KSR Postgame UK MBB vs Tennessee 02/11/25

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Welcome everybody.

00:00:01
Speaker 2: It is the Local Toy Dealers KSR postgame show. The Cats get a massive win at home tonight, hobbled, barely able to put forth a team at the end, and still find a way to get a victory against Tennessee, sweeping the season series seventy five sixty four.

00:00:24
Speaker 1: You know this is for me.

00:00:28
Speaker 2: This is one of the better wins we've had in the last few years for a variety of reasons.

00:00:34
Speaker 1: One is it's against Tennessee.

00:00:35
Speaker 2: Tennessee's obviously top five. Kentucky breaks an all time record for most wins against top fifteen ranked opponents in the.

00:00:46
Speaker 1: History of the school.

00:00:48
Speaker 2: We've never had seven in the regular season, and we have seven this year.

00:00:53
Speaker 1: Now, that's in part because we.

00:00:54
Speaker 2: Usually don't play enough for these teams to get there, but seven and one against top fifteen teams this year, and that's.

00:01:01
Speaker 1: An unbelievable accomplishment.

00:01:04
Speaker 2: This team is very unpredictable, but one thing you can predict pretty certainly is they show up in these games against top teams and they play well, and tonight they get the victory over the Balls the fifth time in the last six games they've beaten Tennessee and they do it in front of a rock as home environment. We talked when we heard the snow was coming, what's rock gonna be like? I could tell at the bar before when it was extremely.

00:01:31
Speaker 1: Crowded that it was gonna be great.

00:01:33
Speaker 2: And then the arena, you know, we talk about ESPN and where they placed the microphones, well, wherever they placed them to night. It was loud, and a big kudos to everybody that went there for what sounded like an absolutely awesome atmosphere. For me, this game is there's a lot of people to talk about. Actually, this was sort of the epitome of a team win team. I would say almost everyone that played played really well. And there's maybe one person I wouldn't say that about, but you know what, I'm not gonna call him out because I want to be positive about all the people that did play well, because I thought there was just so much good that occurred. Obviously, don't have Jackson Robinson's start, You lose Lamont Butler with eight or nine.

00:02:18
Speaker 1: Minutes to go.

00:02:20
Speaker 2: Obviously Kerr's not playing, and car is still not even close to one hundred percent.

00:02:25
Speaker 1: And then these other guys just decided, you.

00:02:26
Speaker 2: Know what, we're not losing this one, and I want to go through the people that I thought had the biggest impact. I'll start with actually Kobe Brea because his threes at the end. You know, when you don't have Robinson or Butler, you lose basically your two primary offense starters. And so it's you know, how are you going to get the offense going well with Kobe Brea? You know, he's such a good shooter. Just how about step back threes? Two step back threes down the stretch. Game was tied. He hits two in the next three plays, and then after they crowd out of him, he drives the basket and throws a lob to away. I thought, offensively, this was maybe as good a game as Bray has played completely, you know against Florida. Obviously had seven made threes, but he did a bunch of stuff. He drove to the rim. I thought Kobe was great, you know, the two kids from Kentucky, Like, I mean, that's gonna be what most people remember this game, and they should. Trent Noah eleven points, three threes, you know, drove to the basket, played pretty good defense, rebounded, hit free throws. I mean, what a game by the Mountain Mamba, And all due respect to my man Mark Pope, who I love, I'm not doing Hollerballer, I'm doing Mountain Mamba.

00:03:48
Speaker 1: That's the name.

00:03:49
Speaker 2: He seems to like it, and the fans have clearly embraced it. And that kid, you talk about a kid that has grown into feeling confident. What I love about Noah is he believes not only he belongs out there, he's not scared. His third three he knew Jay Bill has pointed this out. He knew before he.

00:04:09
Speaker 1: Caught it he was gonna take it.

00:04:12
Speaker 2: And so much of a kid like that is about do you believe you should be there? And he does, and he just keeps getting better. I thought he was huge tonight. Travis Perry. You know, Perry's got some limits on defense, but he keeps like getting closer, closer and closer on defense, and then makes two threes, each of which were huge, not scared.

00:04:38
Speaker 1: I love that about both those guys because the.

00:04:40
Speaker 2: Deficiencies they have, some of them they won't be able to overcome, but some of them they will. And until then, keeping the confidence, you gotta like it. And to have those two guys combined, did no I have eleven or thirteen.

00:04:53
Speaker 1: Now in my head, I'm thinking he had eleven.

00:04:55
Speaker 2: Okay, so to combine eleven points for him, six for Parry, you tell me before the game we get seventeen from those two guys, eight from Perry, nineteen from those two guys.

00:05:07
Speaker 1: Come on, that's huge.

00:05:10
Speaker 2: I thought the most important play of the game was Ansley Almanor. We're down three, we're reeling. We're really not getting a lot of space on offense, We're really not getting a lot of movement. And he goes off the bouts and gets an an one that to me was the most important play of the game. Stop their run. He makes the free throw ties the game, and we really kind of take over from there. When you go back and I will watch the last eight minutes of this game again. Ansley Olmonor's play I thought was the most important play, and it wasn't a three. It was him taking off the bounce thought that was thought that was huge. Amari was good in the role. He kind of does that top of the key thing. He also had a huge and one down the stretch in the second half. You know, I still find myself Billy a no, no, no, yes when he shoots sometimes but that was a big one. I think that put us up two. He got a name. What he missed the free throw maybe put us up three, But big play there by him as well. Oway Otaga Away has hit double digits in every game this year, every game, every game. That is an unbelievable statistic for that kid. Like every game he is twenty four for twenty four. Let me just give you a little perspective. The last Kentucky player to go twenty four games in a row in double digits with Malik Monk.

00:06:37
Speaker 1: That dude was pretty good.

00:06:39
Speaker 2: You know how much I loved Antonio Reeves. And Antonio Reeves obviously could go for thirty and could do things that were amazing. But you know how many games he had in double digits last year. I remember he was like second team All American twenty three. Oway already has more than Antonio Reeves had in the regular season. That's crazy, that's crazy, And it's between ten and seventeen every game.

00:07:04
Speaker 1: But you can rely on it, you can book it.

00:07:07
Speaker 2: And I thought he I thought he played great defense, like he was excellent on defense, and he especially with Butler Robinson out, he's our best defender now.

00:07:19
Speaker 1: And I thought he did an excellent job as well.

00:07:22
Speaker 2: So and Butler, by the way, until he got hurt, played great. Butler had some huge drives to the basket there early in the second half. I thought Butler was excellent until he got reinjured. So massive win. Tucky's now seventeen and six, right, They now are in the top eight in the SEC. And this win and other results kind of make it to where you know, if they'd handle their business, they'll get in the top eight. They have a chance, I think, to get all the way to number four or five if they handle their business down the stretch. Obviously, sweeping Tennessee is great, but this team starting to find their rhythm, and you know it's gonna be a piecemeal performance for the next couple weeks. I was excited to hear Pope say that Jackson, Robinson and Lamont Butler he thought would be ready for March. That's good, but he also seemed to suggest they might not be ready the.

00:08:18
Speaker 1: Next couple weeks.

00:08:19
Speaker 2: Well, we've got some winnable games, but they're games that are not guarantees.

