprising. It's surprising. I mean, and I appreciate the call. I mean, they cut it to six in the second half. They've gotten down 15, and they cut it to six. and that was their moment, right? Like that was their moment if they were going to have a shot to win.

That was their moment to either, you know, just keep it around six and then make a run. And then Ohio State called a timeout, great timeout by their coach and scored eight straight points. And then it was basically over at that point. By the way, Billy, I was going crazy in the bar when I saw they screwed up the score. The three-pointer that they didn't call? Or are you talking about different? No, they had a free throw that we made that they gave to Ohio State. So we were supposed to be down 10 or we were supposed to be down 8 or something.

And they had us go down 10. And then they came and hit a 3. And like the score was wrong on the screen for multiple minutes. And it was driving me crazy because I wanted to tell someone, but there was no one for me to tell. And I was looking around at everybody at the bar going their score is wrong. they were looking at me like you would a drunk lunatic like on the street going the score is wrong and I said I know it's wrong I know it is wrong and then like five minutes later they changed it

and it was wrong yeah that's probably the worst part is being the only one I feel like I was the only one that noticed like it stayed on the screen forever everyone watching the game seemed to think that was the score and I'm like I know the score is wrong and then finally they they did finally change it which made me feel better who's next Michael's next Michael, go ahead, Michael. Hey, Matt, I want to start out by saying Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of you at KSR and appreciate everything you do. Thank you, Merry Christmas, too. Tonight actually reminded me of the Patino Days where we're going to live and die by the three.

But also, I think tonight we actually missed Kurt. Tonight was the one night that I think Kerr could have made a difference. Yeah, I mean, you may be right. You know, I, we do live and die by the three, but I don't think we lost this game because we didn't shoot three as well. I mean, a lot of our threes were not good, like they were contested. You know what I mean? Like, it wasn't like we got a ton of open looks and just missed.

We missed a handful, but I don't think we got a lot of good shots, to be honest with you. And we, we were not good. And let's be real, we haven't shot over. 30% from three in six games, you know? So that worries me a little bit. I'll be honest. Yeah, appreciate the call. I mean, I, you know, this team looks so good from three early on. Just, just, you know, making it left and right. And they're just not. And they're not even getting off. I mean, we took 22-3s. That's, you know, that's not a ton for the style we play. I don't know. They're not shooting the ball well, which is weird.

because they've got good shooters. But I also think, Billy, there's a huge drop when we go to our bench, just a huge job. And I think all coaches do this. But we got to really reconsider the put the whole second string in six minutes into the game. That has now cost us in multiple games this year. I don't think this team's good enough to just take all the starters out and go and put in four reserve guys in once. They just, I mean, we went from up,

I think we were up four to down five in like two minutes. Well, like Chandler and Perry, they just, they don't see him ready. Well, but I mean, Almanor wasn't good. I don't think Garrison played well at all. And Brea is good as a complimentary piece, but when he's the centerpiece of the offense, I mean, that lineup, they went, it was Perry Oway, Brea, Garrison and

Almanor. That line up, it was like a 9-0 run immediately. I mean, you basically took your three best players off the court. I just don't think you can do that with this team. You can't take Carr, Robinson, and Butler. I don't think they should ever be off the court at the same time, all three of them. And, you know, if you look at the numbers,

our four best players for plus minus are Butler, Carr, Amari Williams, and Robinson. And all four them were on the bench at the same time, and they went on a 9-0 run. Yeah, I was surprised by Butler tonight. I mean, he did get in some foul trouble, but, I mean, he had 33 in the previous game. And his guy, but really, they would switch,

they did a good job if they would get Butler's, that Thornton, they would get him off of him. they would do a ball screen and all of a sudden somebody else would be gardening him and it was it was over just nothing worked who's next matt matt what's up matt hey matt how you doing doing good i think the big thing when we talk about like this team just doesn't have a go-to bucket getter i think we initially thought that that was going to mean like more in crunch time like game tighter down one who's going to go get a bucket to go win the game i think where it shows up mostly is that when we just go on these long, like, cold spouts where we just can't get a bucket,

because running the Zoom action is so hard. Like, Mark Pope's offense is so hard and exhausting. If we're just missing shots and getting beat on defense, I think our team just gets tired at times. It's so hard to continuously run the Zoom action, run through screen, set screen. And I think our team gets tired and they get a little selfishness. That's when we get a little shot chucking at the end, which is one of the least our huge scoring ground today. I think that's pretty good analysis.

