This is the start of Kentucky Basketball: Civil War (March Edition)

It’s a pretty firm consensus that this Kentucky team is among the most likable in recent memory, maybe even all-time under John Calipari. The personalities are flashy and fun with no one sticking out like a sore thumb. They get along as well as any group we’ve seen, equally friendly on and off the floor. And for all of the manufactured drama created out of thin air at times with this program, the Cats just keep letting baseless rumors bounce off like rubber bullets. It’s a tight-knit group and the chemistry is tangible, part of the reason they’ve been able to find the offensive success they have all season — a well-oiled scoring machine if we’ve ever seen one.

So why does it feel that we’re at an impasse with every game, each result a direct reflection of the future and what (or needs) to come? A buzzer-beating tip-in was the difference between a gritty, hard-fought road win to give Kentucky its first three-game winning streak of 2024 and the downfall of this basketball program as we know it, as social media and message board posts would tell you.

The mood is bizarre, to say the least. Two sides sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for their told-you-so moments, one desperate to prove a change of direction is necessary while the other is scrambling to keep up with receipts for doubters of the big-picture process. The grandstanding on both sides is admittedly obnoxious and exhausting. Look at the difference in reaction to Kentucky’s win at Auburn vs. the loss at LSU from all parties involved, everyone on the defense.

See, told you we’re contenders! Take that, haters!

That’s what you get for believing, morons!

There’s a greater emphasis on toxic whataboutisms than true in-season basketball discourse, everyone more focused on being on the right side of history than what’s actually happening on the hardwood. It’s become so much bigger than this team, the weight of nine years without a Final Four put on these kids’ shoulders because the adults in the room can’t stop making it about themselves. They’re throwing big-picture grenades back and forth with teenagers just trying to figure out how to win today directly in the line of fire.

I get it, that’s what you sign up for at Kentucky. Pressure bursts pipes or makes diamonds in Lexington, no better place to learn whether you’ve got the goods or not than right here. That will never change, nor should anyone want it to. You’re under a microscope because people care.

But that’s not what this is.

This is the start of Kentucky Basketball: Civil War (March Edition) in what has become a winner-takes-all postseason. The games being played now are simply tune-up battles for the real show — inevitable at this point, unfortunately. More than any year before, a line has been drawn in the sand indicating everything falls on this team’s March Madness run. And the ironic part is Coach Cal drew it himself.

“We’re expected to be in the Final Four every single year,” he said at SEC Basketball Media Day. “… The last couple of years, we’ve been good but just not Kentucky good. … We have maxed out and we have been good and I’m proud. We got four guys in the league from last year’s group everybody said was ‘oh well.’ You have four guys there. But there’s a Kentucky good. And a Kentucky good is both players standing out and having that group that is just — this, that, that.”

Calipari hand-picked this roster, zigging with young talent while the rest of the college basketball world zagged with portal-heavy groups. He called his shot to say this program wasn’t Kentucky good with those rosters and he was going to go back to doing things his way again. And then when the going got tough losing four of six with three straight home losses for the first time in Rupp Arena history, he doubled down.

“We’re built for March,” he said earlier this month. “Real simply, we have to get more physical, we have to get 50-50 balls — and that includes rebounds that are free that we’ve gotten and we haven’t gotten (lately). We’ve got to get, let’s say 10% better defensively.”

That was when the outside noise was at its peak. Then the Cats followed it up with their two best all-around efforts of the season in back-to-back double-digit wins against Ole Miss and Auburn, leading to a similar peak in volume, albeit internally. Coach Cal damn near called media members out by name for burying him too soon while sending a message to fans frustrated by Kentucky’s NBA success, the program breaking its own record for most All-Star selections in a single year with seven.

“You guys were hoping to see something different!” he proclaimed without an ounce of subtlety. “We have some people here that are there for a reason!”

Four days later, the next worst loss in the history of Kentucky basketball, one certain to have Adolph Rupp turning over in his casket — again, according to folks on the other side of the aisle. Inexcusable, inexplicable, yadda yadda. We’ve got eight of ’em thus far, the boy cried wolf three or four losses ago. How can you kill what’s already dead? The hyperbolized misery just rings hollow.

Because this has never been about individual regular season games, win or lose. That part has been sadly lost in the chaos. Every result is just a few more rounds of ammunition handed to or taken from the side you’ve already chosen. We’ve pushed this to the point where we’re all just desensitized to the overall process, simply passing the time until the March Madness theme music hits our televisions starting March 19. The players are being used as pawns in the greater chess match that is the future of Kentucky basketball between those satisfied with the current administration and those hellbent on making a change, this run crowning the champion of right vs. wrong.

So here’s my question: if you’ve already decided which side you’re taking in this crappy Marvel sequel, do the current in-season results actually matter? What difference does seeding make or the night the Cats start in Nashville? Would your mind have truly changed if Tyrell Ward’s buzzer-beater rimmed out in Baton Rouge? Or would you have pivoted to your next sky-is-falling take, something about not giving up the 15-point lead to begin with — I’m sure there’s a stat out there explaining how no champion has ever choked away that kind of cushion? Why are you even watching these games to begin with? You could be using that time to finish digging that grave, after all.

The reality is there is just no middle ground anymore. Not during the season with each win and loss, certainly not in March. I’m not even sure what that’d look like in the latter — what does a Sweet Sixteen finish do for either side, or even an Elite Eight? It sounds ridiculous to ever say a team is truly Final Four or bust, but that’s what this has become from the noise alone. I mean, there’s a vocal section of the fanbase ready to clean house after every loss as is, let alone another opening weekend exit. It’s just a non-negotiable if the goal is to get the approval rating up and salvage this relationship even somewhat.

But that’s for then and this is for now.

As the two extremes peacock with one another in a neverending pissing contest, the rest of us will try to put the focus back on the players pushing to hang a banner for the right reasons. You may not know it living in our little online bubble, but there are still games to be played and there will be until there aren’t.