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Kentucky legend Dan Issel shreds Wildcats' performance against Michigan State

Danby: Daniel Hager7 hours agoDanielHagerOn3
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UK Athletics | © Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

One week removed from suffering its first loss of the season at the hands of its rival, Louisville, Kentucky was desperately in need of a big win Tuesday night in the Champions Classic against Michigan State. Things went horribly wrong for the ‘Cats, however, as they were run off the court 83-66.

The loss dropped Mark Pope‘s program to 3-2 on the season. It is the first Kentucky Basketball team to suffer two losses prior to Nov. 19 since the 2008-09 team, which missed the NCAA Tournament and played in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

During a hit on ESPN 680‘s ‘Rabaut & Co.‘ Friday morning, Wildcat legend Dan Issel demolished the team’s effort in the loss.

“I was talking to Louie (Dampier) yesterday and I told him, it looked like to me, that Mark (Pope) went down to the New York Athletic Club a half-hour before tip-off, got 10 guys who had never played together before, and put Kentucky uniforms on them,” Issel said. “There was not one aspect, not one, in that game that would lead me to believe they’re going to be a decent team this year.”

Although Kentucky took a 17-14 lead with 13:36 remaining in the first half, it was outscored 30-10 over the final 13 minutes. It matched Michigan State‘s second half point total of 39, but it was not enough to overcome that rough end to the opening half.

Mark Pope promises Kentucky ‘won’t fail this season’ following loss

Following the game, an emotional Pope made a promise to Kentucky fans that his team wasn’t going to fail this season. While admitting that they had failed up until this point, he said that it would not be the case for much longer.

“I think your identity of team is completely separate from any individual player,” Pope said. “I’m gonna temper my words right now, but I actually think that our identity should be… if you build an organization the right way, then your identity is not about an individual person. Your identity is about a collective group. So it shouldn’t matter if we built a great organization and a great culture, which I’ve clearly failed to do up until today.

“But we won’t fail this season, we just have failed up until today. And we will build an organization where it won’t be disrupted every time someone steps in and steps out because it’ll actually have a team identity and not an individual identity. Until we get there, we’re gonna really struggle. That’s my job. That’s why Mitch (Barnhart) brought me here. I’m doing it poorly, but I won’t do it poorly for much longer.”

Kentucky has already dealt with adversity in this young season, as starting point guard Jaland Lowe has missed three games with a shoulder injury. He was not present in the game against Michigan State, leading natural two-guards Denzel Aberdeen and Collin Chandler to assume his duties. The offense just hasn’t looked right running that system, and it has resulted in two early losses.

Because of its strong non-conference schedule, Kentucky will have to adjust quickly to life without Lowe as his status remains up in the air. Prior to SEC play, the ‘Cats will clash with No. 18 North Carolina (home), No. 13 Gonzaga (neutral), Indiana (home), and No. 14 St. John’s(neutral). If Pope keeps true to his promise, Kentucky will have turned its season around by the time those games tip off and looked the part as one of the most expensive rosters in the country.