The mission was simple: stop the bleeding, restore confidence, and prove the effort problems were temporary. Kentucky delivered a comprehensive demolition, routing Loyola (MD) 88-46 in a necessary mental cleansing following the chaos of the last week.
The score was less important than the physical commitment. Kentucky overwhelmed the Greyhounds in every measurable way, finally providing a glimpse of the team that Pope believes they can become.
The dominance Is the narrative
Kentucky completely asserted physical will, a stark contrast to the MSU loss where they were bullied and lost the rebounding margin by 14.
- Glass Control: Kentucky finished with 56 total rebounds (vs. Loyola's 33), a massive margin fueled by 18 offensive rebounds. This rebounding advantage shatters the team's season average of 44.0 RPG.
- Defensive Intensity: The team bought into Pope's defensive focus, holding Loyola to a dismal 29% from the field and 21% from three.
- Paint Assault: Kentucky attacked the rim relentlessly, scoring 52 points in the paint (vs. Loyola's 16).
Mark Pope confirmed the defensive focus was intentional: "I thought we were good in the gaps today... I was proud of our guys for being really intentional about that today."
The two key responses
The win produced two essential emotional responses that prove the locker room talk might be working:
- Garrison's Redemption: After being benched for the game, Brandon Garrison responded with a team-high 11 rebounds. Pope called this the "best story of the night," proving players must earn their minutes.
- Oweh's Effort: Following his admission of lacking 100% effort, Otega Oweh delivered sustained defensive pressure. Pope highlighted his commitment: "We saw a couple possessions of Otega Oweh defense that we haven't seen the passion and commitment defensively. That's where he's going to build his game."
The bottom line: Back to work
Pope refused to overstate the win against an overmatched opponent, but he confirmed the value of the victory lies in the recovery process:
"We have to get better. And so this is an important night for us and tomorrow is a really important practice... We're going to get better."
The dominant statistical performance was the first step toward resolving the chaos. The real work starts now, but for one night, the panic button can be safely ignored.
Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion