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Defense?

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Coach777

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Dec 19, 2022
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What happened to the great defense from the last 2 games? Bellarmine getting to the basket with ease and getting fouled. I read they were ranked 264. Who knows how this would have ended if it wasn’t for William’s shooting. Didn’t expect to see this headed into the break.
 
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I’m The Village Idiot

I’m The Village Idiot

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Coach777 said:
What happened to the great defense from the last 2 games? Bellarmine getting to the basket with ease and getting fouled. I read they were ranked 264. Who knows how this would have ended if it wasn’t for William’s shooting. Did expect to see this headed into the break.
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- Games against Indiana and St. John’s
- Game against Bellarmine going into holiday

I don’t think it’s hard to see why effort in the first may not be the same in the second. We will see how they look against Bama but I’m not reading much into today.
 
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I’m The Village Idiot

I’m The Village Idiot

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MegaBlue05 said:
Glean nothing from this game. Cupcake in the early afternoon so the guys can get home for Christmas.

I have seen this exact level of performance many times over the decades in cupcake games played right before a holiday break.
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Game means nothing.

I only wanted two things: a win and a coast to coast posterizer JQ dunk. I got one of two.
 
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theBlues

theBlues

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ORCAT said:
Missed the game today but is it possible they played down to opponent's level today after two highly emotionally charged games and wins? I'm thinking today was a throwaway game against a minor opponent.
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That's exactly what happened. I guess it's hard to get fired up for Bellarmine when you're Kentucky. But it was still a disturbing defensive effort I hope isn't repeated this year.
 
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ORCAT

Heisman
Jan 6, 2003
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loublue22_rivals308424 said:
I could see that for 10 or 15 minutes but you would think competitiveness would take over at some point.
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Sometimes it's tough to get a team out of that mindset and get them to play at the same level they do when facing solid competition. I've coached teams and this would occasionally happen. You would get after them and try to fire them up. Sometimes worked and sometimes they just couldn't get it going. Win, but look ugly doing it.
theBlues said:
That's exactly what happened. I guess it's hard to get fired up for Bellarmine when you're Kentucky. But it was still a disturbing defensive effort I hope isn't repeated this year.
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SkyPrince

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Jul 7, 2025
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MegaBlue05 said:
Glean nothing from this game. Cupcake in the early afternoon so the guys can get home for Christmas.

I have seen this exact level of performance many times over the decades in cupcake games played right before a holiday break.
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Exactly.
Who in this thread can say this is the first time I've seen UK play like this against a cupcake.
It's happened over the years with different players and different coaches.
 
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wildcat111

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Dec 9, 2020
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Coach777 said:
What happened to the great defense from the last 2 games? Bellarmine getting to the basket with ease and getting fouled. I read they were ranked 264. Who knows how this would have ended if it wasn’t for William’s shooting. Didn’t expect to see this headed into the break.
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Pathetic display of defense...after a good game and half of good defense reverted back to lazy play. Why did Pope not put asses on the bench??
 
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The_Answer1313_rivals

Heisman
May 27, 2007
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Eh we won the last two games on defenese. Lowe didn't play and JQ didn't play much.

We won this one on offense by putting up 1.48 points per poss.

Not everything is going to click all the time.

Fifth time we crossed the 1.40 mark on offense this season. Which is kind of wild.

We only had one game like that last season lol. Most seasons we are lucky if we hit that in one or two games.

And before everyone cries yes but they are cupcakes so what.........we are comparing them to previous seasons which we've also faced........cupcakes lol
 
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Anon1751335390

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I couldn’t watch the game today, but resting Lowe and playing JQ for only 8 minutes tells me we weren’t interested in playing our best today.

Oweh’s assist numbers in the box score stuck out the most to me. Maybe he can wear that Dwade hat at times this year.
 
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UKbrassowTipIn93

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loublue22_rivals308424 said:
One of the worst performances I've ever seen, Bellarmine continually going right past, over and through our millionaire players. We would have lost if not for Williams.
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OleTiredBum

OleTiredBum

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Sep 28, 2025
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haven't seen any crow to eat but i will when/if it happens. This game today was if anything, simply a delay. We shall see.
 
MegaBlue05

MegaBlue05

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wildcat111 said:
Pathetic display of defense...after a good game and half of good defense reverted back to lazy play. Why did Pope not put asses on the bench??
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Because it’s a pre Christmas cupcake. Just get the dub, stay healthy and go celebrate Christmas.

The John Wall team only beat Long Beach State by 13 the game before Christmas. The 2014 team beat Cleveland State 68-61 the week of Thanksgiving in a game they trailed most of the way. The 2019 team beat Winthrop by 13 the game before Christmas. The 2020 team with Maxxey and Quickley beat Mark Pope’s Utah Valley team by 8 the game before Thanksgiving.

That’s just recent examples. I have been watching long enough to not expect a well oiled machine the game before a holiday break, especially if it’s a cupcake following some big wins.
 
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revcort

revcort

Heisman
Feb 20, 2003
32,522
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Yeah, I totally agree. I hate to be a Scrooge right here at Christmas, but you can't let the terrible defense slide like it didn't happen. Bear in mind, this Bellarmine team scored 59 and gave up 104 against Georgia. They scored 85 on UK. They scored 47 in the 2nd half. I was hoping the defense would be improved in the 2nd half, as it was in the last 2 games, but it was worse. And all they were doing was back-cuts and straight line drives! I can't remember seeing a UK team give up so many layups in my life. It was practically a layup line in the 2nd half. Pathetic. And to add insult to injury, we were fouling over and over again. They made 26-30 from the FT line. Seeing those numbers, you'd think we were playing a top 10 team we had little chance of stopping. But it was just laziness and lack of effort, not moving our feet, not cutting off the drive, and then reaching and slapping arms and wrists on shots. It was one of the more pathetic displays of defense I've seen.

Now, as someone else here said, imagine if our normal shooting had continued in this game- it's a definite loss. Had you told me Kam Williams would make 8-10 from 3, I would have guessed we win by 30+.

I'll take the win, of course, but my good feelings about how improved this team has been and how this season has taken a significant turn for the better have been seriously dampered, and I sure do hate it.

Here's what I know- this team is pretty much unpredictable. They might give good effort or they might not. They might shoot and they might not. They might defend or they might not. I have a feeling this season is going to be a roller coaster of things that seem completely out of anyone's control. I know, it's Christmas. Why create a tempest in a teapot? I hear you. Early game. Weak opponent. Coming off our 2 best wins. If I were Mark Pope and my coaching future at my Alma mater depended on this team, I wouldn't be able to sleep.
 
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The_Answer1313_rivals

Heisman
May 27, 2007
31,128
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I’m The Village Idiot said:
Just gotta do it in a big game and the floodgates open.
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People can just call it from what it really is

this is a sub par three point shooting team but a team that’s top 30 in making their 2s and if we just make that more of a primary option then we are just fine. Combine that with taking care of the ball and offensive rebounding which we have done well and we are more than fine.
 
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