DAVID SISK:

This was like a root canal for the entire game, and as this game went on I started thinking that an unthinkable upset could happen. Offensively, it was bad as it could get. There was no flow, bad shots were taken quickly in the possessions, and nobody had any confidence. Turnovers were abundant. Defensively, they gave up penetration and kicks to open shooters, they got lost in matchups and rotations, and couldn’t buy a rebound late. Outside of that, it was pretty good.

JUSTIN ROWLAND:

I had plenty of doubts about this team during the offseason and I'm kicking myself for feeling so differently after one game in New York City. This was as bad as it's going to get for this team and I'm sure Calipari will get them going in the right direction at some point, but there are so many questions right now. For starters, that didn't look like an elite backcourt and it was just a "given" that this would be an elite backcourt. The frontcourt was not a factor at all. UK has to be able to dominate the glass in a game like that and they didn't. The worst part of the game aside from the lack of effort was the lack of any offense. No flow, Hagans was missing in action, guys didn't know what they were doing. It was pretty brutal to watch. This was one of the worst losses to the Calipari era, easily.

TRAVIS GRAF:

Tonight was an all-systems failure. The team seemed disinterested from start to finish and were definitely not prepared coming into the game. Evansville beat Kentucky to every meaningful loose ball and rebound and that should never happen against such an inferior opponent. The Cats played down to their level of competition tonight. Outside of Maxey’s little flurry in the 2nd half, no Wildcat played too particularly well. Instead of building on two strong performances, Nick Richards reverted tonight. That, to go along with Nate Sestina having a pedestrian showing tonight, led to Kentucky not being able to get anything going inside. Ashton Hagans also had one of his worst games as a Cat. It was all a complete recipe for disaster. There were questionable play calls throughout and there was no rhyme or reason to anything Kentucky did on the offensive end. I don’t know what Kentucky’s identity is in the half-court when the opponent does a good job of preventing scoring in transition.

JEFF DRUMMOND:

From the get-go, this game had the feel of one that nobody except the guys in purple really wanted to be a part of. Kentucky's fans failed to show up -- thousands of empty seats on a frigid night in Lexington -- and the Wildcats somehow did not seem too interested in playing for the first time as the nation's new No. 1 team. There was no energy in the building. When you mix those elements with a veteran Evansville squad that was playing inspired basketball for its coach and was clearly not intimidated by the once-intimidating Rupp Arena, you wound up with the perfect-storm upset. The only way Big Blue Nation can spin it into anything other than a blush-inducing loss is that perhaps this was a wake-up call to remind the Cats that there is still a ton of work to be done (particularly on the offensive end of the floor) in order to become the team worthy of an elite ranking.