Embattled Kentucky head coach John Calipari addressed the hottest rumor sweeping the college basketball world to begin his weekly radio show on Monday night.

Calipari, who has been under fire for the Wildcats' 10-5 start and free fall from a preseason No. 4 ranking, has been linked to the open job at Texas following the dismissal of Chris Beard.

Travis Branham, a national analyst with 247Sports, reported on a Longhorns site that Texas has "contacted Calipari through back channels."

"I haven't talked to anybody," Calipari said during his radio show. "My concern right now is my guys, my team, getting this right. And that kind of stuff happens, but I only want to talk about this job. I love this job, I love this group.

"You're never quite as good as it seems, and you're never quite as bad as it seems. Somewhere in the middle is reality. We've got to grow."

Kentucky is coming off a 78-52 loss at No. 7 Alabama, the worst setback for the Cats in the 157-game history of the series. It dropped to UK to 1-2 in SEC play, 4-14 in its last 18 games against ranked opponents, and sparked concerns that this team, with no Quad 1 victories on the season, may be placing itself in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament.

Pressure from the insatiable UK fan base is mounting.

"The expectations here are really, really high," Calipari said. "And that's fine. I think when I took this job, I said this isn't for every coach or every player. This is Kentucky. The standard is high. We fed that beast, and you've got to keep feeding him.

"... Even through the bad, the support of the fans means everything to us. We are grateful for it. What you add to this program. Big Blue Nation has a bigger impact on this program than any in the country."

Part of his job is keeping the Cats focused as the grumbles get louder.

"It is what it is," Calipari said. "And it doesn't mean everybody is always happy. We have engaged fans, raging fans. And when we win, it's over the top. And when we lose, sometimes they hit you on the head. But we love the fans and we're grateful, and that's why I said just stick with this team.

"This group still, in my mind, can do some special things. The story we write, we're writing. No one else is writing it for us."

Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday at Rupp Arena against South Carolina (7-8, 0-2 SEC). Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.