honestly. I think we really struggle. I appreciate the call. We really struggle to get our own shot when we need a basket. If you think about the cow years, the difference between the really good teams and the teams that weren't as good is if they had a guy who could go get his own shot in key moments. And when we didn't have that, those were the teams that lost in the first round or the second round. When we did have that, we were tough to beat. We just don't have that right here. And, you know, he runs such a crisp offense that most of the time it's okay.

But tonight, we didn't have a guy to do it, and we had a lot of guys who were trying to do it. And it wasn't working. Who's next? Gary. Gary, go ahead, Gary. Hey, Matt. Thanks for letting me in.

I appreciate it. I hear other callers, and I hear you calling in, and I just feel like I got a different take on this game. We definitely played bad, but I feel like that they played like an NBA team that was in the playoffs, and we played like a regular NBA team that's playing an regular NBA game. What do you mean by that? You don't think we played hard?

They were up on us. us on every exchange, on every pick. I mean, they were up on us. They were physical. They were putting hands on us. Referees were letting them do it, which is fine. But they were all up on us, and we couldn't get an inch. And I feel like on defense, we weren't doing that to them.

And I feel like it was night and day. Well, but I mean, that's how everybody's going to play us. I mean, you know, I think. I would disagree that they weren't, like, if you're suggesting it was like an effort thing. But I do agree with you. Yeah, I would disagree. I think we were giving effort. I just think we have got to find a way to score when they are, when play teams that are extending out past the three point line.

We scored in the second half against Gonzaga a lot using cuts. We scored against Louisville. We scored against Louisville in part because our guys were as good, if not better, than the Louisville guys. But in this game, we could not get free. And I worry about that because these other – Because these teams in the SEC are going to be like that. Even the bad teams in the SEC are going to be really athletic. And I just – I worry a little bit that this team has the looks of like a really –

really, really, really good. Like, you know how sometimes in the NCAA tournament, a team like Creighton will make it, and they might be top ten. And then they play like Mississippi State. And Mississippi State just beats them because they're so much more athletic than they are. I kind of worry about that with this team. I'm not sure we have the kind of SEC level athletes, so we're going to have to out-scheme these guys, and tonight it just didn't happen.

So you feel like it's an athleticism. I do. I think this is the least athletic Kentucky team in a long time. I mean, now that doesn't mean that they're not good. I think they're better than like the last four Kentucky teams, probably. But they are probably the least athletic Kentucky team. I'm trying to think. What was the least athletic Cal team?

Was it? maybe the Oscar team was severe and all those guys. That's probably the least athletic team. But you had a dude like Oscar. You could just go get a basket. We just don't have that dude. And I think it's strategy. I don't think we're athletic.

And I think when we play these teams that are super athletic, we're just struggling right now. I sure do love Hope. And I love his team. I really do. But tonight was disappointing. because the whole time I'm like all right

we've done this against Gonzaga we've done this against other teams but we're going to in the second half we're going to you know we're going to switch it up we're going to change something

and I just felt like and I don't feel like Pope did anything wrong I just feel like that the intensity didn't change they kept hitting shots and they were hitting some great shots but they played us like

a top 10 team so I feel like either we're not a top 10 team 10 team or they are. Does that make sense? Yeah. Well, I appreciate the call. I think it's somewhere in the middle.