00:08:25
Speaker 1: We go to Texas. Now, Texas is struggling.

00:08:28
Speaker 2: Right now, they're getting I think they're getting whipped by Alabama. Arkansas beat them at home. They lost to Vandy like they're on a slide. So that's a game that if we were at full health now I think we'd win, but with this group, it's gonna be a struggle. Then we play Vandy at home. We gotta win that one that's at home. I don't know who's gonna be playing, but that's at home. And then we got Bama. We go to Bama the next week. The way I look at it is, if you could find a way to win these next two, the Bama game is free, but then we're gonna have to piece it together and then maybe when we get to the final stretch, play Auburn, go to Missouri, go to Oklahoma. We may end up at that point having our full roster. And I still think in March anything can happen with this group in March, and I think they can lose to anybody, but I also think they can beat anybody. Like nobody scares me with this group. They you know they have a way. And was seven minutes to go. This game was tied, and all signs indicated we were in trouble. We really didn't have guys to create offense.

00:09:38
Speaker 1: Our best defenders were hurt.

00:09:41
Speaker 2: We seem to be kind of out of sorts, and then the next thing you know, they end up winning by eleven. So big shout out to the team, big shout out to Pope, big shout out to that crowd.

00:09:50
Speaker 1: Who I think played a huge, huge role in the victory. Eight.

00:09:55
Speaker 2: I'm nine, twenty two eighty seven. It is another happy win. What a year. Seriously, what a year this has been for Kentucky. I not only have I enjoyed it, this is this is what we all kind of hope for when we got Mark Pope and I maybe could have guessed we'd be seventeen and seven.

00:10:17
Speaker 1: But I certainly don't think I would have guessed it.

00:10:19
Speaker 2: With two wins over Tennessee, a win over Duke, went over Gonzaga. I don't know, man, this has been a heck of a run and hopefully it will continue. We'll take a break if I'm nine two eight oh twenty two eighty seven. Nice Tuesday night with a sweep over the balls. This is the Local Toy Dealers KSR Post game show, walker Back. It is the Local Toy Dealers KSR Post game show. Ef I'm nine two eight oh twenty two eighty seven. The text machine is seven seven two seven seven four five two five four.

00:10:48
Speaker 1: Let me give you a couple from the text machine.

00:10:50
Speaker 2: But first before I do that, if you're at home and you're sitting there going what can I watch? If if you most of you probably have the CBS Sports Network, you should turn on. It's a great environment. Yukon is playing Creighton. Yukon's up three. It's at Creighton. Creighton had dollar Beer night Billy so that their fans would be ready, so it is. It is wild and Yukon's player Liam McNeely, who we recruited here at Kentucky, is just going off. I mean he's like, I think he's got like twenty eight points and he's talking trash to a drunk crowd and it's it's actually quite an environment. So that's on the CBS Sports Network. On the text machine, one person writes, Matt, I'm not gonna compare Pope to col forever, but I do think we can say in the last five years we.

00:11:37
Speaker 1: Lose that game. Yeah, that's probably true.

00:11:40
Speaker 2: I mean it's tough because we lost to Cow so it's hard to kind of do that whole thing a lot. But I do think this was like, this was a grinded out kind of game that I think may end up being. You know, Pope, you know we lost a game like this at Vandy, but I feel like we almost got it back tonight. Because the Bandy game was a grinded out game that we should have won. This was probably a grinded out game that we should have lost, and we end up kind of splitting them. So I think that works out. I think that works out pretty well. One person rights Matt. The substitution pattern I saw you didn't like, but I thought it was great. Good coaching by Pope. Well, I mean, I listen, you can't say anything bad about the bench because they play. I mean, how many points did the bench have? You had, you know, nineteen between Noah and Perry. I guess Almonor is technically a starter, but I kind of went six twenty six from the bench and that's not even counting how many Almonor have twelve fourteen something like that. Thirteen. Yeah, and I consider him a bench player even though he's starting. So the only thing I don't like I don't like when he I don't like that at the start like four minutes into the first and second half. I don't like that he puts all the reserves in it once. I don't think that does them justice. And I think we see that when they play with other starters, they're better off. You know, that's a nitpick. We won, so like he might say that the reason they had so much energy at the end is because he done it. He did that, So there you go. If I'm nine two eight twenty two eighty seven, U con this would be a big win for them if they get on the road. They've been struggling. Danny Hurley is doing all he can not to lose his mind there in Omaha. Yeah, he made his jacket into like a straight jacket right there.

00:13:23
Speaker 1: Who's up first, Tyler? Tyler? Go ahead, Tyler.

00:13:28
Speaker 3: Hey, Matt, we're driving back from the game. Had a great time at the game.

00:13:33
Speaker 4: I was just kind of came to me when we were watching.

00:13:36
Speaker 5: I know you're not big on.

00:13:37
Speaker 3: Team nicknames, but I was wondering what you thought about the Unpredictables.

00:13:41
Speaker 1: For somebody sent me that. Maybe it was you.

00:13:44
Speaker 2: Somebody sent me that tonight, And I don't think that's a bad name, but you know, I don't.

00:13:50
Speaker 1: I don't do names. Mountain Mamba I took because it was like the moment I.

00:13:53
Speaker 2: Heard it, it was good besides that, but yeah, but the ones I've heard because they are unpredictable to be on. Right.

00:14:02
Speaker 5: Yeah, all right, that's it.

00:14:04
Speaker 1: Appreciate it. Thank you man. Uh let me.

00:14:06
Speaker 2: But you were gonna say something, Bill you you said, uh and I wasn't at the game, but you said there was a halftime show that was that was awesome?

00:14:14
Speaker 1: Is that right? Yeah?

00:14:15
Speaker 6: I don't know what you call it, but it is awesome. Drew Franklin posted a video of it, and it's this woman on her back using her feet to bounce a basketball on a contraption that then then puts it in at hoop. So it's like it's a it's something, I'll give you that.

00:14:30
Speaker 1: So he puts it in a use it. She's dribbling with her feet.

00:14:34
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know the old like machine you put a penny into the slot and then you got to jiggle it and have the penny land on the slot below it like it's usually at like taco bell or something like that.

00:14:44
Speaker 1: Yeah, we'll take.

00:14:45
Speaker 6: That in reverse. And she was on a on her back and bounced a basketball up until it went into a hoop. I'm probably doing a poor job explaining this, but Drew, Yeah, yeah, it's something.

00:14:57
Speaker 2: To look at that. Your your description is really bad. But but I bet it will I bet it will be interesting when I actually see it.

00:15:04
Speaker 1: Who's up next?

00:15:05
Speaker 6: Michael is?

00:15:06
Speaker 2: Michael?

00:15:06
Speaker 1: Go ahead? And Michael, Hey Man, how are you doing?

00:15:10
Speaker 7: Man?

00:15:10
Speaker 1: Doing great? Uh?

00:15:13
Speaker 3: So tonight Rupperena was amazing. I got a chance to take my daughter with me. It's been a little while since we got to see a game, and she just had a blast. And so she loved Oway watching him play. Was just jumping up and down, and uh, she knows her dear old Dad's big blue fan. And my energy went went a little bit down when Butler got hurt.

00:15:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, so when Butler went.

00:15:44
Speaker 3: And got hurt, I sat down for a little bit and was just she knew. She just felt it because she watched me during the Arkansas game and I was furious for darkness and went in just to talk to you. But h No, the game was amazing. Uh, the place was just rocking. And to watch Noah do what he did tonight, I was just proud of him. And it was great seeing some Kentucky players step up. But my daughter actually has a question for you as you go for it.

00:16:11
Speaker 8: Yeah, Hey, I was just wondering why you.

00:16:15
Speaker 2: Were not the game. Yeah.

00:16:17
Speaker 1: I don't go to most of the games.

00:16:20
Speaker 2: I think I get a too nervous, and now the media seats are kind of terrible, so I watch it at home.

00:16:25
Speaker 1: But I'm glad you were there for me.

00:16:28
Speaker 2: I appreciate it, and I go to the games when we go to the SEC tournament in NCAA, I'll be it there, but appreciate the call.

00:16:34
Speaker 1: I'm glad glad you guys had fun.

00:16:36
Speaker 2: Yeah, let me say one of things I like about Trent Noah's game. I don't think this is a fluke. Right. So over the years, we've had Kentucky kids who have had moments where like something crazy happens, Like Preston Lamaster had that game where he's scored like twenty against Old miss If. Dante Allen had.

00:16:59
Speaker 1: A couple of games.

00:17:01
Speaker 2: And then there were times that guys played Dominie Hawkins and Derek Willis. I thought we're good players, but they would have games where they just kind of went nuts. I actually think Dominique and Derek probably don't deserve to be on this list, but but I feel like with Trent Noah, this is the start of him being a really good player.

00:17:17
Speaker 1: You know who. I think he's gonna be for us.

00:17:19
Speaker 2: Really, I think he's gonna be like that kid from Clemson, the one that we can't figure out.

00:17:25
Speaker 1: Oh you know what I mean. I think he's gonna be that for us. I think he's gonna be like that kid.

00:17:30
Speaker 2: That kid's really good. I mean that kid took Clemson to a final eight. He had twenty rebounds against us. He beat Duke the other night, Like, and you go, why is this kid so good? I kind of think that's gonna be Trent Noah. Like Trent's a better shooter than that kid. That kid's a little stronger than Trent is.

00:17:49
Speaker 1: But I think we're.

00:17:49
Speaker 2: Gonna be looking back, and I wonder if he's gonna be like I can't remember that kid's name.

00:17:53
Speaker 1: It starts with an as his last name. But I kind of think.

00:17:56
Speaker 2: He's got a little of those vibes in him because I think I think that I think Trance could be really good. I think Travis is gonna be good too, But Travis is always gonna have some defensive limitations. I think Trance got a chance to be really, really good if things connect for it.

00:18:13
Speaker 1: Who's up next, Nate? Go ahead and Nate, all right, here we go.

00:18:19
Speaker 9: I'm gonna start off by Danny Hurley getting squirrely. Uhuh. So we're talking about nicknames. Also, if we had a third kid, I would reach out to call them fluffy. You remember Harry Potter, the three headed dog. Those boys got doggy tonight. So I was trying to call in earlier on the postgame show or the pregame show to talk about what Robinson needed to or what we needed to do with Robinson being out. However, I figured you all would say something about Bread needed to come through for a good game or car.

00:18:50
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, that's what Ryan said, and and Ryan, I mean Brayan. Look, we might have won anyway, but those two threes hit were massive because we really weren't able to get any shots off and he didn't need to run offense.

00:19:06
Speaker 1: He just stepped farther back and made two threes.

00:19:10
Speaker 9: Then after that, I was gonna say, whoever thought that Kentucky Fellows would come in combined for nineteen I want to hear what you all have to say about that, and nobody let's just keep going.

00:19:20
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, nobody, I appreciate the call. I mean, I h yeah, nobody would have thought that. I mean, they made five threes between the two of them. You know, when Noah hit those free throws, Billy, that was I mean, we were only up three, right, Noah's free throws made it five.

00:19:36
Speaker 6: Those were his first free throws.

00:19:37
Speaker 2: Those first throws the year. Yeah, that's a tough that's a tough spot to come in and shoot your first free throws of the year. And then he nailed them.

00:19:46
Speaker 6: Yeah, thirty two points from Noah, Almanor and Perry.

00:19:49
Speaker 1: That that's awesome.

00:19:50
Speaker 2: I mean, that's really awesome. And again Almonor started, but I still consider I mean, think about it, at the beginning of the year, what Almonor, Perry and Noah what were Okay, So when we started this year, we had the starting five. Bray was the sixth man, Kerr was probably the seventh, right, the eighth was what Garrison, and so you probably had all Minor was the ninth man, Noah the tenth, and what Perry the eleventh. So if I tell you that we're gonna play a top five Tennessee team in February, and our ninth, tenth, and eleventh men are gonna combine.

00:20:32
Speaker 1: For thirty two points.

00:20:35
Speaker 2: I mean, that's pretty awesome, and that says a lot about how Pope believes in those guys and really, you know, builds them up.

00:20:43
Speaker 6: Who's next, Thomas.

00:20:44
Speaker 1: Thomas, Go ahead, Thomas, Well, I'm gonna build on that.

00:20:48
Speaker 10: Because we were screaming, play your best five, Pope, play your best five.

00:20:53
Speaker 2: Well, but the best five tonight? Yeah, the best five tonight, though, wasn't. I mean, Noah was one of the best five tonight, right. I mean when I was saying playing the best, I think I tweeted out something like play your best guys. Part of that was I didn't love the minutes we were giving Chandler in that moment. But then the other part of it was I just don't like when he doesn't play when he plays all those guys together. But with that said, I thought Noah was one of our best five tonight. So he I mean, he was in it down the stretch like he should have been.

00:21:22
Speaker 8: Well, we didn't until he got in the game and did what he did.

00:21:24
Speaker 2: So I'm loving that.

00:21:26
Speaker 1: That's true. If you'd asked me before the game.

00:21:28
Speaker 2: If you had asked me before the game, I would not have wanted You're right, go ahead.

00:21:32
Speaker 1: What'd you say?

00:21:33
Speaker 8: Wouldn't you hate to play Kentucky right now?

00:21:35
Speaker 11: If you were anybody else, wouldn't you hate you don't know what you're gonna get?

00:21:38
Speaker 1: That's exactly right. I think what would be hard is you don't know what you're gonna get.

00:21:42
Speaker 2: So like if you were playing right now, you'd go, why couldn't we get the team that was down twenty seven at Old Miss? Why are we getting the team that's beating us like in our place. You're right because you would have no idea going in the game what you're gonna get.

00:21:58
Speaker 8: And Brandon Garrison is the big question mark for me.

00:22:01
Speaker 2: I love me too, I agree, Yeah, I don't. Garrison is my and I appreciate the call. Garrison is my biggest concern because we're gonna get Butler and Robinson back, So like in other let's say we had when Butler and Robinson come back, let's say Noah Perry almanor let's say they're not playing well, like, we'll be all right, but we're gonna have to play Garrison. He's gonna have to be a Mary's backup, a Marius foul prone. And he's just a really bad defender. Like, he's a really bad defender, and I feel like he's gotten worse defensively. Offensively, he can give you some stuff, He's just a really bad defender. And you know, I actually think because Noah's gotten better on defense, Travis Perry's.

