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Published Dec 28, 2022
QUICK TAKES: Missouri 89, Kentucky 75
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Jeff Drummond  •  CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor
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@JDrumUK

In our regular postgame feature, the Cats Illustrated staff offers its first impressions from Kentucky's 89-75 loss to Missouri on Wednesday night in the SEC opener at Columbia... 

JEFF DRUMMOND:

It's getting harder and harder to adequately describe what we're seeing from this team whenever it plays a quality opponent. I think "shellshocked" might be the best way to describe it. Other than Oscar Tshiebwe and Cason Wallace, UK looks like deer in headlights against any opponent with a pulse right now. Safe to say now that we may have vastly overestimated the talent level of this roster going into the season. And, in fairness, it just wasn't Big Blue Nation. Everyone in the national media thought John Calipari had a roster built to end his Final Four drought. Now, after getting blown out by a Mizzou team that was not considered one of the upper-echelon teams in the SEC entering the season, you're going to have people wondering if this 8-4 UK squad is in serious danger of missing the tournament. For whatever reason, it's just not coming together for these Cats, and their head coach doesn't seem to have any answers on either end of the floor. Perhaps most disturbing is how the Tigers absolutely manhandled the Cats physically with no response from the Cats tonight. UK Basketball is in a fetal position right now.

DAVID SISK:

You’re not being irrational if you’ve gone into full blown panic mode. For our readers who disagreed with my prediction of a Kentucky win, you were correct. Your defense was you needed to see the Cats beat a good team before you believed it. Once again, you were correct. Tonight was more rinse and repeat. There are too many weak links on this roster. I have full faith in Oscar Tshiebwe and Cason Wallace. I lean heavily toward Sahvir Wheeler. Outside of that everybody looks passive and confused. If they make open three’s in the first half we could have had a ball game. Instead they were 2-12. Same as Gonzaga, and Michigan State, and UCLA. Rinse and repeat. The SEC gauntlet is lurking. Years ago we used to talk about Ten-Loss Tubby. Raise your hand if you would take ten losses right now and head for the hills.

JUSTIN ROWLAND:

This is where I start to wonder if Kentucky is going to be any good this year. Are they a bubble team? They're 0-for against the best teams they've played. Once again, the offense looks like a mess. Missouri plays a style of basketball that I thought would be more conducive to a Kentucky win, getting out and running, but it didn't matter. They played harder. They had better body language. They played with a sense of urgency. Knocking down a bunch of three-pointers helps, too, but Kentucky just doesn't look very good. I think for the first time I'm allowing myself to openly wonder if Calipari is the best guy to get Kentucky out of this mess, and if that's too late for you then I understand, but I've tried to be fair. Another brutal night for UK basketball fans.


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