I don't think we're not like, I don't know what we are yet. Ask me after the Florida game. I want to see how we do against Florida. I'm going to be, I think the Florida game is a big test. I mean, if you're good, you got to win that game at home. And let's see how we do, though, because they, they will be athletically a tough match for us. Do you agree with me, like that this is the least athletic Kentucky team in a long time? Yeah, I was thinking about the Oscar team.

as well. Jacob Toppin was he around for those teams? But he was a great athlete. Yeah. I mean,

like just think about how many dudes we have that don't go up and dunk. Amari needs to dunk a lot more. I mean, like, like,

even guys like Jackson Robinson who does dunk sometimes and Bray and like, they'll dump, but like they don't get high above the rim. Like, do we have anybody

that you think is like a high flyer? No. No, not really. And now, And on defense, Lamont Butler is an elite defender. And always a pretty good defender.

The other guys get beat athletically. So we're just not very athletic. But we're very skilled and we're very smart. So it's literally the mirror opposite of a John Cowell very team. No, I mean it. I mean, Cal had these elite athletes who, when he could bring them together and they were had high basketball IQ because they could be really good. But they weren't, there wasn't a lot of scheming going on.

Well, this is a lot of scheming, really, really skilled, really smart, but I just don't think they're very athletic. Whereas I think Pope in future years will have good athletes. But this group is just not great athletes. 859-280, 2287. Let's take a break. We'll be right back. the local toy dealers KSR post game show.

Welcome back. It is the local toy dealers KSR post game show. 859, 280, 20, 287. Text machine 772-774-5254. One person writes, Matt, do you think you could not watch the games because you don't have a shower to get into at KS Bar? Yeah, I mean, I...

Well, the thing was, all my friends were there. It was like our Christmas party. So I talked to them a lot of the game. Apparently I did miss. We did play 131 a couple plays. I must have missed that because I was hanging out with my friends. But if I had not, if they had not been there, Billy, there's no way I could have stayed when we were losing. I would have gotten them from left.

Well, I'm glad you stayed for your friends. I can't cost us the game. I cannot watch a game in public when we are losing. I just can't. On television, if I met the game, for some reason that doesn't bother me. But on TV in public, if we're losing, I can't watch it. And that's ridiculous because I'm a grown man. and it should not affect me like it does.

It's just ridiculous. It's ridiculous that I let this stuff affect me like it does. But I know I'm not the only one listening that is like that. One person writes, Matt, do you think it was the Wilson basketball that caused the problem? You know, college basketball should have one ball, but they don't. The Wilson ball, we've talked about this before, is very slick, right? like it's a very slick basketball. It's very different than the ball they use that Kentucky uses during the SEC.

They don't use it anywhere, really, except in postseason play because that's in, I guess it's the NCAA basketball, which is NCAA sanctioned for the tournaments. But then in the regular season, the home team gets to pick the game, the ball. So the ball does matter. Now, with that said, Pope talked after the Champions Classic, I believe. It had a unique ball. It was like a Franklin ball or something, Billy, that they used in that one? Something they don't use in anything else.

And Pope said they practiced with it to get ready. So presumably they did that with this Wilson ball, too. So, no, that's a long way of saying, I cannot blame the basketball. What's next? James is next. James, go ahead. Hey, Matt, thanks for taking my call. Don't ever feel bad.

Don't ever feel bad to going home during a game because I almost got kick out of the bar six minutes ago in the first half. I went home, watched the rest of it. I feel like we should have went zone way earlier. Yeah. And we shouldn't do one-three-one at that point. There was 30 feel-goes made by Ohio State. Four was some three points. If that's not a recipe for two three zone, I don't know what it is.

Yeah, I kind of agree with, first of all, clearly I didn't even realize they played though because I in the second half was kind of hanging out and talking a lot of my friends. But you're right about, we went one three one in part against Gonzaga because we couldn't stop their driving kick. That really wasn't the issue. This might have been a two three. It might have been like a two three zone kind of game. Because they made so many six to eight foot jumpers.