00:22:55
Speaker 1: Gotten a little better, all Manoor's got.

00:22:57
Speaker 2: I feel like he Garrison is our biggest weakest weakness defensively right now. And when he comes in he just gets exploited. So they just put him in a pick and roll and you know it just doesn't it kills us. And so I do worry about Garrison. But the thing is, you know Garrison had Garrison had fifteen the other night, So like he can make up for some of that because he can hit shots.

00:23:18
Speaker 1: And sometimes finished. But his defense does worry me.

00:23:21
Speaker 6: Three though he.

00:23:23
Speaker 1: Will and I want him to.

00:23:24
Speaker 2: He made one, I think tonight, right, But but just defensively, it's tough. I mean, Amari sometimes drives me crazy when he doesn't raise his arms, but he slides his feet and he can recover and get blocks. Garrison is he's also slow, or at least he is slow watterly. But go ahead, Jacob, Jacob, go ahead, Jacob.

00:23:47
Speaker 12: Hey Matt coming home from the game, I think that Butler really set the tone for the game with that first that first steal and lay up. I think that really at the tone.

00:24:00
Speaker 2: That the crowd going. And he had another big steal in the second half. He had another big steel on the second half. I think the game was like three, and they it looked like they had a layup.

00:24:10
Speaker 1: That was gonna make it one.

00:24:11
Speaker 2: He steals it and then goes down there and gets a layup on the other end and it goes from three to five.

00:24:16
Speaker 1: I thought that was a big play.

00:24:19
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:24:19
Speaker 12: Yeah. One of the things that Pope really hit on in his postgame interview was talking about uh the improvement in uh Noah and Bray especially, and I just wanted to kind of echo that. One of the things I think Perry had at two threes, I believe, but the two pointer that he made that this little yeah, I think that was I think that was almost more impressive and it shows I think a little bit more of a diversity in his game. I think he's getting better that way. And then of course Noah's.

00:24:54
Speaker 2: Well, he's not scared to do it right, like like anybody that saw that kid play in high school.

00:24:59
Speaker 1: I mean, he's so he wasn't scared in high school. Neither was Trent Noah.

00:25:02
Speaker 2: But sometimes when guys like that get to college and they're seeing a different level of athlete, they'll shy away and like in Perry's case, maybe only shoot threes. Seeing him take that drive, I'm with you, sir, I thought, look the fact that he'll take a running drive into a defender off in Banket make it or not.

00:25:21
Speaker 1: I liked that he's willing to take that shot.

00:25:24
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah.

00:25:25
Speaker 12: And then finally Oway had a great game and the chant finally caught on.

00:25:30
Speaker 1: I don't know if you caught it.

00:25:31
Speaker 2: Finally I heard it. Yeah, it came through that it came through. Yeah, it was loud. It was loud about doing it. Appreciate the call. I shout out to whoever got that going. I've been waiting all year, Billy for the way oh way away.

00:25:45
Speaker 1: Chant sounded good on there, it was. I thought it sounded great on TV. Well it was. It was awesome.

00:25:50
Speaker 2: All Right, We're gonna take a break A five nine two eight oh twenty two eighty seven.

00:25:54
Speaker 1: Be right back. It's the Local Toy Dealers KSR post game show. Working back.

00:25:58
Speaker 2: It is a local Toy Dealer KSR postgame show. If you're watching this Yukon game, I think you're seeing the start of a star getting born. Here with the Liam McNeely kid. He's got what thirty four right now in this game? Uh, sixty five sixty two Yukon over Creighton. He's got very he's got some lightner looks, you know. Ye, he's got the headman, and he's talking trash and he can dribble, and he's tall.

00:26:25
Speaker 1: He's got some lightner.

00:26:26
Speaker 2: Vibes to him. No, don't make another one. No, I missed that one, all right. So, uh, you know, he almost came here. It was down to Yukon and US. I think if he had come, well, they saved a spot. I think he was gonna be the thirteenth scholarship. It'd be interesting to see what happened if if he did come here. A five nine h two eight oh twenty two eighty seven. One person writes, Matt. The thing I love about our team is I think we're much tougher than we were a couple of weeks ago, and that's good to see. I agree with that. I think we are much much tougher. I think we toughness was a real issue. I thought, especially at the start of SEC play, I just didn't think we were tough at all, and I think that's I think that has really really gotten a lot better, a lot better. So yeah, eight, but nine, two, eight, twenty two, eighty seven are who's up next?

00:27:16
Speaker 1: Ryan? Ryan? Go ahead?

00:27:18
Speaker 13: Ryan, Hey, Matt Hey, Billy, first time long come who are Just got two quick comments. First of all, just wanted to say I haven't been to too many UK games, but that building was about to blow up. My voice is gonna be raspy for three or four days. It's so worth it.

00:27:37
Speaker 2: I'm glad to hear that. I mean, it certainly looked like it from Afar. It seemed like it was. It was.

00:27:44
Speaker 1: It was great.

00:27:45
Speaker 2: I mean, I love watching RUP in a moment like that is it is the best.

00:27:51
Speaker 5: Yea, it was pretty nice.

00:27:53
Speaker 13: Second comment, you may have mentioned something earlier in the show. I didn't catch the first few minutes, but what you mentioned, either on the pregame show or earlier today case are about how we've seemed to stop over complicating defense and just playing more straight up and not forcing to a weak side or a strong side looked a lot better tonight, and I thought we we stayed in front, played a much more consistent type of defense, if that makes sense.

00:28:14
Speaker 2: Part of me wonders if they're just if they've just changed that, right like I do kind of wonder if if they've just that was the way they were defending and he's just gotten away from it, because they obviously it felt like they changed that against South Carolina and the same tonight.

00:28:31
Speaker 1: So yeah, I that that was something.

00:28:34
Speaker 2: Apparently I missed this at halftime maybe of the Tennessee game, the first one. Tom Crean pointed that out as a weakness we were doing. I'm not sure, but uh, I think I think we're not seeing the overplays like we were, and that that looks like that might have been an adjustment.

00:28:51
Speaker 13: Yeah, I completely agree with that point. Definitely saw a change in the South Carolina game. I just hope going forward that's something we stick with.

00:28:57
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree.

00:28:58
Speaker 2: Appreciate the call, man, I know I keep bringing this up, but dude, omaha, you know, except for that referee that lives, there a lot of good things happen in Omaha. It seems like, like, what do you know about Omaha?

00:29:09
Speaker 1: Billy?

00:29:10
Speaker 2: You got the College World series, right, yeah, you got the insurance company.

00:29:14
Speaker 1: Have you ever seen the movie Nebraska?

00:29:16
Speaker 2: No, I have really good movie.

00:29:19
Speaker 1: You ought to see it. It's Will Forte.

00:29:21
Speaker 2: His dad thinks his dad, I think, thinks he won like a publisher's clearing house sweepstakes, and so he drives him to Omaha, and like it's the whole thing. Yeah, what are you laughing at? It's that riveting plot of ye, but it's hard to describe, like it's like this, it's not about the plot. It's like the maybe so maybe like the halftime show. I've been to a Creighton game. By the way their crowd gets it. I've been to a Creighton game in Ohma. Their crowd goes wild. That's a that's an underrated, really good crowd. We do you know we played at Creighton? Did you know that was that recent?

00:29:56
Speaker 1: Or was that let's do a test. Can you remember we played at Creighton?

00:30:03
Speaker 2: No? We played at Creighton the year we went to the n I T with Billy Gillespie, and I think we won that year. I think we beat UNLV at home with Perry Stevenson. That's when he flexed them bones. Then we went I think we won at Creighton, and then we lost at Notre Dame and that was the game where Jody Meeks almost didn't come.

00:30:29
Speaker 1: Out for the second half.

00:30:30
Speaker 6: So sounds like.

00:30:33
Speaker 2: We have played a road game at Creighton. I don't know if a lot of people remember that. Who's next, Kevin, Go ahead.

00:30:39
Speaker 1: Kevin Matt.

00:30:41
Speaker 8: First of all, just want to say so appreciate you everything you do for for UK. All the fans sometimes missed the force for the trees with you, and I just wish that was different. So, first of all, appreciate you. Second of all, thank you very the observations from sort of a macro perspective on the season that I think is a hilarious paradigm ship. First thing is, you know, I, along as well as a lot of other fans, criticize Cal for the lack of SEC wins. But I think a lot of fans would be willing to trade resting our best players and maybe not representing ourselves the best in the SEC tournament if it meant we would do better in the NCAA tournament. And then yeah, You're probably right about that.

00:31:21
Speaker 2: The problem though is you don't know, Like, like, if you tell me, okay, Matt, we sacrifice the SEC tournament for the NCAA tournament and we get to the final eight or whatever, like, then I agree with you. The problem though, is when you sacrifice the SEC tournament and then losing the first round of the NCAA tournament. You know, I think that's what happened to Cal actually the last couple of years a little bit. So the problem is you don't know during the SEC tournament what's gonna happen in the.

00:31:48
Speaker 8: Next week, right, And obviously I'm operating on the sort of the cute side of that, you know, to make it interesting. But you know, second of all, preseason, we probably would have just done. Everyone would have been okay with a postseason win. And it's funny to see the goalpost move consistently and consistently, you know, Pocus such a victim of his own success. So it's gonna be interesting to see how it closes out here on the season. Man, I really appreciate you.

00:32:14
Speaker 1: Appreciate it well.

00:32:15
Speaker 2: I mean, if you were if you were to have told me when the season started that the SEC would be as good as it was. Like, I knew the SEC was gonna be good, but I didn't know it was gonna be this good. Like I thought Alabama, Auburn, and Tennessee were gonna be really good. I didn't think Florida was gonna be as good as they are, and they are. You know, A and M and Mississippi State and Old Miss are better than I thought they'd be. Missouri wash to eighteen last year in conference and they're really good. You know, Oklahoma, even though they've struggled in SEC play, was better than I thought. I mean, really, if you look at the conference and you go, Okay, who's disappointing? I mean, what like Texas is probably the only team that has not been.

00:32:58
Speaker 1: As good at Arkansas South Carolina.

00:33:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, but I thought they'd be bad. I thought they were gonna be the worst team in the conference. Texas and Arkansas are probably the only two teams in the conference that are worse than we thought they'd be at the start of the year. So if you had told me the SEC was gonna be like it is and we were gonna have a non conference schedule the way we had, where Duke's probably better than people thought Louisville's probably better than people thought. And you told me we'd be seventeen and seven, I'd have been really happy. So I'm not gonna not be happy as it is now. It's been a weird path there, but.

00:33:37
Speaker 1: I just think I can't. We cannot under it.

00:33:40
Speaker 2: In a normal SEC, Billy, the SEC we dealt with in the last fifteen years, this team would.

00:33:46
Speaker 1: Be nine and two in the SEC. Right now.

00:33:49
Speaker 2: We're six and five. But we're not six and five because we're worse. We're six and five because the SEC is awesome this year.

00:33:55
Speaker 6: Yeah, and add on the fact that you're missing so many players, some of your best scorer.

00:33:59
Speaker 1: H that's Gigs, exactly right.

00:34:00
Speaker 2: If we were fully healthy, you're probably I think we win that Bandy game ifore fully healthy.

00:34:05
Speaker 1: Was probably at least seven.

00:34:06
Speaker 2: And four if we if we are fully healthy, So yeah, you're exactly right. Who's next?

00:34:11
Speaker 1: Butler?

00:34:12
Speaker 10: Butler, go ahead, Butler, Hey, brother, First of all, I want to say the heck of a wednesnight, go cats. That's you know, he swooped the balls.

00:34:21
Speaker 1: Thank you.

00:34:23
Speaker 10: I've called in all these years, and I've never told you gratulations for all your success. I mean KSR, KS, br ESPN KS free show every all that congratulations for that. I'm gonna run through a few things real fast so somebody else can get on here. I want to say hi to a guy that listens to you all avidly, and every time I pay my storage bill to him, he always says I heard you on KSR. So Hello Anthony, hefln Hello Anthony. But yeah, hello, but very foul. I lived down here in mccreek Anty. I've told you that, you know what I call it in Yes, you said it's not right for somebody to wear UK your every single day, but I live literally ten minutes from the Tennessee state line.

00:35:17
Speaker 1: Yes, you do.

00:35:18
Speaker 10: Fair and foul.

00:35:20
Speaker 1: It's pretty fair. It's fair. Oh, it's certainly fair now for sure. Yeah, I mean like you live.

00:35:27
Speaker 2: See Okay, you live like you there are I don't think people in the rest of the state who don't live on the state line get it like you get it. McCreary County's right there. Bell County, where I'm from, is right there. There's some places down like I don't know if if Hopkinsville is on the state line.

00:35:46
Speaker 1: But it's right next to it. So like Franklin, Franklin, Kentucky.

00:35:50
Speaker 2: I guess at Simpson County like those of us that are on the state line, it's a little different, so I know exactly.

00:35:56
Speaker 1: What you deal with.

00:35:59
Speaker 10: Yeah, so I represent as much as I can. And we don't have a Walmart here, so it's either Oneida or Somerset or Winnsburg or Wayne County. You know, we got to travel to get to a Walmart. So when I go to the onnight of Walmart and Tennessee down there, I'm wearing my blue no matter what. I got a quick question for Billy and then I let you go. I appreciate my taking my call Billy when and I love.

00:36:29
Speaker 4: The pre show.

00:36:30
Speaker 10: By the way, when Cal was doing the pre show, compared to now that Hope is doing the pre show, what is the call amount like? Because I feel like the fan base is more ramped up now and you're getting more cast because I've tried to call in all night. I've tried to call in for a week and can't get into Pope's calling show. I only tried like two or three times with Cal and God but lost connection. Is that agreeable that it's more harder to get into Pope's going so than it was Cow's the last few years or yeah.

00:37:10
Speaker 6: No, very much so Butler, I mean, there's just an excitement in the fan base that I mean, I have full lines for the Pope Show at the very beginning of the show.

