LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- When it comes to Kentucky basketball, red flags are less something to calmly consider than to stack up and build into a bonfire.
It's early December, but don't tell anyone in Lexington it's "still early." As if beating nationally ranked competition is an elective, no matter what the date.
Mark Pope's team is nationally ranked itself but is 0-3 against ranked opponents going into Saturday's game against No. 11 Gonzaga in Nashville. So, while it's tough to call any game in the first week of December a must-win, this one is at least a "you'd better win" for the Wildcats.
This was supposed to be a super team, not a splint-and-duct-tape group project. Twenty-two million dollars and a roster full of transfer portal Avengers. But all the preseason talk of "rich person's problem" has given way to a coach without two three-point shooters to rub together.
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Yes, the injury report reads like a first aid field manual. Mo Dioubate has a high ankle sprain and a high pain threshold, but even that won't get him on the court Friday. Jaland Lowe is trying to practice with his sore shoulder, and Jayden Quaintance just got cleared to play five-on-five in practice.
But even short-handed, Kentucky's healthy remnant roster is still making more than Gonzaga's. The sympathy meter is broken. It's like a luxury cruise line running aground and blaming the tide.
And now here comes Gonzaga, which has beaten Alabama by 10 and Oklahoma by 15. It also has a 40-point loss to Michigan and has been sitting idle since that game plotting a comeback.Â
Pope knows them well. Said he's been battling Mark Few for "100 years." Said Gonzaga invented the "second hit" and now leads the nation in reminding other teams what it feels like to get outworked by a guy named Braden Huff. The Zags' four and five are the top scorers, top rebounders, and top reasons Pope is probably reaching for his TUMS.
If Kentucky lets Gonzaga get 20 offensive rebounds like North Carolina did, you might hear fans calling for a third hit. From a search committee.
But Pope, to his credit, isn't flinching. He spoke Thursday like a man who still sees upside in the upside-down.
"We're not a great team," he said. "But we have a chance to be."
Fans hear that and translate it to:Â So you're saying we're not great.
He invoked the poetry of hardship, the sacred trials of "great authors" finding their arc. Problem is, this is Kentucky. They want the movie, not the manuscript. And preferably tomorrow.
Pope does have this going for him: it's still about the final exam. A good tournament run can erase a dozen forgettable December essays. But seeding still matters. So does momentum. So does beating a ranked team before January.
He's 0–3 in those chances this season. He has Indiana and St. John's in addition to Friday's game to add some lines to the resume before SEC play.
Healthy or not, that's the test. It's a cram session, with Gonzaga holding the highlighter.
He can still turn this team into something tough, smart, and dangerous. But the time for vision boards is passing. This one needs a W.
Because in Lexington, you don't get credit for showing your work. Just your wins.
And as Yogi Berra once said:Â "It gets late early around here."
He was talking about New York. But he could've been talking about Lexington.
HOW TO WATCH
Time: 7 p.m. Friday, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville
TV: ESPN2 (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes). Streaming: ESPN app.
Radio: UK Radio, WHAS-840 AM (Tom Leach, Jack Givens). Streaming: iHeart Radio app or UKathletics.com. Satellite radio: Sirius XM 211 or 190.
Line: Gonzaga favored by 4.5. Over/under: 158.5.
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