I think they're making them right now. I don't know. They did make a bunch of those. But it was usually after having beaten our guy off the dribble and then just that kind of shot that, you know, Ramele Bradley was really good at and Reed last year was good at. Yeah, that little shot is what killed them. But don't ever get upset to go on home with others.

I didn't know home on me. It was awful. Well, I appreciate the call. It was a shame because the atmosphere was great at the bar. I mean, it was full, like, but not just full people standing. It was excited, and it just, they could never get it, could never get really rhythm going or noise in there. I probably like what it was like at Madison Square Garden. Who's next?

Brian. Brian, go ahead, Brian. Hey, Matt Jones. This is, this is my fifth call. I don't know. Anyway, the thing of it is, like, you know, I'm excited for this team. This is the greatest team I've had since I've had season takes. I've been a season taking older since 2019.

And the thing of it is, like, I've not been, this might be the most upsetting game that I've had in terms of my expectations for the teams. Because I've had Calipari's expectations going forward, and I kind of knew what they were. You know, you kind of knew what you're going to get. And this one here, maybe I've built it up a little bit more, but this one kind of slammed me down. And that being said, I'm still excited for what the future is going to be

because I think, I feel like Pope is scheming. Maybe we didn't do good in this game, but I think he's trying to teach a lesson. I didn't believe that this team was going to be 38 and 1, or 37 and 1. They're going to drop a couple games, and I feel like this is a part of that scheme. Well, I mean, I don't think losing by 20 in New York is a part of Pope's scheme or plan.

I mean, I think they just got beat. But I also agree that they can still be really good. I mean, you know, I picked Kentucky this week to go 12 and 6 in the SEC. I still probably would say the same thing. When I said it, it's funny how people's emotions change. said it two days ago. I had a ton of people say, why are you so pessimistic? And now I bet I had people go, we're not going to win eight games.

I mean, people overreact so much. I still think 12 and 6 is a good, it's probably a good number. But I don't think this was part of a grand plan. They just got their tails kick tonight. No, you're not wrong. And I guess this is my point is like, as a fan, I expect them that there's going to be some losses. We're going to drop some losses. But as a fan, I have to be optimistic going forward. I feel that with this loss, Pope is going to do the best job he can do

teaching these guys going forward. Of course. I agree. Yeah, I agree. Right. And that's my thing. It's like, you know, I have to be more optimistic than I was. We knew what was going to happen with Calgary. We knew how we were going to progress forward in the future. And with Pope, maybe there's more some kind of just, you know, some kind of optimism that's there that wasn't with Cal Fair because we knew what was going to have. It was 15 years in. Yeah.

Well, I mean, look, I appreciate the call. I think we're going to be fine. I do want to see how they've got to find a way to score against these teams that play the defense at Ohio State play. I'm going to be honest with you. I think defensively, we're not going to get a whole lot better. Okay? I feel defensively about this team, kind of like I felt about last year's team. Last year's team was a lot more athletic than this team, but they couldn't guard anybody.

And they never were able to guard anybody all year. And people didn't like that I said all year, I don't think they're going to get better defensively. Now, the reason they weren't good defensively is different reason than this. we didn't have rim protectors. We have rim protectors. But I'm not sure all of a sudden our defenders are going to be able to guard, you know, slide their feet and stay one-on-one better. So I have a feeling we're going to give up high 70s, low 80s,

pretty much every game. But we've got to find a way to score because when we're scoring 65, we're not going to beat anybody. I mean, anybody scoring 65. Because we're going to be giving up 65. or more almost every game in the SEC. Who's next? Zeke.

Zeke, what's up, Zeke? Hello. How are you, Zeke? I'm doing well. How about you? Good. What's going on? Well, first off, I just want to say I am a kid, so, you know. That's okay.

What? So what? I'm glad. I like what kids call. It's Billy that hates you. So first off, I just want to say about, what's his name? Who are you talking about? The guy from Drexel.

