Will Kentucky Beast St. Johns?

Both teams will be desperate. Pitino's guys haven't started off playing well this season. I'm more concerned about that road game against Alabama to start the SEC. That said, our shooting is still awful and St. John's has athletes, unlike Indiana. I think they beat us by a very narrow margin, and Pope goes into the New Year at 8-5.

One weakness we hopefully will be able to exploit is St. John’s doesn’t have a true point guard.

We looked awful in the 1st half of the IU game. They just aren't an atheltic team. And we imposed our will on them in the 2nd half. St Johns has athletes. Pitino is 100x the coach Devries is as well. I don't think we win this game.

I'd settle just for a simple, one-point win. But if the Cats do beast them, it will be a well deserved beasting indeed. I've softened on Pitino a little, but would still like to see the Cats go Beast Mode on his team.

St. Johns took Bama and Iowa St. to the wire, so they can play. I just hope our guys show up with the same energy they had in the second half against IU cause you know Pitino wants this win.

I still see a team struggling with confidence. I know St. John’s has struggled too, but until we show we can make shots in a big game, my doubt-o-meter remains very high. Also, a self-sabotaging jinx must be avoided at all costs: St. John’s 76 Kentucky 69

It’s a must win for us. I hope we pull it off!

Unless Pitino let's Pope win I don't see it.

I don't know beasting them, but I think we will beat them.

Don’t think we beat Pitino. Indiana at home is much different than St John’s in Atlanta

I've only watched St. John's one game this year. Based on what little I watched and their scores, it looks like they are a significantly better team than Indiana... but that's not really saying much. It's a game we really need to win. I'm going with Kentucky in a close one.

I think Student beats Teacher in this game…😁 🤙🏻 AlohaCat

Maybe. That's my answer. All we have do is make shots, defend and rebound. Seems simple enough. 😝

MegaBlue05 said:

Maybe. That's my answer. All we have do is make shots, defend and rebound. Seems simple enough. 😝

Don’t forget protect the ball. If we do all three of those things and turn the ball over against the Johnnies, we will take a dirt nap.

Confidence level=LOW. Hope I’m wrong.

Some things clicked against Indiana. I think we continue to build and play our best game of the year win or lose.

Pitino is a master at preparation. Pope can’t spell preparation. A player must play hard to play for Pitino. Playing hard is an option for Pope. Barring a miracle shooting day by the Cats we can’t win this game.

Although St. Johns is limited offensively, as are we, I think the SJ defense will prove to be too much for us. Hope I am wrong. SJ by 6 to 12 points.

No, I do not think so.

UKBB4Ever said:

Pope can’t spell preparation.

Well, Kelvin Sampson disagrees and I bet you Jon Scheyer disagrees as well. We can acknowledge the coaching has sucked this year without overstating Pope’s deficiencies, making it out as though he doesn’t know what to do with a clipboard lol

I’m The Village Idiot said:

Well, Kelvin Sampson disagrees and I bet you Jon Scheyer disagrees as well. We can acknowledge the coaching has sucked this year without overstating Pope’s deficiencies, making it out as though he doesn’t know what to with a clipboard lol

What team did you see us come out prepared to plaY? And I doubt those coaches would say that Pope is good at preparing if you caught them not using coachspeak.

Yes Without Mo D it would have almost certainly been an L and it might not have been close. Him staying out of foul trouble is of utmost importance.

UKBB4Ever said:

What team did you see us come out prepared to plaY? And I doubt those coaches would say that Pope is good at preparing if you caught them not using coachspeak.

This year I don’t think it’s been great. Sometimes it takes time to figure out how to utilize your parts. Wouldn’t you say last year we showed good preparation before the injury bug? We had no business beating some of the teams we did and those games deserve credit just like the flops deserve blame. I don’t understand the cherry-picking where we choose one type of outcome and just fully run with it, ignoring the rest. Both can be true: Pope has chops as a game planner but it also has been ugly and abysmal this season. It’s ok to acknowledge both —- maybe it won’t get the likes and high fives on here but at least you will know you called it down the middle.

Possum said:

One weakness we hopefully will be able to exploit is St. John’s doesn’t have a true point guard.

...and they don't shoot the ball well..so far. But their defense can carry them. Unless we are shooting lights out, I look for a rock fight. We've gotta rebound and handle their pressure. This would be a great game to have JQ healthy but if he can play at all, I think his presence in the paint will be huge in this game. Pope will have had a full week and yes, he's making progress with this team. This game is big but still not as big as beating Alabama and I think we can push bama around inside and match up better with them but we gotta hit some shots to have a chance. To much pressure on our defense and bigs if we can't shoot well enough to keep them from packing the lane. Because they will hit shots against anybody.