Kentucky Focused on Staying Together Ahead of NCAA Tournament

Kentucky got punched in the mouth as soon as they stepped onto the court at Bridgestone Arena. The Wildcats are determined to make sure the SEC Tournament loss is not the beginning of the end.

“We’ll be fine as long as we stay together and stay the course…. as long as we stay together, anything’s possible with this group,” Justin Edwards said in the losing locker room.

Edwards entered the postseason on a heater, scoring in double figures in four of the last five games. He was just 1 of 6 against Texas A&M, finishing with two points. Antonio Reeves was held to fewer than 20 points for the first time in seven games, all thanks to foul trouble. The All-SEC sharpshooter was limited to 18 minutes. Now the super senior is preparing his young team for redemption in the NCAA Tournament.

“Keep your head up, compete,” said Reeves. “Every game is gonna be the last game. It’s gonna feel like the last game of our lives, so we gotta figure out how to compete with whatever team we have and try to fight as much as possible.”

Kentucky Must Play Every Game Like It’s Their Last

There’s a sense of desperation among the Big Blue Nation. Kentucky fans have loved this basketball team. They play with personality, flashing with an atypical style that creates unforgettable highlights. Selfishly, nobody wants this to end prematurely.

The feeling is mutual around the team. Even though they’re young, these Cats know what’s at stake. They’re not ready for this fun run to end.

“People don’t see what goes on behind closed doors. We’re really close. We don’t just hang out on the basketball court. We do a lot of stuff together outside of basketball, which makes us the team we are,” said Edwards.

“We are one of those teams where we’re playing like we don’t want it to end. Just knowing that every game from here on out is one and done, I feel like everything is going to be a little different moving forward.”

Edwards feels like things will be different. That’s just a feeling. Will they react properly, flush the poor performance, and move on with a vengeance? Zvonimir Ivisic is unsure.

“I hope my teammates, staff, including me too, are going to forget about this and go into the tournament with a clear head,” said Big Z. “I hope. If we don’t, it’s going to be hard. We’re going to have to forget about this.”

How Kentucky reacts to late-season adversity is exactly how this 2023-24 season will be defined.

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