C.L. Brown, Louisville Courier JournalWed, December 3, 2025 at 5:01 AM UTC·1 min readLEXINGTON — Three games Kentucky basketball had faced ranked teams. And three games they’ve failed to come away with a win.
Losing at Louisville could be chalked up to the first road game of the season generally being tough for teams built in the transfer portal era.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLosing to Michigan State could be chalked up to playing a physical team for the first time.
But Tuesday’s 67-64 loss to North Carolina, in the comfy confines of Rupp Arena, with reserve guard Derek Dixon scoring the winning basket on a layup with 12 seconds left in the Cats' first one-possession game of the season, is well past simple cause for concern.
The third time’s the alarm.
There were many troubling signs for UK coach Mark Pope, starting with the team shooting 1 for 13 from 3-point range — and center Brandon Garrison responsible for their only made 3. Carolina outrebounded UK 41-30 and racked up 22 second-chance points on 20 offensive rebounds.
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Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at [email protected], follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball continues search for identity. It's time to panic
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