00:37:18
Speaker 2: So that's amazing because I can tell you there were some years I hosted the cow Show and it would be like Bob and Jamestown and.

00:37:26
Speaker 1: Whatever the last few years like that. Really yeah, you know, I mean that's what it was.

00:37:30
Speaker 2: And so you're you're exactly exactly right, by the way, speaking of living on the border, Trent Noah was asked after the game in the press conference about playing against Tennessee and he said, my mom, he said, I'm always you know, been on the state line right next to it.

00:37:47
Speaker 1: My mom even would go get her hair done in Knoxville.

00:37:51
Speaker 2: I was like, that is such a thirteenth region this thing to say my mom would get her hair done, because like that's you know, when I was a kid in Middlesbrough, the city we went to was Knoxville, Like, I mean, so and I had to watch Knoxville TV stations, and so did Trent Noah. Right, if you're in Harlan or Middlesbrough. We we got Knoxville TV. Now, uh, now you get a win like that, that's got to mean a ton for him to knowly win, but play like he did in the game.

00:38:17
Speaker 6: Who's next, Trey?

00:38:19
Speaker 1: Go ahead, Trey?

00:38:22
Speaker 4: Hey, what's going on?

00:38:22
Speaker 2: Fellas?

00:38:23
Speaker 1: What's up?

00:38:25
Speaker 4: Well?

00:38:26
Speaker 2: So h MJ.

00:38:28
Speaker 4: I got two points? The first one is that caller the other day. The other day he said some sports reporter said that he thought this team had peaked already. I don't think that's true at all. As a matter of fact, I think this team has a lot of growing room, you know, to see Trent Noah and Travis Perry transform right before our eyes and too legitimate minute players, and I think come termament time, they may have a huge impact in a game, a game or two.

00:39:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't think they've peaked if we're healthy, right, So for me, it's there isn't a health sense. Like I don't think cars going to be one hundred percent, So I think at best we're gonna get an eighty percent car just because you can just tell he's in pain. But if we could get rob if we can get Robinson and Butler healthy to where they are Like I thought, Butler was one hundred percent himself until he reinjured his arm.

00:39:29
Speaker 1: If you can get.

00:39:29
Speaker 2: Those guys to where they are one hundred percent themselves, then I agree with you. I think there's another gear they can still get. Now, if we don't get those guys healthy, then I do think there's a cap as to where this team can get. But if those two guys are healthy, then I'm with you. I think there's still a higher level they can reach.

00:39:47
Speaker 4: What do we know exactly the shoulder injury extent of Butler?

00:39:54
Speaker 1: They haven't said.

00:39:55
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm sure I have not heard, like what the official diagnosis is. I mean, I know before before he got hurt at the end that I thought he looked pretty close to.

00:40:04
Speaker 1: One hundred percent and he was.

00:40:06
Speaker 2: You know when your right hand and you go up for a layup on the right side, you take a hit to the left shoulder, and he took a few of them and seemed to be okay, And then I think he just fell in a weird way, and then that's why I got hurt.

00:40:18
Speaker 4: Of you, well, hopefully hopefully he'll get he'll get back soon. Second point this is, this is really interesting to think about So come next year, isn't it going to be crazy to think we're gonna have four Kentucky guys on this.

00:40:35
Speaker 1: Right, and they'll all contribute.

00:40:38
Speaker 4: Get them good ones.

00:40:39
Speaker 2: And they'll all contribute. You're exactly right, that will be I mean, what you got to go back to? When would there have been four Kentucky guys contribute? I mean, obviously Rick's early days. I wonder has there been a year since since those the you know, the ninety two to ninety one years, has there been a year that four Kentucky guys?

00:41:04
Speaker 3: I don't think Sutton had any.

00:41:08
Speaker 1: No, well, Patino had.

00:41:09
Speaker 2: I mean, so Patino had Reggie Hansen, Richie Farmer, John Pelfrey, and Darren Feldhouse. So those were four Kentucky guys contributing, and that would have been like what ninety and ninety one. That's probably the last time that there's been four Kentucky guys. I'm sure there's been four Kentucky guys on the rock. Well wait minute, let me think Brandon Stockton, Josh Carrier, JP Blevins. Was there one other one on that team? But but those guys aren't as good as the ones we're talking about. So so Yeah, you're probably right. I don't know that we've ever certainly not in my lifetime.

00:41:48
Speaker 4: If we had that, Oh I'm excited for it. I'm gonna hang up, guys.

00:41:53
Speaker 1: You guys appreciate the call. Yeah, I don't. That's a good question.

00:41:56
Speaker 2: I mean that that Tubby had that group, that had all those guys, but they're not as good as the guys that are coming I mean next year. Well, first of all, Kentucky has not produced two dudes as good as Jazzper Johnson Malcai Moreno in the same year maybe ever, or at least for a long time. So yeah, that we probably will have more Kentucky contributions.

00:42:23
Speaker 1: And let me just say, I think.

00:42:24
Speaker 2: There's a kid out there that plays for another school that's from Kentucky that you could see here next year. So yeah, it might be the most Kentucky team since the Unforgettables AF I'm nine two eighth twenty two eighty seven. We will take a break, come back. Final segment. It's the Local Toy Dealers KSR postgame Show. Welcome back. It is the Local Toy Dealers ksbar ksbar KSR Postgame Show. Here's a little interesting thing that I just saw sports betters can no longer place wagers at Churchill Down the racetrack closed its sports book.

00:43:03
Speaker 1: Wow, isn't that interesting?

00:43:04
Speaker 2: Like the whole It's so funny how that whole the whole idea of all this was that like it would be at the tracks and then it would like help the tracks. And now everybody bets on their phone and the tracks things don't really matter, you know.

00:43:20
Speaker 6: Is that because nobody's betting at the track. Is that why they're closing that?

00:43:22
Speaker 2: I guess, well, they're nobody's bet on sports. They'll bet on horse racing, but they're not betting on sports. So like I remember when when when Red Mile opened the the the in person sports betting there, I was like worried about for Case Park.

00:43:38
Speaker 1: And I just think everybody does it on their phone, you know.

00:43:40
Speaker 2: So it's like the I think a lot of these businesses put in like a lot of money into their sports books, and I don't know, I don't know how much that's working for them because people just do it on their phone, you know. So it's like a lot of things. Everybody does it on their phone. If I'm nine two eight zho twenty two eighty seven. Let's do five more and we'll.

00:44:00
Speaker 1: Call it an eating. Who's next, Luke, Luke.

00:44:03
Speaker 14: Go ahead, Luke, Hey man, how's it going?

00:44:06
Speaker 1: Doing good? Yeah?

00:44:08
Speaker 5: So two things real quick. I know the defense was a lot better tonight. How much of that do you attribute to Lamont Butler being back? I know he went down. Hopefully he is good to go for the rest of the season, But how much of that do you think it is?

00:44:23
Speaker 2: Well, I think it's huge. I think it's huge. I think you saw that when the worst defensive stretch we had was that stretch at the start of the second half when Butler went out, Like from the sixteen minute mark to the twelve minute mark. I think Tennessee scored on eight straight possessions and that was when Butler was out. I also think, though we just oddly, we match up really well with Tennessee, Like they lead the country in three point defense, yet we've shot fifty percent from three in both games against him.

