Kentucky consistently disappointing the past 5 years, and Cal looking as lost and washed as he's looked the past few years, demonstrably hurts KSR and Matt Jones a hell of a lot more than it helps it.
I have no doubt that Jones genuinely wishes that it wasn't like this, and that Cal and UK were rolling. What kind of ratings do you think he'd be pulling for a Final Four run? How much business would his restaurant be drawing in for a long tournament run? Their best ratings and most clicks over the past 15 years are from the big wins in the biggest games and the biggest prize recruits being pulled in.... not from these gut-wrenching losses.
The more fans become apathetic and check out... that hurts a lot worse than some short-term ratings boost in a post-game show. I think Jones is a fantastic person to have serving as basically the mouthpiece of the fanbase. These losses genuinely hit him hard and he does a great job verbalizing what's going wrong, why, and what really matters.
