Kentucky's loss to UCLA continues ugly trend vs. AP Top 25 teams

MrsTylerKSR

Kentucky’s 63-53 loss to No. 16 UCLA tonight is disappointing for many reasons. Not only did all the momentum the Cats built over four straight wins seem to dissolve into thin air, it is yet another loss vs. a Top 25 opponent. Our friend Corey Price crunched the numbers, and tonight’s defeat takes Kentucky’s record vs. AP Top 25 opponents since the 2019-20 season to 4-13. Yes, you read that correctly. Four and thirteen, which matches the stretch from Feb. 17, 2007 to Dec. 5, 2009, aka most of the Billy Gillispie Era.

.@KentuckyMBB is 4-13 in their last 17 games against AP Poll Top 25 opponents, their worst record in a 17-game stretch against AP Poll Top 25 opponents since February 17th, 2007 to December 5th, 2009 (also 4-13)
— Corey Price (@coreyp08) December 18, 2022

Need the game-by-game breakdown? I did, so here it is.

Kentucky vs. AP Top 25 teams since the 2019-20 season

Date	Opponent	Result	Site
12/17/2022	#16 UCLA	L 63-53	CBS Sports Classic, New York, NY
11/20/2022	#2 Gonzaga	L 88-72	Spokane, WA
3/12/2022	#9 Tennessee	L 69-62	SEC Tournament, Tampa, FL
2/26/2022	#18 Arkansas	L 75-73	Fayetteville, AR
2/19/2022	#25 Alabama	W 90-81	Lexington, KY
2/15/2022	#16 Tennessee	L 76-63	Knoxville, TN
1/29/2022	#5 Kansas	W 80-62	Lawrence, KS
1/22/2022	#2 Auburn	L 80-71	Auburn, AL
1/15/2022	#22 Tennessee	W 107-79	Lexington, KY
1/4/2022	#21 LSU	L 65-60	Baton Rouge, LA
11/9/2021	#9 Duke	L 79-71	Champions Classic, New York, NY
2/20/2021	#19 Tennessee	W 70-55	Knoxville, TN
2/6/2021	#11 Tennessee	L 82-71	Lexington, KY
2/3/2021	#18 Missouri	L 75-70	Columbia, MO
1/26/2021	#9 Alabama	L 70-59	Tuscaloosa, AL
12/19/2020	#22 North Carolina	L 75-63	CBS Sports Classic, Cleveland, OH
12/1/2020	#7 Kansas	L 65-62	Champions Classic, Indianapolis, IN

That is not the gold standard.

Kentucky’s record following John Calipari’s lifetime contract

If you go back a little further, the numbers are even more frustrating. John Calipari was reportedly offered the UCLA job during the 2018-19 season, which led to his “lifetime” contract at Kentucky. As former KSR contributor Andrew Cassady points out, the numbers since then have not been pretty. Kentucky is 67-33 since Cal signed on to be Kentucky’s coach through at least the 2028-29 season, after which he agreed to remain as a university ambassador.

As you’re well aware, Kentucky has had zero NCAA Tournament wins during that span and only one SEC Tournament win, numbers that are slightly deceiving considering the 2020 SEC and NCAA Tournaments were canceled due to the pandemic. Kentucky’s record vs. Top 25 teams since the 2018-19 season is better than the aforementioned stats, but also a sign of things to come.

Calipari by the numbers since signing his lifetime contract:

Overall record: 67-33
vs. ranked teams: 8-15
vs. non-conf. power 5 teams: 7-11
NCAA Tourney wins: 0
SEC Tourney wins: 1
— Andrew Cassady (@AndCassady) December 18, 2022

On Thursday, John Calipari was asked about the UCLA offer in 2019. He pointed to games like tonight as a reason why he’s happy with his decision to remain in Lexington.

“Most years that I’ve been coaching, there have been opportunities for me to do stuff,” Calipari said. “And, in most cases, if they’re people I know, I’ll talk to them and spend time, because the other side of it is, if it’s not me, maybe I can help somebody.

“But, no, I’m enjoying what I’m doing. And trying to get a team ready for a game like this gets my juices flowing.”

Ready or not, the Cats have plenty of Top 25 games ahead of them — by current standings, eight until postseason play begins: