In our regular postgame feature, the Cats Illustrated staff offers its first impressions from No. 14 Kentucky's 98-84 loss to No. 25 Ole Miss on Tuesday night in Oxford. Each staff member will share his three main takeaways from the game...

JEFF DRUMMOND:

1. Kentucky let Arkansas beat it twice. Mark Stoops has often talked about this on the football side of campus. You can't let one bad loss turn into two because of your mental state of mind. The Cats showed up for this Top 25 matchup like they were unranked an hopeless, and the Rebels sniffed out that scent quickly.

2. Any discussion about the remainder of Kentucky's season revolves around the health of starting point guard Lamont Butler. Without him, the Cats no not have a prayer to reach their goals. They found a way to win a couple without their leader, but it's proving to be much more difficult to play without him night after night.

3. After getting torched for 89 points by a downright poor Arkansas offensive team, I never envisioned the Cats being even worse defensively tonight against a bottom-third of the league offensive club in the form of Ole Miss. Kentucky allowed the Rebels to shoot 55%, make 13 3-pointers, and -- perhaps the most alarming stat of the season to date -- a 24:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. The lack of effort and focus in the first half was embarrassing.

JUSTIN ROWLAND:

1. Kentucky should never be that bad on defense. Of course, not having a point guard has something to do with that. But defense has been much more of a struggle than it should have been. Ole Miss is a good team but you can't give up that kind of offensive explosion in the first half. It was ugly.

2. Koby Brea just hasn't had it on the road this year. Going into tonight he was shooting 30% from the floor and 32% from three-point range in his seven road games this year. He was 1/5 from deep in the first half and couldn't get anything going in the first half as Ole Miss promptly blew the game open. They've needed more from him, especially with the point guards out but good looks are tougher to come by now. The road splits have just been ugly.

3. They did bring better effort and were more locked in during the second half, but that's not much of a silver lining. They have to start better, especially on the road. It's a little encouraging that the first-half defense doesn't have to be the rule, and the backups did help them get their footing a bit, but it wasn't nearly enough. They have to come out stronger.

TRAVIS GRAF:

1. Kentucky played much better in the second half but it was all for not as they dug themselves such a big hole in the first half. This team just doesn’t lock in for extended periods of time and that’s what happened in the first half when they were out-played and out-toughed.

2. This team desperately needs Lamont Butler back as soon as possible. He won’t fix all of the defensive issues, but he’ll help at the point of attack. He’ll also help the offense a ton, even on his bad days. Trying to run an offense through a small forward with no handles and your center catches up with you after a while.

3. There’s no reason Kentucky should be THIS bad defensively. They wreak zero havoc on that end of the floor. I’ve said all along that I’m going to give Pope a pass for his first season and the quick roster construction, but they have to get immensely more athletic in the portal this off-season. Pope historically has not been a good defensive coach, and it’s even more glaring with no athletes in the most athletic league in the country.