If this doesn’t get fixed, Kentucky won’t survive SEC play.
There’s a troubling trend that keeps following Kentucky basketball from game to game — and it’s becoming impossible to ignore.
The Wildcats are starting games flat.
Too often, Kentucky is playing catch-up almost immediately, spotting opponents double-digit leads before the first half even settles in. It’s no longer an occasional issue; it’s a pattern. In the past two games alone, Kentucky trailed LSU by 18 points and Tennessee by 17. Both games ended in dramatic road wins, but relying on late-game heroics night after night is a dangerous way to live.
Eventually, those comebacks won’t come.
Kentucky has yet to deliver a true 40-minute performance this season, particularly against Power Five competition. There have been impressive stretches — elite shot-making, defensive intensity, and poise under pressure — but never a full game where everything clicks from the opening tip.
That inconsistency is what threatens to derail the season.
When asked why the slow starts continue, even the players seem unsure. Newly inserted starter Andrija Jelavic was blunt in his response.
“I don’t really have an answer to that, I’m not going to lie,” Jelavic said. “I don’t really have an answer to that.”
While answers remain elusive in the locker room, Mark Pope is actively searching for solutions.
The Kentucky head coach revealed this week that the staff is already experimenting with changes — and those adjustments may happen before the game even begins.
“We’ve actually talked to the team about changing the way we do our 40 minutes before tip,” Pope told reporters.
Pope didn’t offer specifics. It could be a tweak to warm-up routines, locker room messaging, arrival schedules, or the overall pregame structure. But the admission itself speaks volumes: Kentucky’s current preparation isn’t translating to early-game urgency.
Some fans have drawn comparisons to Auburn and Bruce Pearl, noting the stark contrast in pregame intensity. Pearl’s fiery approach is unmistakable, while Pope has always leaned toward a calmer, more analytical style.
Pope has been clear that emotional intensity has its place — but burning hot all the time isn’t his philosophy. Still, this team may need a sharper edge early, something to spark focus and aggression before falling into a familiar hole.
Because climbing out of 15- or 20-point deficits in mid-January is not sustainable — especially in the SEC.
Kentucky has proven it can fight. It has proven it believes. But playing from behind every night leaves no margin for error, and eventually the math stops working.
As the Wildcats prepare to take on Texas, the biggest storyline won’t just be the final score. It’ll be the opening minutes — the energy, the execution, and whether this team finally looks ready when the ball goes up.
If that doesn’t change soon, the one issue Pope is scrambling to fix may define Kentucky’s season for all the wrong reasons.
