Kentucky quickly moved past drama of Arkansas: "We're on to the next"

The pageantry of Coach Cal’s return to Lexington got in the way of Kentucky‘s matchup against Arkansas on Saturday — for the fans and media, at least. There was an obsession with the boo or cheer debate, cameras waiting for the Razorbacks at the tunnel as each player and coach ran out for warmups, then again for intros and tip-off.

The Wildcats cared, obviously. They care about every game and want to win them all. When it came to this game, though, they wanted to win it for Big Blue Nation more than anything, knowing most of the team had no personal connection to the previous era of Kentucky basketball under John Calipari. Travis Perry was a signee while Trent Noah never got sniffed, plus the return of walk-ons Walker Horn and Grant Darbyshire. As for everybody else, they were bystanders in a battle between Coach Cal and BBN.

Did the loss hurt? Sure it did, but no more than any other loss this season for them personally. If anything, they hurt more for the people who made it clear this game meant everything. They couldn’t get it done for them.

“The fans — we know how much it meant to the fans. That’s kind of how we got our experience from it,” Andrew Carr said. “None of us really had a personal experience with Cal, so we really kind of felt that through the fans. Rupp Arena was unbelievable, they really brought the energy for us. We’re obviously super disappointed in the loss.”

Did the drama affect their approach or how they executed and played? Not really. If anything, there was a clear chip on Arkansas’ shoulders where it was personal. They wanted to make a statement for their coach with the team desperate to get in the win column to avoid drowning in the league.

For the Wildcats, it was an impressive atmosphere with the Razorbacks hitting uncharacteristic shots while they couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities. Frustrating, sure, but it’s more about the basketball than the noise.

“I don’t even think it really impacted us for real,” Otega Oweh said. “It was a really cool environment seeing how loud everybody was and how into the game they were. There were just so many things we could’ve done to win that game — they hit a lot of shots they don’t usually hit and we were still up in the beginning. They hit four straight threes and we got up 18-12.

“It’s little stuff like that, even when teams are playing great, we’re still in the game or even winning. We just have to not let however the other team is playing affect us, we just have to keep doing what we do.”

Up next is a ranked matchup on the road, taking on the No. 25 Ole Miss Rebels. Three days after that disappointing home loss is a chance to add another Quad 1 win in a hostile environment. No time for a pity party, go win the next one.

That’s this team’s mentality going into the Oxford trip, a familiar spot where they’ve found great success. The Wildcats are 4-1 coming off a loss with only one two-game losing streak this season.

What’s been the secret in their bounce-back performances?

“That’s a credit to the players we have and the experience we have, but also the coaching staff,” Carr said. “I feel like we’ve done a great job so far this year trying to turn the page and understand it’s never as good as it seems and it’s never as bad as it seems. You go through so many different emotions throughout a season.

“For me, I’ve been a part of teams where you feel like the season’s ending and it’s like the middle of January or something like that. Being able to be a part of a team where, we feel like we’re — we know how good we are, regardless of how it goes. We’re at this point where we’ve really just got to continue to get better and better, and we know that. I feel like we’ve been able to grow throughout the year and really focus in on things that we want to do and implement that into the game.

“I feel like that’s why we’ve been able to respond game after game so far this year, and we’re excited to do it again on Tuesday. … We’re excited to get back after it again.”

Arkansas may be lingering for Big Blue Nation, but it’s already in the rearview mirror for the Wildcats. Their focus is on the Rebels.

“It’s already in the past. We’re all an older group, so we know we can’t get too hung up on one game,” Oweh added. “We know that Saturday, bad games happen and it is what it is, but we’re on to the next. We don’t want to lose this game coming up, we’re putting all of our focus on that one.”

No better way to get over a loss.