Collin Chandler had 10 points in Tuesday’s win at South Carolina. (UK Athletics Photo)
A three-game losing streak apparently did not put any extra pressure on Kentucky coach Mark Pope or his team.
“There is pressure if you have won three in a row,” Pope said on the UK Radio Network after Kentucky’s 72-63 win at South Carolina Tuesday night. “The pressure is ever-present. That’s why you want to play at Kentucky. No one wants to play where it doesn’t matter.
“There is an emotional toll on our guys. The game Saturday (a loss at Auburn) and the way it finished, we have spent more time trying to purge ourselves from the last 10 days than we did on game prep.
“We have work to do to get our juice up for Saturday for a massive game in Rupp (against Vanderbilt, a team that routed UK in Nashville). Our guys should be happy (with the win), but we have a lot of work ahead.”
After South Carolina got off to a hot start, the UK defense locked in. The Gamecocks finished the game 21 of 57 (37 percent) from the field and 8-for-29 from 3, a 28 percent mark.
“We knew Kentucky’s size would be an issue for South Carolina,” ESPN studio analyst Patric Young said. “Every time South Carolina was getting to the rim, there was a contested shot.”
The Gamecocks had scored 97 points in their previous game. Kentucky is now 9-0 this season and 17-0 in Pope’s two seasons when holding an opponent to 66 points or fewer. The Cats are also 10-0 when opponents shoot under 40 percent.
“For our guys to limit their scoring is a real tribute to their scouting and connectedness,” Pope said.
Kentucky dominated the rebounding battle 48-28 — UK’s largest margin against a SEC foe this year — with Malachi Moreno pulling off 11 boards and Brandon Garrison seen. The 18-5 edge in offensive rebounds created a 14-4 advantage in second-chance points, and UK had a 34-20 advantage in points in the paint, along with a 26-7 margin in fast-break points.
“Malachi had unbelievable rim protection. His work on the defensive glass was massive for us. There were a lot of contested defensive rebounds where he just had to gut it out,” Pope said. “Overall, I thought our guys were great on the glass.”
Kentucky won even though Otega Oweh had a rare off-game offensively. He was only 3-for-13 from the field and finished with eight points. His final shot was a dunk attempt that he didn’t get above the rim. It ended his career-long 30-game streak of double-digit scoring.
“They loaded the paint (to stop Oweh’s drives). We were a little antsy with our short roll game,” Pope said. “They were zoning off our bigs. They just loaded up on Otega.”
7 Responses
Pressure will be less and less over a period of time heading in the near and distant future if we are relegated to also rans.. Right now we are looked at as just average if that and poor stewards of millions of dollars.
I agree 100%. That’s on Pope and Barnhart
No one takes Kentucky serious anymore. Where is the #9 championship 22 million dollar Ferrari at? Sitting on the side of the road with Indiana’s Volkswagen as the fast cars fly by…….
If you get the players that UK is accustomed to having.
And if they play as hard and aggressive as they can Ky fans will recognize and appreciate that. Ky fans recognize good basketball and great effort. Thats why this team is so scrutinized. It’s obvious that they are not being pushed in practice and that expectation being set as a standard.
I’ve been watching UK basketball for half of a century. I know a good team and teamwork when I see it. These guys are all about getting paid. You can chalk that up to NIL and NBA. But other schools have the same problem yet their coaches find a way to get them to play hard for their team and school.
That’s where the responsibility falls on Pope and his coaches. Until that changes we can expect to continue to get the same product every year.
One more year is all I give Coach Pope and his staff.
If anyone should know about pressure winning and losing at UK, he should as a quality player and performer here some years back. He also said "we will not give away our power". He must have forgot that several teams have already stole our power this year.
Sold out arenas at Rupp and on the road, expectations…no demands to win conference and national championships, and an unforgiving ire for those who fail to do so…that is the reality of being the Kentucky men's head basketball coach. If you can't handle that kind of heat, you should never step into the BBN kitchen. The coach, and now the players, get paid millions of dollars and losing is not an option. Pope acknowledged that he understood the assignment, but he doesn't have a clue as to how to get that job done.
When the score was 48-48 I really didn't care who won bc neither team deserved it. This still is not UK BB, and they have not improved in any area since season began. Am ready to put this season behind us and move on. Watching them play is punishing and not entertaining at all.
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