"It's a long season," Kentucky remains optimistic, citing Kansas 2022 turn-around

One fan’s “this is going to be a long season” is another Wildcat’s reason to be optimistic. Despite the difficult circumstances surrounding Kentucky’s 26-point loss at Alabama, Sahvir Wheeler is not smashing the panic button. After the game he was asked if the team feels a sense of urgency to correct its problems.

“It’s a long season, it’s a long season. It’s a long season in the SEC and this was the third game in SEC play. It’s a long season,” Wheeler repeated. “Let’s say we win out, only lost two league games, are you still going to ask me that question at the end of the year? Probably not. It’s a long year.

“If we lose another game, that’s only three games. If you’re 15-3, 14-3, that’s still a good season. It’s a long season. You just gotta look at the film and continue to get better.”

It seemed like Kentucky was starting to get better and find a nice winning formula. After an embarrassingly familiar loss at Missouri, Kentucky put it on Louisville and played well for 30 minutes before closing out LSU in the final seconds at Rupp Arena. That positive momentum came to a screeching halt in Tuscaloosa.

“It’s basketball, you gotta go out there and play. After every game there’s a new opportunity against a new opponent. You can’t really ride that from the last game and expect it to come over to the next,” said the UK point guard. “You gotta put in the same preparation. You still gotta go out there and play and execute. We didn’t do that today and we got popped.”

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Calipari Using Kansas as Example of Dramatic Turn-Around

John Calipari told his players after the loss, “We gotta regroup.” He also reminded them what happened in college basketball last year. Sahvir Wheeler, Oscar Tshiebwe, Jacob Toppin and many other contributors on this year’s team helped the Wildcats dismantle Kansas 80-62 on their home court. Two months later they were cutting down the nets in the Superdome.

“I can remember going to Kansas, doing what we did and they won a National Title. It’s a long season. Let’s learn from this and let’s get this right,” said John Calipari. “We gotta start playing better away from home. We just have to.”

The Big Blue Nation was demoralized by the loss. The players cannot let it infect them or their play will continue to rapidly deteriorate.

“I’ve been through college for three years. I lost big games. It happens,” said Antonio Reeves, who cored 20 points against Alabama. “Really, you just gotta figure it out, keep your head and keep moving. That’s the only way to go.”