There isn’t much that can be said about today’s loss that hasn’t already been said. UK fans are surely disappointed with the home win streak being snapped, an impressive 55 games that dated back to 2009. Calipari wasn’t very emotional after the game, saying that he still liked his team and that they would be fine. While I would like to think everything is going to be improved in time for March, this team may just be missing key pieces like veteran leadership and the will to win and hustle like teams before them. That being said, we did just win the National Championship 6 months ago, so we all should take it easy on this team. If all else fails, some of them will return next year to take part in what may just be a 40-0 season. Back to today’s game:

Point Guard, Point Guard, Point Guard: The recurring theme of this early season is the play (or lack thereof) from our point guards. Harrow fell out of the starting lineup after missing last week with mysterious circumstances, leaving the QB position up to Archie Goodwin. Goodwin, sadly, has not lived up to past point guards before him and considering he is really more of a 2-guard, it is not completely his fault. Harrow played MUCH better than Goodwin today at point (those shot clock layups are too much for me, Archie) but he was still only 1-9 from the field. Polson is certainly not the answer and so what we are left with at this point is point guard by committee, something that won’t work going forward. My guess is that Harrow won back his starting PG spot today partly because of Archie’s erratic play. Let’s hope he develops into what we need him to be going forward.

Missed Opportunities: They key to winning any game at any level of basketball is making open shots when you get them. Today, UK made a mockery of that notion. At the 12:00 mark, Mays, Noel, and Wiltjer were a combined 3-24 from the field. Wiltjer found himself open behind the arc many times but couldn’t covert. Combined with his literal inability to defend anything with 2 legs, he becomes the worst liability on a UK team since Billy G’s Maker’s Mark discount. Kyle wasn’t the only one, however; there was a stretch where Noel and Poythress missed 3 layups in succession late in the game. The two freshmen looked lost out there most of the time, and Noel’s offensive ability is lacking (and that is an understatement.) Add to it that Cauley-Stein showed up in the 1st half only to disappear in the second half with 4 fouls, and it becomes evident that our post presence needs a serious turnaround.

Archie, Archie, Archie: If there is one person on this team who is an enigma, it has to be Archie Goodwin. A player who early on seemed like a ball hog progressed into a scoring machine, even putting up a near triple-double last week. Whatever improvement he made went out the window today, as evidenced by his wild drives, missed free throws, and FIVE fouls in the second half alone. One key play summed up Archie’s day: with 8 seconds to go in the first half, Goodwin tried to drive against a zone defense that collapsed, stole the ball, and converted a 3 at the halftime buzzer to extend their lead to 5. Goodwin has become the focal point of this team, with fans voicing their frustration and others supporting his will to score. Either way, he has to become more of a team player who understands the flow of the collegiate level of basketball and understand this isn’t the AAU circuit. If he figures it out, he will be a star.

Zone Defense: This was a major frustration of mine that should probably be geared more towards Coach Cal than the players. Baylor played a very intricate and extended zone defense that took away UK’s driving options. The dribble drive is not made for the zone and what ended up happening today was Noel getting pushed to the free throw line on the entry pass where he would try to drive, only to be double teamed, and throw up a wild shot. His post game isn’t made for the actual back to the basket post moves, similar to Davis last year, and he definitely can’t catch the ball that far from the basket and be expected to score. Baylor coach Scott Drew even admitted after the game that they installed the zone solely for the purpose of playing UK due to last year’s defeat, and I expected Cal to adjust accordingly, something that never materialized.

It is sad to see the streak end but in reality we all knew it would, eventually. Cauley-Stein said after the game he had no idea about the streak, something I’m assuming Cal didn’t tell them to take the pressure off of them. It’s possible they could have played with more effort if they had known what was on the line, but then again you should play with that much effort every play, every game. Even if the effort was there, the shots didn’t fall, and Baylor wanted this game more than us. Time to regroup and come back and start a new streak Tuesday against Samford. It will be interesting to see who is starting Tuesday and who is sitting based on today’s performance.