Amari Williams. Amari Williams, okay. There is one thing about him. I feel like he's making some bad decisions. Like, when we were down by nine, instead of, like, passing it out or doing something, He just drove in and took a bad shot. Yeah, that was a bad shot.

That was a big possession. It's interesting you bring up that possession. That was a big possession. I appreciate the call. I'm getting feedback. I'm sorry, Zique. I can't keep you on there because there's something in your background there. That was a big possession, though, what Zeeke's talking about.

We'd cut it to six. They call cut time out. They come down, get an A and one, cut it to nine. We really need a basket on the next possession. and he does one of his back to the, you know, back, back, back, hook shot, doesn't even hit the rim, leads to a fast break, and they score, and it's an 11-point game. And I remember thinking that's such a terrible shot in that scenario. I don't know what he's doing.

And then the next time down, he got the ball at the top of the key, and I thought he was going to dribble down and shoot a layup. Instead, he dribbled down, got trapped through. a pass and it ended up in a contested jumper. And, you know, I know a big part of this offense is the idea that the center, you know, initiates a lot. But, man, when it looks bad, it looks really bad. Who's next? Tim.

Tim. Go ahead, Tim. Hey, Matt. Hey, what's up? Yeah, so I was wondering if you had watched Auburn tonight. it was on one of the televisions at the bar and I would check the score but I didn't really watch any of the game I know they won by like 30 yes they're great they absolutely they absolutely crush Purdue and my my other point was if you had been told that you started that can tell you

started 11 and 2 to start the season would you have taken that of course yeah no matter the losses Yeah, I mean, I thought we were going to lose three. I thought we were going to lose three. I said two would be a huge success. So, yes, I would certainly have taken it. Now, the SEC is better than I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be really good, but it's even better than I thought. So whereas I thought we would lose five or six, I still think we're going to lose six,

but I think it becomes a lot harder. Like, we're going to have to be better to lose six than I thought. I mean, bottom line, we're halfway through the season or at least, you know, we're through the non-conference, except for one game. We are better than I thought we would be when the season started. So I can't help but be happy about that. But are we as good as maybe people thought we were after the Gonzaga game? Maybe not. I agree, Matt.

Yeah, appreciate the call. But we are. If I were to go back to when the season started as to what I thought this team was going to, to be, I think we're better than what I thought that we were going to be. So I do consider that a success. And I also think we are better than the sum of our talent. I think part of why this game, I mean, this game was a bad loss, but part of why I'm not shocked is I don't think our individual players are that great.

I think what they have become collectively is really impressive. because as I said all year, we don't have one pro on this team. So to be as good as we are, without one pro, I think is pretty, pretty impressive. We'll take a break.

859-280-2287. Ohio State driving again on Tennessee. I have mixed emotions. I'd love to see Tennessee get destroyed, Billy, but I need plus seven and a half. That's a touchdown, so that's going to be tough to get. Oh, did they just score a touchdown? I'm a spoiler alert here ahead of me.

All right, we'll take a break. We'll be right back. There it is. Local Toyota dealers, KSR post-game show. Final segment, local toy dealers, KSR post-game show. 859-280-80-2-807. One person writes, Matt, Billy was on vacation all of last week. Do you think he was as soft as our basketball team was tonight?

That's rude. What? Why would they say that? First of all, I don't know that our best. Well, our basketball team is a little soft. Billy's not soft. He's taking vacation. How was your vacation, Billy?

Where'd you go? It was great. I went nowhere. I have not logged on to Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram for six days. I mean, you didn't go anywhere. No. So you didn't, you told me you didn't go online for six days at all. Still haven't.

Okay. And then what did you do all day? I did some Christmas shopping. I, you know, reconnected with my faith. You know, it was a very introspective week for me, old Billy R. Sports. Really?