00:44:54
Speaker 1: I'm not really sure why that's the case.

00:44:56
Speaker 2: And then they're not a good three point shooting team, but they're hideously bad against us, and so I don't really know why that is. And we seem to defend pretty well against him, So I just.

00:45:09
Speaker 1: Think for whatever reason, the matchup is good for us there.

00:45:14
Speaker 5: Yeah, I agree that Kai Siegler is kind of a bum when he plays Kentucky.

00:45:18
Speaker 1: I don't know what it is, well, but I mean so is Chas Lanier.

00:45:21
Speaker 2: I mean neither like, yeah, and Lanier and Gainey tonight, we're zero for eleven from three.

00:45:27
Speaker 3: Now.

00:45:27
Speaker 2: Gainey played pretty well against US down in Knoxville, but Lanier and Ziegler both just have not. Ziegler played better tonight, but like, they just haven't played well against US, and they play well against everybody else.

00:45:38
Speaker 1: So I don't really know what it is.

00:45:40
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean it's been his whole career. He's not played good against Kentucky, So I don't know if he's just got the jitters or what. But uh, I know for a fact that he's no competition for the Mountain Mamba and the Bluegrass Bucket. Thank you so much.

00:45:54
Speaker 1: Oh, I like that the other name.

00:45:55
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think part of it is, you know, I think part of it is that that Tennessee were used to Tennessee being a really big, really athletic team, and they're playing three guards for the most part. Their center Igor is a good stretch player, but he's not crazy athletic. And then kind of their athletic guys may shack and the other one. They're not great scorers. So I think we just seem to be able to defend them pretty well. The guy that used to always give us trouble for them was like Adu, who's now at Arkansas. We always struggle with those guys, and they just don't have a guy like that this year. So Yu Khon beats Creighton on the road, we'll do. You got four on air five? How many you got left? I got five?

00:46:36
Speaker 1: You want to go to all five? It's too all five? Okay ahead, Casey, Casey, go ahead, Casey.

00:46:42
Speaker 15: What's going on?

00:46:43
Speaker 2: Fellas?

00:46:43
Speaker 15: I just wanted to holler at you and see what you thought. So we had no Robinson. We played good defense versus the best defensive team and the nation, in my opinion, not stagnant again we usually play. I feel like, well, we were pretty staggned.

00:47:00
Speaker 1: I disagree with you on the stagnant.

00:47:02
Speaker 2: We are pretty stagnant in that second half, but we got fortunate that guys made big players.

00:47:08
Speaker 15: Yeah, we lost Butler though that we did we did.

00:47:11
Speaker 2: The Butler's the key but Butler, Butler and Robinson. Yeah, Butler is the key on defense. Butler is the key on defense. Robinson and Butler are the key on offense. And so having Butler's was huge.

00:47:25
Speaker 15: All right, So Jackson and Robin. So Jackson, Robinson or oh Way is our best player, gott to be but Lamont Butler is our key player, and you can, okay, I.

00:47:40
Speaker 2: Think I think Robinson is our best scorer. Oh Way might be our best overall player, but but Butler's our most important player.

00:47:52
Speaker 15: Yeah, I can't, obviously. And then also I just want to say, the Big Blue Nation, we're in a position where we're at because of this man. Pope tas the truth. I have not seen ma yet. He can't say all the things he's got to say. He had some things, but Pope tes the truth. He does not lie.

00:48:09
Speaker 12: I won't.

00:48:10
Speaker 15: Thank you, will and I appreciate him for who he is and what he does.

00:48:16
Speaker 9: Thank you.

00:48:16
Speaker 2: I appreciate call Thank b two eight oh twenty two eighty seven four more?

00:48:21
Speaker 1: Who's that?

00:48:21
Speaker 11: Katie?

00:48:22
Speaker 2: Katie? Go ahead, Katie. Hey.

00:48:26
Speaker 7: Matt and Billy, my fifteen year old son, and I are driving back from the game. We're going we're driving back to Ashland.

00:48:33
Speaker 10: Uh.

00:48:33
Speaker 7: We had a family member give us free tickets and they were in the top row. So we walked into Reparena at six thirty five, got on the game time app and bought tickets eight rows up from the floor and had the best time. And I'm calling because I'm just really happy. I'm really happy that this generation of Kentucky fans are getting to actually get a good taste of what Kentucky basketball is all about. My fifteen year old son diehard fan. He was three years old when we last won the national championship. We have season UK football tickets and honestly, in the last five or six years, he's had better UK football memories than basketball, and we try to keep killing him. No, no, you don't understand. Like UK basketball, it's like it is, it is it is, And I'm really glad that they're getting to see that now. And I'm just so happy we were at the game.

00:49:30
Speaker 3: Go Cats.

00:49:31
Speaker 2: Totally agree with you. I appreciate the call. I think that it's been interesting to watch with kids. I do think kids. You know, when cal first Scott here, kids loved John Wall, they loved Michael Kidd, Gilchrist Anthony Davis. I think Malik Monk and Darren de Aaron Fox were big with kids. And then for whatever reason, I mean, part of it is that we weren't winning. I thought dilling Hammond Ree kids really liked, but kids didn't seem to be I would notice that it just didn't seem like kids had the same energy that I had. And it seemed like kids had in the early Kal years. Well that's back this year. I mean, I see it at the bar before games, and the kids like this group. For whatever reason, I think Oway really resonates with kids. And then I think having these two guys from Kentucky, I mean, all these kids in Kentucky see these two dudes from their state and they're playing. And I just and now on the back of Reid doing last year and kids loved draw but like, it's good to see Kentucky just the younger fans being re energized. I didn't know this until I just saw Tyler Thompson's tweet. Did you know Mark Pope's daughter danced with the dance team tonight? No, Mark Pope's daughter either does or did. She may not anymore dance for the Utah Jazz dance team, and I guess she wore Mark Pope's jersey and danced with the Kentucky dance team today, So it's kind of a neat little thing.

00:51:07
Speaker 6: All right, three more, who's one question for you?

00:51:08
Speaker 1: Though?

00:51:09
Speaker 6: There was a goaltending call that was overturned in the game, but they didn't do it until they were at halftime.

00:51:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, first of all, I get reviewing goaltending, but there's a problem with reviewing goaltending. First of all, it should be at the first at the next stoppage.

00:51:27
Speaker 1: There was a stoppage.

00:51:29
Speaker 2: They stopped it with fifty seconds left, like Tennessee called time out, So if they're not if they don't change it, then I don't think.

00:51:35
Speaker 1: They should be able to change it at halftime. So that's my first problem.

00:51:37
Speaker 2: Second problem, I hate the rule that if they call goaltending and then they find out it's not, it just goes away because the guy blocked it out of bounds we would.

00:51:48
Speaker 6: Have had the ball, then no benefit.

00:51:50
Speaker 2: You don't get the benefit like so that they've got to figure that out because if you're gonna go review it and the offense would have gotten the ball back, you're punishing the offense for your bad call.

00:52:04
Speaker 1: You can't do that, so like I hate that. I get why they have the rule, and in theory, I like.

