Vicky Graff Photo
Kentucky has been bounced from the SEC Tournament by the Texas A&M Aggies, 97-87.
Veteran guards Wade Taylor IV (32 points) and Tyrece Radford (23) combined for 55 of Texas A&M’s points. Every time Kentucky made an attempt to claw back into the game, both of them had an answer – which was familiar for Big Blue Nation.
It was just two months ago when Texas A&M beat Kentucky at College Station. That effort was also led by Taylor (31) and Radford (28) in a similar game with a similar outcome (97-92).
Fan favorites Rob Dillingham (27) and Reed Sheppard (14) led Kentucky on offense Friday night, but early foul trouble for Antonio Reeves (13 points) and an inefficient evening for the rest of their supporting cast factored in to the team coming up short.
This loss stings, but for more reasons than Kentucky exiting this SEC Tournament.
Flashback to 2023 when Kentucky was bounced in the first quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament by Vanderbilt.
Fans were calling for head coach John Calipari’s job after that early exit in Nashville and Kentucky followed that up with a second round loss in the NCAA Tournament, further edging Calipari to the “hot seat” with his fanbase.
Fast-forward a year later and here we are as the Wildcats have once again been bounced in their first game of the SEC tournament.
Yes, fans are once again outraged. They have every right to be.
There are 14 teams in the Southeastern Conference. Only one of them has as basketball coach that repeatedly acts like their conference tournament doesn’t matter.
Calipari could possibly get away with that mindset if his team could win a game or two. But the Wildcats instead have gone two years without a victory in the SEC Tournament and are 1-5 overall in their last six tournament games.
The same logic could be applied if Kentucky had recent success in the NCAA Tournament. But since 2019, the Wildcats are just 1-3 in the Big Dance.
It’s also obvious Kentucky is not well-coached.
Can you name one team in the country that brings their second and third best players off the bench?
Dillingham and Sheppard are lightyears ahead of D.J. Wagner and Justin Edwards. They’ve proved that all year.
But Calipari has stuck with the wrong duo throughout the season and has given no reason for fans to believe he’ll change his strategy next week.
There are X’s and O’s.
There is clock management.
There is having a lack of creativity on drawn-up plays down the stretch.
But not playing your best players to start the game and the second half? That’s malpractice.
Kentucky starts the game in a hole more often than not. But when Dillingham and Sheppard check in, the offense starts to click. So why cripple the team by waiting five minutes to put the two stars in the game? That’s a question many members of Big Blue Nation would love an answer to.
No team since 1985 has failed to win their first game of their conference tournament and went on to win the NCAA title. That was bad news for Tennessee fans earlier on Friday (after losing to Mississippi State) but is also now the same bad news for Kentucky fans following their loss to A&M.
Can Kentucky snap that streak? Maybe. Anything is possible. But unless Calipari decides to make changes to his lineup and the team decides to start playing better defense, those odds aren’t in UK’s favor.
One thing is for certain. When it comes to his fanbase, John Calipari is running out of time.
12 Responses
Defense is really bad. Hate to say it. They were carved up like Thanksgiving day turkey. Credit A&M, they took it to us. I love these guys but they’ve got no will to on defense.. Maybe Cal has done a disservice by saying they need to outscore teams versus saying we need to improve and get after it on defense .
He has done more disservcises than just that.
Talk of a No. 2 seed now ends up with a No. 4 seed in the Dance. That would normally mean you have to play a No. 1 seed in your third game, but we won’t have to worry about that.
The FRAUD said in his postgame show that we just weren’t ourselves…I beg to differ. We went back to hero ball tonight. The FRAUD talked about how bad we played the zone, but that comes from not doing it in practice. Now, we will play a No. 12 seed and they will be watching this game. If they have some beef, we will be in trouble; but it won’t matter. We will be done with our second game and go home as another 10 loss Calipari team.
The FRAUD came back with us being too young…he really should have said we are too SOFT. The Calipari way just doesn’t work anymore. Time for the FRAUD to hang it up!
Think about this all of you Calipari lovers. For the first time in school history, we have been saddled with 3 straight losses in the SEC tournament. In the last 4 years, we rank 13 out of 14 SEC teams in SEC tourney play and Nashville is practically a home game for us. Texas A&M ranked 360 in Division 1 schools in 3 point shooting, yet they hit 11 against us. A&M has only scored 90 or more points twice this season…both times against us. Even all of you rah rahs can’t defend this.