Yeah. What do you mean? What do you mean? Like I read a book and like it was... What did you read? Well, it was the one that I told you about on Fade This. You know, Bob Rottella's golf is not a game of perfect. Read that another time and, uh, you know, just watched a couple Christmas movies,

relaxed. Okay. Well, good for you. Yeah. All right. Are you like becoming like a hippie? No, no, but. Have you going to start doing yoga or are you going to?

I already do yoga, so I beat you there. You already do yoga. Okay, you're going to subscribe to Goop. Is that what you're going to do? No, no, not Goop. Okay. No, it was a good time. All right, well, good.

Well, you, I can see this is like, I don't know, meditating, Billy. Well, good. I'm glad. Well, now you. you get to pick up. And we actually don't, I mean, Kentucky only plays once in the next two weeks. You know, they play New Year's Eve. But otherwise, two weeks.

And Pope said this is a hard loss to take with two weeks. And that's kind of true. It's tough to lose a game like this and then not get to play. I don't play again for 10 days. And not until we play Brown next Tuesday. So who's up next? Hunter. Hunter, go ahead, Hunter.

Hey, Matt. Hey, Billy. How are you, Matt? doing good yeah I just got a couple points regarding the game barring a couple

plays and then that stretch when we cut it to six OSU just kind of dominated us both offensively defensively you know when we have a guy we got we have a double team and they're being able to beat that and get a jump shot like it's just really nothing we could have done defensively

in my opinion and this game really does I'm not one of those people on Twitter to cancel the season. You know, I'm not that at all. But it does concern me because all the SEC teams are going to look at this game and be like, this is how we beat them. And so we've got to learn to be able to counter these and be able to fight those teams because these teams are really, we're going to struggle with.

I mean, I agree with you. We're going to see this all year, right? We're going to see this all year. And we're going to have to find a way to counter it. And we've seen it now a number of games in a row. I think when we're shooting well and some other things, we can. But tonight, what worries me about tonight is that we just couldn't even get shots off. You know what I mean?

Like we didn't even get good shots, much less didn't make them. We didn't even get good shots. And that's a little worrisome to me going forward. But we'll see. Appreciate the call. Let's do four more. Who's next, Billy? Drew is next.

Drew. What's up, Drew? What's up, Matt? So, Billy. Frustrating game tonight. But at least the team in Orange is getting smacked around on the gridiron. Yeah, I do like that, although there's not much trash we can talk because when you lose like this. But I do like, although they show the Tennessee fans in the crowd, they sure do look cold.

I mean, Knoxville's not that far south. But anyway, go ahead. Before I get into it, I've been thrilled with the Mark Pope era so far. So I want to give major props to a guy who's basically created a team from scratch in about two weeks. Definitely agree with you that I think we're way ahead of schedule where we are. And I don't think this night changes that at all. But a couple things I just wanted to share. I feel like the dirty secret of kind of Kentucky basketball's decline, if you will, since 2018-19,

hasn't really been an offensive problem. You know, it's easy to talk about offense, but we're still tense in the case. country and offensive efficiency, according to Ken Palm. You know, I look around, you know, at everything, all the, all the numbers and things like that. The reason for consistent inconsistency is shout out to Ryan Lemon and consulate, like, it's been defense.

You know, I know that you know that it's top 20 in offensive and defensive. Those are typically your best teams in the country. And we've only been top 20 in the country. And since 2018, which was 20. 18, 19, the last time we went to the Elite 8. This year, we're 61st. Last year, we were 100-something. It's been a real trend for us not to get stops over the years.

And obviously, very concerned going into what might be the best league ever this year, being able to get stops consistently. Totally agree with you. I think defense is, I think, the common denominator of the last few years. I think you've hit it. you go look at the best cow teams they were always good defensively um this we haven't been in a while i don't think this team is going to get a lot better defensively i'm going to be honest with you i just don't think they have the players

um and so because of that we're going to have to be really really good offensively and then hope we get matchups in the tournament that are favorable because i just don't say i mean i again this is not i'm not trying to be disrespectful to any of these kids but I don't think there's anything Kobe Brea, Andrew Carr, I don't think there's anything they can do to get better defensively at this stage of their cruise. I really don't. I mean, they're both, they're who they are.