00:52:12
Speaker 2: Being able to replay goaltending, but I just don't think you can do it to where the team. I mean, we would have gotten the ball back, so not only did we not get the points, we didn't even get a chance to score. I just I've never liked that rule and I actually think it's kind of unfair and I don't know why they do it like that. So also I want to thank the fans. We had thirty four tickets given to me that I was able to give out to other people. That's a lot for people to cause, you know, that's those are thirty four seats that were filled that wouldn't have been otherwise. So thanks to the fans that did that.

00:52:47
Speaker 6: Who's that Todd is next?

00:52:48
Speaker 1: Todd? Go ahead?

00:52:49
Speaker 4: Todd hey Man.

00:52:51
Speaker 11: Yeah, that gold team call, that's pretty that's pretty lame by the NCAA to do that. Yeah, but uh, you open your show talking about the Almanor drive, which I thought was huge, and then the Berea drive with the lob of the Oway, and I think that's something this offense has to have because the dribble handoffs that we're trying to get a back door or a three. They're just pushing everybody out, but we get a little bit of penetration. It opens up Noah, it opens up Brea and he gives that lob the Oway and I think that's something that we've missed with Butler, but maybe we can hopefully get those guys at least doing that to kind of open things up for everybody else.

00:53:29
Speaker 2: I was really surprised because this team has been pretty weak getting people off the dribble. Like Oway can get to the rim, but then he can't finish.

00:53:39
Speaker 1: Usually he misses so many layups.

00:53:41
Speaker 2: Robinson has the same problem because he's not very strong now. Butler's a pretty good finisher. But then like brand Almanor, I'm not sure I've seen Brayan Almanor take a guy off the dribble all year, and then they both did it in key moments tonight.

00:53:56
Speaker 11: Yeah, Almanor that he's gonna have to do that because everybody's just like, Okay, he's gonna shoot three. So they're putting a guard on him like Lanier was guarding him tonight, and he finally took.

00:54:05
Speaker 2: Advantage that's a good point, that point, and also.

00:54:10
Speaker 11: Good to see the Kentucky boys come through. Uh, Perry still makes me nervous handling the ball, but I'm sure that's something will come with experience. But Noah, Noah's defense is very underrated.

00:54:21
Speaker 2: I feel like he's really good at guarding. They having guarded the four a lot, and I'm shocked at how effective.

00:54:32
Speaker 1: He is at that.

00:54:34
Speaker 11: Yeah, well, he was on Lanear tonight and he wasn't just trailing him off screens. He was kind of running on the side of his hip and like going under a few screens, which I think we need to do more of. But just his overall I Q and you know, the kid just makes just makes winning plays. And I hope he continues to get time and hope he continues to progress because that that that kid's something special.

00:54:58
Speaker 1: Appreciate the car he ran. I'm back to he's like that Clemson kid.

00:55:02
Speaker 2: Like you look at that Clemson kids, you go, how does he guard anybody? And then he's a pretty good defender, and uh, no one reminds me of that guy. Like I said, I think he shoots better than that guy, and that guy's probably a little stronger than.

00:55:14
Speaker 1: Noah, but uh, they have a lot of similarities to me. Two more, Who's next, Lance, Lance? How are you Lance?

00:55:22
Speaker 11: I'm doing good, Matt. I'm kind of piggybacking off of a caller a little earlier. I feel like tonight was a major advancement in the depth of our roster. Honestly, there may be a game, you know, if we are completely healthy, hopefully get everybody back where Butler or Oway or maybe another starter is in foul trouble or possibly they get injured during the game. You know, something comes up there during the NCAA tournament where these crucial minutes and sec play against teams like Tennessee will be crucial towards Perry and Noah's confidence going forward.

00:55:54
Speaker 2: Well, we've already seen their I agree with you, And we've already seen their confidence go way up.

00:55:58
Speaker 1: I mean, I.

00:56:01
Speaker 2: Love I don't really think they were scared earlier, but they were hesitant. They're not hesitant now. And to me, you can't play basketball at a high level and be hesitant. And I seeing Noah and Perry and it's not just Noah Perry, seeing Almanor and even seeing like Oway, who I thought win.

00:56:23
Speaker 1: A few games where he didn't want to shoot.

00:56:24
Speaker 2: Seeing all these guys be confident, you know, I love it because we need that because you got you can't be scared in these games because if you are, you're already.

00:56:35
Speaker 11: Beat absolutely, And it's just it's just going to see their progress getting forward as all I got.

00:56:42
Speaker 1: Yeah, I appreciate the call.

00:56:43
Speaker 2: That was one of Kyl's best skills is cal made the dudes believe that they were awesome. Sometimes I wish they were a little less confident, some of them, but he was great at telling dudes like getting the best out of them and making them feel confident. I feel like Pope's got that scene characteristic. Like they they go about it a different way, but they're both really good at making all the guys kind of believe like I can do it. And I think that's a that's a great characteristic to instill. All right, let's do one more and we'll call it a knight. Who's next?

00:57:14
Speaker 6: Kentucky dude, Kentucky dude?

00:57:16
Speaker 1: How are you?

00:57:19
Speaker 12: Hey?

00:57:19
Speaker 2: I'm good?

00:57:19
Speaker 1: How you got good?

00:57:22
Speaker 14: I'm glad to go on the Billy show.

00:57:25
Speaker 2: Let's see.

00:57:27
Speaker 14: I'm down here in Louisville right now at Derby City and the sports game one is wide open.

00:57:34
Speaker 2: Well, this is at Churchhill Downs, is what the thing is. It's at February sixteenth, will be the last day?

00:57:39
Speaker 14: Oh that's last day. But anyway, how about the I was down here, I'm down here on work. I had some guys from Michigan. They were trying to figure out how to how to say Louisville. It's a Louisville. Louisville, it's a Loserville.

00:57:58
Speaker 2: Okay, well I'll take that one.

00:57:59
Speaker 1: I'll take that one too.

00:58:00
Speaker 14: Yeah, I said, well I'm from the six six.

00:58:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, well I appreciate your call. They they're good though, and that helps us. Listen, Louisville being good just keeps helping our resume. So i'd say after this game, we're probably a solid four seed, assuming we win Saturday. But Saturday is gonna be tough. I know Texas is not played well, but it's gonna be eight o'clock. If you're just looking at like, you know those first time Kentucky's played there. Well, I think we played there once in the ACC Big twelve Challenge maybe, but we we don't play there a lot. Eight pm. It's the prime game on ESPN, so I think it'll be a wild environment. And if we can get that one, then you got Vandy at home, got LSU on the back end like you can. We can get to where my goal for the rest I want us to be get us get a bye in the SEC tournament, be a three four five seed, and then let's just let it roll and see what happened. Thank you folks very much for being here tonight. Huge win for the Cats against Tennessee. We will be back tomorrow morning at ten am. It is wingsday at Ksbar. So, uh, you think they'll have school tomorrow, Billy, I guess, uh, Well, the roads don't look bad.

00:59:17
Speaker 1: I don't know. I think they should probably should.

00:59:19
Speaker 2: But if they don't, come on out and join us. And if they do have it, come on out and join us. Anyway, your kid doesn't need to go to school. We'll see you later. This has been the local Toy Dealers KSR post game show, the Cats take down the Balls.

00:59:32
Speaker 1: We'll see you later.