Who cares about having a number one recruiting class anymore. With NIL and the transfer portal you can go buy proven juniors and seniors and they will beat freshmen more times than not. The Calipari way no longer works. It’s time for a change before we become the next Indiana.
Squeal all of you Calipari lovers SQUEAL!!!
That type thing is happening with all teams dumb a$$
has been a bunch of teams go down in their first tourney game
Larry, Purdue was the 18th team as no1 team in there conference go down . At the present Houston is getting a beat down as well.
Been a crazy, crazy week
JMF…..great article for the short time you had to get it prepared. I started to watch the postgame show and shut off after a minute as wanted to throw up. This team is very talented, fun to watch at times, and able to emit too much STENCH too many times. We still start every game with the same lack of energy, urgency, fall behind early and hope to survive in 2nd half. We really only have a couple of Dogs that play with consistency, and only Reeves,Shep, and Dilly are consistent and dependable. Tre was supposed to be the leader but failed at season’s end, and I am still not buying that it was that injury related. The 7’s have shown they are better cheerleaders than players. When you have no interior offense/defense and can’t defend the 3 you have no chance. Now the question remains…which no name will take us out in first or second game? Cal MUST GO and needs to take most of staff with him.
Thank GOD for u guys here tonight—i have said all I can say throughout this year as u all have probably read–and the last 2-3 weeks, going back to the stretch that started with the Ole Miss and AUB wins, on through the wins against BAMA and Miss St–really should have won the LSU game–then on to the win at TN–they were giving us all one last shot at believing in them again and turning that corner—but this loss tonight, all the true colors of the monster and the cancer all come back fully revealed once again–the monster that the CANCER has created rears its ugly head again. And we are just one more of these kind of losses away from it fully becoming what has been 5 years in the making–and really longer than that—but more so since COVID–that even the last of the many holdouts out there will be seeing the reality that they don’t want to face: this farce must end–and this cancerous monster must be put to a death. There are still going to be your moron "Jimmys and Joes" out there who will defend CAL to the very end–they are in the small minority who will actually defend CAL over UK and would choose CAL over UK as a program and the BBN–they have very well made their choice on that known on here for a long time–but the true blue bloods out there, who are the majority, know whats up and know what needs to be done. I mean, I could go on and on about the countless record-low-setting stats from the SEC Tournament the last 5 yrs and all the other record-low-setting stats under the second half of the CAL era, but they are all going to be written about. We are just one more loss away that most likely won’t occur any later than the second round from total vindication and revelation on the realities with this CANCER and this basketball program. Not that that means ol Mitch is going to do anything about it! But maybe next year when Rupp Arena starts setting record low attendance numbers and fans stop buying SEC Tournament tickets–again, that’s the only way the fans can have any say in it. Think about it: if the KING says the SEC TOURNAMENT doesnt matter, then why should any of us go? Why should we give him the satisfaction of having us show up to support him? Oh, u don’t think it matters, CAL? OK, well we will just stop going then for as long as you’re here if it doesn’t matter! And if u think it’s only the SEC Tournament that he dosnt care about, you’re crazy. We all know what CAL cares about: "CHANGING LIVES". CAL’s teams are not built for March, they’re built for June–by HIM! Come NBA draft night, we can all celebrate again with the CANCER when two players are drafted in the top 10 and the CANCER is up there with them after finishing off another double digit loss season, and 5 straight years of not advancing past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament, which I’m sure that will be a new record-low set as well. Wonder how many new lows will have to be set before ol Mitch decides to act? Only one that I can think of: a record-low season attendance at Rupp Arena. Come on fans: it’s time we do our part–i don’t care how much it hurts–arent u hurting right now? Do u want to continue hurting like this? If not, then take action: boycott basketball tickets at Rupp Arena and know u made happen what needs to happen: force the spineless, chicken-sh** AD to eliminate the CANCER and vanquish the monster once and for all. It can be done……but it’s up to us. We are the ones that will have to do it.
Disappointed that’s all I’m gonna say.
CALAPARI HATES SEC TOURNAMENT. HE HAS TO GO HES LOST FANBASE THAT MEANS HIS TIME IS UP AT KY. GET OUT.