Kentucky survived the SEC regular season gauntlet -- now it's time to earn the reward

Mizzou Arena has been a house of horrors for Kentucky in the past — the Tigers are 3-1 at home in the matchup since 2018 — and most teams this season — 18-1 on the year, Texas A&M being the only slip-up. It felt things were trending that way, a similar vibe to Missouri’s butt-kicking to open SEC play in 2022-23 where they sent the Wildcats home with an 89-75 loss as Kobe Brown dropped 30 points. When things unravel in that building, goodness gracious, they really make you feel it.

UK started the game just 1-8 from the field as the home team jumped out to a seven-point lead just seven minutes in, Mizzou sniper Caleb Grill hitting his first 3-pointer to go up 11-4. The Tigers threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Wildcats defensively while getting some shots to fall, hoping to pull off the first-round knockout.

Mark Pope isn’t afraid to admit Dennis Gates nearly landed that haymaker, part of the reason he says he’s ‘maybe the world’s No. 1’ fan of the job the third-year coach is doing in Columbia.

“We were pretty rattled offensively. It’s a credit to Missouri, man. They don’t lose here,” Pope said. “… They had us really uncomfortable on the offensive end to start the game.”

Rather than folding on the ropes, Kentucky not only threw some punches back, but left Missouri battling on the ropes the rest of the way themselves. The Wildcats would respond with three straight 3-pointers before pushing ahead by as many as 10 down the stretch in the first half, then 16 in the second before closing out the eight-point win. They controlled the game the last 33 minutes of the game to earn an eighth top-15 victory on the year — an all-time record in college basketball, tying Indiana (1992-93) and Duke (1978-79) for most in history.

You don’t love the Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Texas losses, obviously. No one is telling you it’s been a perfect debut season for Pope — plus a disastrous injury situation making matters worse. If you can’t look at those wins over No. 6 Duke, No. 7 Gonzaga, Louisville, No. 6 Florida, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 11 Texas A&M, two over Tennessee ranked No. 8 and No. 5, respectively, then one more over No. 15 Missouri to end the year and somehow not be over the freaking moon about Kentucky’s first year with Pope leading the program — in this version of the SEC — I don’t know what to tell you.

He didn’t check every box, but he came pretty darn close.

This one just puts the cherry on top, somehow feeling a little different than the rest. It’s not necessarily about Missouri, beating a projected No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament on the road to ruin the Tigers’ Senior Day. It’s the hindsight and perspective we have with the regular season now in the rearview mirror and the momentum Kentucky now has going into a postseason that really, really matters to this fanbase. It’s the totality you have with the high-profile wins in your back pocket and the nostalgia of those core memories we’ll be able to take with us in what has been a refreshing and fulfilling start to Pope’s time in Lexington, no matter how this ride ends.

It’s a time we’ve all had circled on our calendars since that never-to-be-topped introductory press conference in April, where all of the talk about understanding the assignment of hanging banners and making runs in Nashville and the NCAA Tournament began. Knowing what’s at stake, we’re entering that period with very real confidence, Kentucky riding a two-game winning streak while playing its best basketball of the year.

Think about the combination of feelings you’ve experienced over the last couple of weeks to get to this point. Coach Cal came back to Rupp Arena and smacked the Cats around, then they allowed 98 points at Ole Miss in a game that saw Kentucky drop all the way to No. 112 nationally in defensive efficiency. That led to the injury bug taking out Lamont Butler temporarily and Jaxson Robinson permanently with Kerr Kriisa also finally ruled out the rest of the way. They found ways to win against the conference’s lesser talent, but looked clearly outmanned with a real talent disadvantage against the best of the best. Could this new version of the Wildcats make a real run or was this team’s ceiling capped? If you moved the goal posts coming out of that Auburn loss, you’re not the only one.

Then you steamrolled LSU and got the statement wrap-up win at Missouri where many of this team’s biggest questions were answered. Can you find sustained defensive growth after hitting rock bottom in Oxford? Kentucky has the No. 11 defense in college basketball since that loss on February 4, according to Bart Torvik. Can you survive without Robinson? Collin Chandler has not only emerged as a capable piece on the floor, but one who is actively contributing to winning. His game has taken off as his role has expanded in Robinson’s absence, especially these last two games. How about Andrew Carr, who was borderline unplayable when he first injured his back and for an extended stretch upon his return? Could he play like the guy who helped you beat Duke and Gonzaga away from home in the non-conference schedule? He just played his best game as a Wildcat, as well-rounded a performance you could ask for with energy and intensity and hunger. That version of Carr is a star capable of winning you games in the Big Dance.

Go down the list and this new-look ‘finished’ product of Kentucky is one that finally feels ready to make some noise, battle-tested and playing with an identity and purpose after establishing some much-needed personnel continuity. You know the pieces you have and they’re now operating together as the well-oiled machine we hoped they’d become at this stage.

This team was hit with all sorts of adversity throughout the season and the feeling you got after the win at Missouri is the first step of that reward. You survived the fire and came out the other side with a bye in Nashville and a likely top-three seed once brackets are revealed on Selection Sunday. You’d rather have Robinson and Kriisa along for the ride the rest of the way, obviously, but beyond that, what more could you ask for? The banners won’t hang themselves and there is a ton of work to do, but the Wildcats gave themselves a real chance by earning ten Quad 1 victories — tied for third nationally behind only Auburn (15) and Michigan State (11) — with zero bad losses in the selection committee’s eyes. In an all-time season for the SEC, Kentucky survived the gauntlet with a 10-8 finish in league play while finding its stride at the perfect time, putting a bow on the regular season with a well-deserved ear-to-ear grin.

Now it’s time to see what the rest of that reward looks like over the next couple of weeks.