The Kentucky Wildcats got their butts kicked on Tuesday night against the Michigan State Spartans on both ends of the floor. As a result, tension and pressure ran high. It escalated to the point where UK players started “barking at each other” during a timeout. But who’s to blame?

That depends on whom you ask. The Spartans HC, Tom Izzo, noted that his team’s hot shooting night was far from normal. He said that Michigan State doesn’t usually shoot the ball as well as it did after erupting for 11 made threes and 50% shooting overall. He also defended Kentucky, adding, “They aren’t that bad, they normally shoot the ball better,” expecting positive regression from the Wildcats.

And he’s right. The Spartans entered the game shooting only 21.7% from three in their first three outings. They were a chilly 13-for-60 from deep before this matchup. But coming into the game versus the Cats, they drained 11 threes in the win.

Meanwhile, the Cats averaged 52.3% from the field and 34.2% from three coming into Madison Square Garden. But against the Spartans, they were limited to 35% shooting and just 23% from three. So technically, Kentucky does shoot the ball better than this. 

But the Spartans knew the blueprint to beat Mark Pope’s group. They were more physical. They forced Kentucky into tough shots. They crashed the boards with authority on both ends. And that’s exactly what left Cat’s HC with a blunt self-assessment. So, if you ask Pope, the blame falls on the entire roster. 

“We’re disappointed and discouraged and completely discombobulated right now,” he said, as the Wildcats struggled without injured starters. Leading the way was Otega Oweh with only 12 points as the Cats played without starters, Jayden Quaintance and Jaland Lowe. 

When asked about the loss, Pope replied, “We just played poor. It was poor, poor attention to detail on the defensive end.”

Well, the Spartans started the game by making five of their first eight three-point attempts. They never cooled off and followed it up with an 18–2 run in the first half that turned a three-point deficit into a 13-point lead. Something that Kentucky never recovered. By the second half, Michigan State led by as many as 24 points and held the lead for 34:19.

By the end, the Spartans had 11-of-22 from three – a sharp contrast to the Wildcats’ 7-of-30. Also, Michigan State outrebounded the Cats by 42–28. And that’s exactly how Kentucky lost its only other game against a ranked opponent – last week’s 96–88 loss to Louisville.

At least back then, the Cats scored. This time, they couldn’t even do that much. Notably, this marks the 41st game of the Pope era and the second-worst shooting performance in both field-goal and three-point percentage. The only worse outing was last December’s 85–65 loss to Ohio State. Ironically, it also came at Madison Square Garden. But back then, Kentucky had already beaten Duke, Gonzaga, and Louisville. And that was enough to give fans hope that the program was on the right track. But…

Will Kentucky be back anytime soon? 

After the UK’s win over Eastern Illinois on Friday, Pope admitted he still didn’t know this team’s identity. At Madison Square Garden, it became painfully clear that these Wildcats don’t have one.

Not yet, at least, as Pope put it, “I think that we’re in the process of learning and growing together as a team… I think that this team has a terrific future. I believe that this group can become something.” He added, “In this early part of the season, I feel like the identity that we felt like we carried may have been stripped away. And maybe we’re facing some reality right now.”

And yes, there’s a reason behind it. It comes up as no one on Kentucky’s roster had been a Wildcat for more than a season before this year. And Pope obviously couldn’t control that. There was no roster left after John Calipari departed for Arkansas. So he rebuilt through the transfer portal, but clearly, it hasn’t clicked yet. Still, it’s early to make any predictions. So, what do you think? Will they find their footing as the season moves forward?