The SEC Tournament, which definitely matters, ends in disappointment yet again

Before the season began, John Calipari admitted that UK’s basketball program hadn’t been “Kentucky good” lately. “We’ve been good,” he said last fall. “But just not Kentucky good.” Part of the decline in Kentucky’s production occurred at the SEC Tournament, where Kentucky hadn’t played in the championship game in five years when he made the comment. It was tied for the longest drought in school history. Tonight, that drought added another year as the SEC Tournament moved forward into the weekend without the Wildcats yet again. For a little perspective, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was Kentucky’s point guard the last time the Big Blue Nation saw a Sunday in the SEC Tournament. He’s currently in his sixth NBA season.

Yeah, it’s bad….

Kentucky in the SEC Tournament since 2018

• 2024: Lost to Texas A&M in the quarterfinals
• 2023: Lost to Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals
• 2022: Lost to Tennessee in the semifinals
• 2021: Lost to Mississippi State on Thursday
• 2020: No tournament
• 2019: Lost to Tennessee in the semifinals
• 2018: SEC Champion

Of the fourteen teams in the league, the Cats have the thirteenth worst record since that 2018 title. Kentucky has two wins in that span.

The SEC Tournament matters. It matters a lot.

After his second immediate exit from the SEC Tournament, John Calipari said the trip to Nashville was all about seeding for his team. “You know what this is, this was about seed,” he said in his postgame press conference. He also mentioned the fan base, adding, “We got a lot of people that traveled, spent money. This is their opportunity to watch this team. But this tournament for us was about the seed. You got to win and you got to advance to improve your seed.”

More than “seed,” the SEC Tournament means a lot to Kentucky fans, and they were so excited for this one. Wednesday night saw a record crowd at Bridgestone Arena, many of whom wore Kentucky blue in anticipation of the Wildcats’ tournament debut two days later. KSR’s Friday morning show at Tin Roof was insanity, with two floors of Kentucky fans counting down until Friday night’s game against Texas A&M, the tournament’s No. 7 seed. Those fans traveled from all over the country to see the Cats return to SEC Tournament dominance, only to witness another disappointing loss before the weekend. Bowing out before playing in the championship game is not “Kentucky good.” It is, however, feeling a little too normal these days.

Looking ahead, the team may still make a run in the NCAA Tournament, and we certainly hope they do. They’re a remarkable group beyond the wins and losses. Nevertheless, a lot of passionate Cats fans, each with their unique stories of why they’re in Nashville, who they’re in Nashville with, or what it means to attend the SEC Tournament, were let down by the team that used to own the event. The SEC Tournament matters to them. To many, it’s the only trip they’ll take all year. Those fans deserve better than these last six years of underperformance in the SEC Tournament, formerly the Kentucky Invitational because it belonged to the Big Blue Nation. Right now, those fans are wandering aimlessly up and down Broadway, questioning when they will see “Kentucky good” again. This team has it in them to be great, but as we saw Friday they can lose on any night.

It sucks that it had to be tonight. It really felt different this time in Nashville.