Jackson Robinson, I think, can be a little better, but not a ton. And so you got Butler, no way. They're pretty good. But the other dudes, they are what they are. And Williams is a rim protector, but he can't slide his feet. he gets put on a guard, he gets beat. So, like, I don't know how that's going to get much better. So I think our best chance of success is our offense is going to have to get really efficient.

Completely agree. And that leads me into kind of the second point that I was going to bring up. And like I said, I hope this guy, I hope he turns it around because this team needs him desperately, especially in conference play. But I'm pretty close to being over Jackson Robinson. I mean, he's Justin Edwards with better PR through 12. games if we go look at that. I don't think that's fair. I don't think that's fair. I don't think that's fair. I think he's a lot better player. I think he's being asked to do stuff that like,

you know, you're asking a guy who is very talented, but was probably the third best player on his BYU team last year, well, maybe the second best player on his BYU team, to ask him to be the best player on a top 10 team. And that's an ask I thought he could get. Maybe he can't. Maybe he can't can't, but he can still be really good. But look, if you're asking Jackson Robinson to put a team on his back and win, I'm not sure that's going to happen. Although he played really daggone well against Gonzaga, right? So, like, he's won us games before.

But I think if you're wanting him to be a first or second team all-American, he's just not that good. If he was, he'd be in the NBA. No, yeah, I completely agree. But would you rather, I would almost rather go down swinging with Brea? at that point. No. No. If like it's...

No way. No way. He can't create his own shot. I mean, Robinson at least can get his own shot. It doesn't always go in, but he can get it. Brea can't get his own. Kobe Brea, open, is one of the best shooters I've ever seen. But he's hit... He doesn't hit

a lot of contested ones. He had a big one against Louisville, but generally whether or not it's in or not with Kobe Brea is the question of whether or not he's open. He's open, in. If it's contested, less so. So no. I mean, I think you'd be better off with Butler or O-A as your main.

Like, Kobe Bray is a sixth man for a reason. That's what he is. And he's a great six-man. But if he's the centerpiece of your offense, then we're really going to struggle. Yeah, no. And I meant more Brea from more of a spacing perspective to open up the lanes more for O.A. Butler to be able to be able to kick out into the corner. Because he's getting, and I appreciate the call, he is getting.

Watch, watch Bray on offense the moment they get down the floor. His man is attached to his hip because they know he can't beat him off the dribble. So it's tough. Teams are keying in on him. Three more. Who's next? You know, Pope has praised Robinson for his defense a lot of games too. He's been, he was not good tonight.

But he's been better than I thought he would be on defense. He wasn't good tonight, though. And I'm not really sure why that is. Who's next? Brandon. Brandon. and go ahead brain hey matt first time long time who are what's up all right tonight you know just i think like i was one of the say i'm from hilton head island south carolina and uh i we have

two bars here it's um captain woodies and the snack bar big tucky fans come everywhere and i'm like you when i go there and watch a game it's pediful we are down by 18 and whatever else and then i go home we end up coming back going that's what happened to gonzagie game But I just want to, with all these fans here, I just want to say that it's a one-off. It was just a terrible game, just a terrible game all the way across the board. And we'll rebound. We'll figure out of the way. It's not that bad.

I think your points on the athleticism and stuff, that's probably a good point defensively. If Bradshaw's got 11 points in the first half, we're not really good defensively. But when you shoot 23%, they're shooting 60%. It's a rest of the winner. That's true. You're not going to win a lot like that. I appreciate the call. Yeah, you're not going to win with that shooting percentage.

Like I said, go back and look at Mark Pope's history. He puts, he does about two of these a year, just complete duds. And I don't know why that is, but, you know, that's just been his history. He throws up a couple of these. I think it was either last year or the year before, he lost by like 8. at home to like central Florida or something. And you go, what? You were like a four seed in the time.

