There was a sense of uneasiness entering Tuesday night — and for good reason. Kentucky walked into a December 2 must-win game with two ugly power-conference losses already on its résumé and a brutal stretch of North Carolina, Gonzaga, Indiana, and St. John’s still ahead. The SEC is down, the margin for error is small, and the Wildcats desperately needed this game to regain national respect.
Instead, they delivered their most alarming performance yet.
Kentucky went 10 minutes and 25 seconds in the second half without scoring a field goal, blowing a late lead to fall 67–64 to North Carolina. The formula for disaster was all there:
1-for-13 from three
Outrebounded 41–30
20 offensive rebounds allowed
Outscored 22–5 in second-chance points
9 turnovers to 8 assists
Another opponent with a pulse. Another loss. 0–3 when it matters.
There Were Bright Spots — But Not Enough
Otega Oweh finally looked like himself again, finishing with 16 points, four boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks. He wasn’t the issue — he was the lifeline.
Andrija Jelavic also shined defensively. His stat line wasn’t loud, but holding UNC star Caleb Wilson to an inefficient 15 points on 5-for-19 shooting was massive. Collin Chandler (12 points) and Malachi Moreno (8 points, 9 boards, 3 blocks) had moments that suggested hope.
But all of those positives were buried beneath the avalanche of offensive stagnation.
Two Flawed Teams Battled… Kentucky Just Happened to Be the Worse One
When Kentucky’s field-goal drought began, they led by four. When it ended, they were somehow still up by one. That says more about North Carolina’s issues than Kentucky’s strengths.
The Wildcats still lost — because they have no identity right now.
Mark Pope constructed this roster around toughness and physicality, but forgotten in that mission was the lifeblood of his offense: shooters. The pieces feel mismatched. The depth is solid, but the top-end firepower isn’t there yet. Reinforcements like Jaland Lowe, Mo Dioubate and Jayden Quaintance should help, but if the rotation is already a problem eight games in, adding more bodies won’t be a magic fix.
And the Players Seem to Know It
This wasn’t the devastated locker room from the Michigan State loss. This time, there was resignation. Acceptance. Almost an acknowledgment that expectations have shifted — that this might be a year-long construction project with bumps along the way.
But the schedule won’t pause for Kentucky to figure things out.
They have no résumé, and analytics project two more losses this month. With the SEC offering fewer high-value wins and more potential bad losses than last season, the Wildcats can’t afford to fall much further.
Let this slide continue, and things could get very uncomfortable by March.
Pope Understands the Stakes
“That’s your job as a pro — you can’t allow that,” Pope said afterward.
“…There is no safety net right now. We just have to get better.”
Translation: Kentucky is in a dangerous place.
No, it’s not time to give up on Pope’s second season. But the alarms are impossible to ignore now. This was supposed to be the response game. Instead, it was more of the same.
So why should anyone expect things to magically click against Gonzaga in 48 hours?
That’s not belief. That’s hope.
And right now, hope is all Kentucky has.
