National Media Questions Kentucky's Heart and Pride After Gonzaga Loss

You don’t have to be a Basketball Benny to identify the problems with this Kentucky basketball team. They are multi-layered, but it all starts with what DeMarcus Cousins pointed out at the end of the 35-point loss to Gonzaga.

“Can’t lie, this team has no heart!”

It’s not just Kentucky fans and former players who can see it. Basketball watchers around the country can’t believe the product the Wildcats are putting on the court. Matt Norlander called into the KSR Postgame Show and said, “Kentucky is the most overpaid, overrated, disappointing team in college basketball through the first five weeks of the season.” Here’s what others are saying about the Wildcats:

Pearl: The Name on the Front of the Jersey has to Mean Something

The new TNT college basketball show with Bruce Pearl, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, and Adam Lefkoe had to share some harsh truths about this Kentucky basketball team. The Fab Five was loaded with talent, but Rose believes it’s a problem for this Kentucky basketball team.

“There is such a thing as too much talent,” said Rose. “What I mean by that is, everybody gets a role, but do you accept it and master it? What ends up happening, those five through ten guys, a lot of them feel like I should be starting, or I should be playing more minutes, or if it keeps going like this, I’m going to transfer.”

He’s alluding to chemistry issues within the program, and it’s manifesting in a lack of want-to. Former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl noted the lack of physicality in the paint. At some point, the Cats gotta show some pride.

“When Gonzaga’s bigs go 20-29 combined, just from 2-point land, give a hard foul. Give a tough check-out,” said Pearl. “There’s one thing we gotta do as coaches, we can control that our team plays harder than our opponent. And right now Kentucky is getting outplayed, they’re getting out-executed, and they’re getting out-physicaled.”

Pearl was not ready to pile on Mark Pope, but he believes there needs to be some hard conversations in the Joe Craft Center.

“It’s time to have some one-on-one meetings with those players about who they’re playing for. That name on the front of the jersey, Kentucky, has got to mean something. It’s gotta mean more than the name on the back of the jersey.”

Remember how much last year’s team talked about playing for the name on the front of the jersey? The irony…

ESPN’s Myron Medcalf: Cats Not Ready for the Spotlight

The lights are brighter in Lexington. Myron Medcalf believes they’re too bright for this group.

“The pre-portal/NIL generation of Kentucky players were mostly high-level HS players. They’d been famous for years. Under pressure for years,” Medcalf shared on social media.

“You have got guys in this group who thought that uniform would turn them into superheroes, it seems. They weren’t ready for the spotlight.”

Goodman: Kentucky Needs to Show Some Pride

Jeff Goodman made the trip to Nashville and shared his experience on on Field of 68 After Dark. He described the performance as “an absolute shit-show. Honestly, I don’t know what else to say about it. It was that bad in every phase of the game.”

He spoke to an NBA scout in attendance, who noted that Otega Oweh‘s body language was atrocious. “It doesn’t look like he cares.” That indifference is jarring.

“Pride is a big part of this right now,” said Goodman. “For Kentucky fans, and I talked to a bunch after the game, and the one thing they were all saying was if this team is playing hard, we’re okay if they lose. But this team doesn’t look like they’re playing hard. They’re not playing with any pride. And again, I don’t think the pieces fit together on the floor.”

Dauster: Kentucky can still salvage this season, IF…

It’s clear there are structural problems with this Kentucky basketball team. Jaland Lowe returned to the floor last night after missing six games. They’ve been without Mo Dioubate and Jayden Quaintance too. That’s an issue, but it isn’t the biggest.

“Effort should be the bare minimum. Play like you give a shit what happens. It’s really not that much to ask,” Rod Dauster shared on social media, along with the following clip.

Getting a chance to watch the Kentucky-Gonzaga film now. Watch Otega Oweh here. There were a half dozen plays just like this.

This level of effort, this body language, for $2mil and change or whatever it is he got, is pathetic. This is supposed to be Kentucky's senior leader. pic.twitter.com/deqwKJ0A3X

— Rob Dauster (@RobDauster) December 6, 2025

Dauster wrote a column for the Field of 68, detailing how Kentucky can get back on track. As of today, he believes this team might be the biggest bust of any team in any sport in the NIL era, and yet they can turn things around if they show a little heart and a little fight.

“It was a program running on vibes, and the vibes couldn’t have been higher. To imagine that we are at a place, a month into the season, that there are actually fans that want Pope gone would have been an impossibility in October,” writes Dauster.

“But we’re here now. It’s December 5th and Kentucky is 5-4. The most expensive roster in the sport is facing a must-win game before Christmas, and all the fanbase is asking is for the players to try. Just try. Just play hard, play like you care as much as they do.

“The season can absolutely still be salvaged, but that requires the players to care. On Friday night, it was clear they didn’t.”