National analysts line up to rip ‘embarrassing’ Kentucky

It’s one thing when fans lose their minds after a bad loss. It’s another thing entirely when former players, national writers and TV analysts all look at Kentucky and say the same word: embarrassing.

After Gonzaga hammered Kentucky 94–59 in Nashville, that’s exactly what happened. The Wildcats weren’t just outplayed; they were outworked, out-toughed and out of answers in a game they desperately needed. And the rest of the college basketball world noticed.

Why the national criticism of Kentucky basketball is so brutal right now

CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander has basically become the national voice of how Kentucky looks right now. Right after the Gonzaga loss, he posted that, five weeks into the season, Kentucky is “the most overpaid, overrated and disappointing team in college basketball” and said Mark Pope has “a massive mess on his hands” and no obvious way to fix it. Then Duke beat Michigan State, and Norlander twisted the knife again, praising Jon Scheyer for losing five NBA picks and still rolling while telling fans to “go check in with Kentucky and see how that’s going.”

That’s not subtle.

On the postgame show, when Jeff Goodman, who is close to Pope,was asked whether Kentucky could realistically turn this around, he didn’t sugarcoat anything. He said he just doesn’t see this group “flipping a switch,” even with Jayden Quaintance if/when he comes back. He pointed at the lack of cohesion, the lack of effort, and the lack of any signature win with Kentucky sitting 5–4 and 0–4 vs Power Four teams worth a committee’s respect.

Goodman then later posted about waking up in Nashville and still not believing what he watched from Kentucky: a team that “isn’t talented enough,” with pieces that don’t fit, effort that’s “lackluster,” and a “sense of pride” that’s missing for too many guys. He ended it with one word that keeps coming up: embarrassing.

It didn’t stop there.

Tyler Hansbrough: “I’ve seen more effort at the YMCA than what Kentucky gave tonight.” Coming from a guy known for going full psycho-competitor at UNC, that hits hard.

Myron Medcalf said some guys seemed to think the uniform would turn them into superheroes and weren’t ready for the spotlight. That’s the difference between this team and last year’s group: one fought together, this one stands around when things go bad.

A recruiting analyst, reacting to an Arkansas fan asking if Jayden Quaintance should even come back to this “mess,” said flat-out “No you don’t,” adding that nothing meaningful is likely to come from this season beyond the risk of injury.

Jalen Rose said on TNT there is such a thing as having too much talent, and Kentucky might be there, too many egos, not enough team.

Bruce Pearl added that “the name on the front of the jersey, Kentucky, has got to mean something.” Right now, it doesn’t look like it does to this roster.

Rivals’ Chris Fisher said he’s watched Kentucky for 35 years and this is some of the worst basketball he can remember.

And then there’s Dick Vitale, wondering how a team that looked so sharp in the preseason vs Purdue has turned into a “nightmare.”

The worst part? None of them sound wrong. Though they probably shouldn't use an image of Jelavic, while he is struggling to shoot the ball, he at least is giving effort. Kentucky has no quality win, has been blown out by every ranked team it’s faced, and has shown almost zero resistance when punched in the mouth.

Indiana and St. John’s now feel less like opportunities and more like season-defining ultimatums. If Kentucky doesn’t start answering this kind of national criticism on the floor, and soon, the word “embarrassing” may end up being the nicest thing people say about this team.