A nightmarish run if there ever was one, the Blue Nation desperately needs a win right now! Mark Pope’s Kentucky went into the Ole Miss game having lost a very important matchup against Calipari’s Arkansas, and their rough patch continued. The Rebels had an extremely dominant showing, scoring nearly a hundred points, never letting Kentucky get close. As brilliant as the Wildcats are on offense, their lackluster defense got the better of them. Analysts gathered a very important statistic to share regarding Kentucky’s defensive woes.

On ‘The Field of 68: After Dark,’ show hosts John Fanta, John Henson, and CJ Moore reacted to the one-sided victory. Former NBA player John Henson had an embarrassing Kentucky stat to share when asked about their defensive troubles. “Y’know, I saw the stat they’re allowing the seventh most points in all Power 5 conferences per game.” He said. “There was a lot of miscommunication on defense, a lot of maybe like lack of effort, which is the opposite of what Ole Miss is as a team.”

Mark Pope’s team is capable of generating a lot of offense, but their defense is what causes them to lose. “Ole Miss needed every single one of those points because Kentucky is so good offensively. They’re going to keep applying pressure similar to Alabama, even when they’re down.” Henson said. On top of that, they weren’t fully healthy either. Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa were out injured, and Andrew Carr has been facing back issues for quite a while. Even though the Wildcats aren’t at full strength, their defensive showings are not excusable. “We don’t see them as a defensive team, but letting Ole Miss score 100 points on you is just, you can’t let that happen. You’re not gonna win games.”

The former ACC DPOY continued with his assessment of Pope’s Wildcats. “But, y’know, that’s gonna be the story for Kentucky. If you’re going to defend, you’ll be fine. If not, Ole Miss is going to be up by 20, and you know, this game, respectfully to the score, it wasn’t that close.” His words were fair, considering that Ole Miss never once allowed Kentucky to take the lead in the entire game. Their dominant first half, ending up with 54-31, set the Rebels up for success.

Mark Pope has a lot to work on with his team, but how badly were they affected by the loss of Lamont Butler?

Lamont Butler’s absence a sign of trouble for Mark Pope-led team?

Butler’s shoulder injury has put Kentucky in a precarious position. The six-two guard is an important part of the Kentucky lineup, bringing in a lot of energy and high-class defense. His averages of 13pts, 3 reb, 2 steals, and 5 assists on efficient shooting splits were missing for the Wildcats in their last two games.

Analyst CJ Moore credited him as being a crucial cog in the Kentucky program. “A big part of it is obviously, I mean, Lamont Butler. He is their most important player.” Moore said, showering praise upon the senior guard. “Not only is their best defender, I think he puts pressure on the rim, and he’s their one guy. Like, Otega always is doing it as well, but Butler’s even better at putting pressure on the rim, getting into the paint, turning defense to offense.” 

The issue with his shoulder has deprived the Wildcats of an important presence on the court. He handles pressure really well and is an elite ball handler. Sadly, Mark Pope and his team aren’t sure of when Butler will be coming back.

In the post-game conference after the Arkansas loss, Pope discussed the guard and his return to sport timeline. He said that the Wildcats are ‘navigating the space’ and that a lot remains to be seen. “I would tell you more, but we just really genuinely don’t know yet.  We’ll figure out more in the next couple of weeks.  I would assume at some point we are going to take another shot at this and see how it goes and we will kind of play it by ear.” 

With Butler being so crucial to Kentucky’s success, getting him back on the court as soon as possible is vital. However, it seems the Wildcats will have to navigate without him for a couple of weeks. Mark Pope faces a tough challenge ahead, and it’s uncertain how he’ll handle this situation. What do you think? Is Butler the key to solving Kentucky’s injury woes? Can Mark Pope lead a strong SEC comeback? Only time will tell.