What? But that's just what they do sometimes. And I don't know why that is, but it does seem like that's something that happens. Two more. Who's next? Bones. Bones. What's up, Bones?

What's going on, guys? So I just want to say, like, anybody's just worried or concerned about what's going on like, but pro, like, just stop the thing. 99% of us

were guilty the second he got hired. Then he goes 10 and 1, lose the clues and he doesn't really matter. And then even

losing to Ohio State tonight by 20 is terrible, but at least it wasn't at home. And like you said, if he throws like these two duds

a year, now is probably the best time to do it. But I'm willing to bet by the end of the year, we're not going to be great defensively, but we better

than there are. and then on my last point Billy, I'm glad you had a great vacation in the book of bone you got to lose yourself to begin to find yourself. Love you guys, thanks.

Wow, the book of bone. Very nice. To you families listening, don't Google Book of Bone. Like, don't, that's not going to be something you're going to Google on a Saturday night.

All right, one more. Who's next? Jerry. Jerry, finish strong. Matt, I'll do that. I'm a first time caller, started listening to you. I met you in Bowling Green when you all were down there. And I mentioned to you that I was listening to you when you were interviewing Patrick Patterson.

Oh, what an interview. Listen, I took an old radio out by a metal pole. The only way I could get you. And I sat by that metal pole for an hour waiting for you to get on your, oh, yeah. I love you, man. Well, thank you. That's very nice of you, sir. Well, listen, you helped me get through cancer, and as other people have said, you've helped me,

I've kind of reaffirmed my faith in ways in politics. You really taught me about that. I was kind of a one-sided hater until I listened to your explanation. But I've tried to call two or three times. Hey, wait, wait a minute. Let me just say, God bless you, man. That's one of the nicer things anyone has said to me. So thank you very much.

Well, I'm totally honest about that, and it really happened. I got to listening to you and to the other guys and thinking, wow, there's other views rather than mine, and they have good viewpoints. And as far as Mark tonight, I love the guys as a coach. I've been through a lot of coaches. I'm 78 years old now. And we, I might think if I'm not trying to be negative, but. But I think the trip to New York, he and his wife meeting there and all of that, going to Hamilton to play and everything, might have kind of got into him, too, other than other things. Although, as I was with the politics, it could be wrong about that.

But listen, it's so. Well, I mean, on that point, Jerry, about being distracted, you know, I mean, I saw some people saying, ah, they shouldn't have gone to Hamilton or whatever. I mean, at the same time, you can't just sit around, sits in your room, stare straight ahead and go, what are we going to do? But, like, look, they may have just, the experience may have been too much in this case. You know, a lot of these dudes, I don't think any of them had ever played in Madison Square Garden, except for, except for Lamont Butler, who's played in the Final Four. There's probably nobody who's even played in an environment like that with the history of a place like that. So, you know, that might have had a small impact.

And Jerry, I don't know what your health situation is now, but I'll be praying for you, and thank you for your very kind words. Well, thank you, and it's good to listen to the show. I listen to the morning show all the shows that you do. I even do podcasts sometimes. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate it. So with that, Kentucky goes down to Ohio State, 8565.

Hopefully this is the least successful game we will have during the season, and we won't have one like this, but I will say we'll probably have at least one of these during conference play where we go, what in the world just happened? I think that's just the way it's going to be when you have a team like this. But I also think we're going to have some big wins as the year goes on as well. Thank you all very much. Billy, nice to have you back.

Our schedule next week, we will do the show Monday from KSbar. Then we are off Tuesday and Wednesday for Christmas, be back Thursday at KSbar. and in Glasgow on Friday at Don Franklin. We will see you guys later. If I don't talk to you on Monday, if you're not there, remember I host trivia Monday, but also have a Merry Christmas.

We'll see you guys later on. This has been the local Toyota dealers, KSR, Postgame 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. my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their

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