Would you be fine with a 6th place finish in basketball?

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

Try more like 8-10 th place that’s the pope standard Wednesday sec tournament Thursday they’ll be packing there bags going home

In two injury plagued seasons against unbalanced schedules working against him he has finished tied for 6th and tied for 7th. While those finishes are very disappointing it does not at all establish a standard of 8th to 10th place finishes.

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

Sad that this has even become a question.

A question that was concocted by someone trying to stir trouble that is.

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

We finished 9th.

False. You can not truly be ignorant of the fact we finished tied for 7th. It has been clarified many times on here. Lucky for you the ref made the call he did against Auburn or it would very likely been a tie for fourth which would have crushed your soul.

Conference Standings - 2026 SEC Men's Basketball | WarrenNolan.com

SEC Conference Standings for Men's College Basketball with division standings, games back, team NET, streaks, and conference NET

www.warrennolan.com

 

[UKWildcats1987]

No it hasn't but in truth the SEC has gone from 10 to 16 teams and improved dramatically in the quality of opponents since I've been following the Cat's. I honestly think a 6th place finish is the equivalent of 2nd or 3rd in a number of past seasons.

Florida doesnt seem to have an issue finishing n real life 2nd or 1st in the sec. They are the have favorites to win it this year. How are they managing this near impossible feat 3 years n a row n a 16 league sec?

Probably coaching.

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

Florida doesnt seem to have an issue finishing n real life 2nd or 1st in the sec. They are the have favorites to win it this year. How are they managing this near impossible feat 3 years n a row n a 16 league sec?

Probably coaching.

Returning a large amount of their key players and remaining mostly healthy throughout the season is a pretty large factor I would say.

That is the same coach who went 40-29 his first two seasons at Florida. I'm sure you consider it crazy but winning is not worth having a coach who sends dick pics to co-eds in my book anyway.

 

[Cleatortoises]

What gives you the confidence that J Batt will do any such thing?

Fair question. Ive been thinking king the same thing.
All the if this, then that, as if they really know.

 

[Cleatortoises]

I’m not gonna be positive whenever we have a coach who shouldn’t be here I’m not gonna be a sunshine pumper . I want to win and popes not doing a good enough job period last 7-8 years have sucked and it’s becoming sad

Popes only been here two yrs.
You are still mad at.
Here's an idea, let them start playing.
They may suck. They may play really well.
Which would make you angrier?

 

[jeffky]

Elite 8 or final four here depends on how we perform in the sec season and tournament if we perform well elite 8 if we do not final four and other variables may apply too

 

[Cleatortoises]

Returning a large amount of their key players and remaining mostly healthy throughout the season is a pretty large factor I would say.

That is the same coach who went 40-29 his first two seasons at Florida. I'm sure you consider it crazy but winning is not worth having a coach who sends dick pics to co-eds in my book anyway.

Hmm that record seems similar to the guy regarded as a non coach.
But it surely cant be because.....FAAAR POPE!
HAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Returning a large amount of their key players and remaining mostly healthy throughout the season is a pretty large factor I would say.

That is the same coach who went 40-29 his first two seasons at Florida. I'm sure you consider it crazy but winning is not worth having a coach who sends dick pics to co-eds in my book anyway.

Cool.

What did Cal do n his first 2 years at UK?

Tubby?

Hall?

Pitino n first 2 years he was allowed to coach n ncaa?

Since u are so keen with comparing every non UKs coach first 2 years at a school.i figured comparing Pope to his UK fraternity makes more sense as UK is the gold standard of basketball.

None of the above coaches got a huge *** NIL war chest either but all managed a final four n first or second season of ncaa tournament eligibility.

 

[BC_Wader]

Try more like 8-10 th place that’s the pope standard Wednesday sec tournament Thursday they’ll be packing there bags going home

Last I checked we haven't played a game yet. How about let's just see what happens this year? Year One Pope I was over the moon. Last season was obviously a MAJOR disappointment. The "Ferrari" never left the garage. I'll give him another chance this year but we have to make some noise to keep him in my good graces. I will say He Who Shall Not Be Named did one heck of a lobotomy on a huge portion of this fan base. So much so that they still pine for days of pretty much the same results as we witnessed last season.

 

[vhcat1970]

I’ll still have a life.

 

[L.O.D.]

More than 2nd at this point is unacceptable. Top 4 in SEC I guess argumentively passable - beyond that FAIL if no deep post season run. ITS year 3 he hasn't even made top 4 yet and last year even played on Wed.. either show you turned some sort of corner and become a different animal or please leave.

 

[BlueRocker777]

Unless we have a few players that have big seasons that's probably our fate. I like Pope but the bottom line is the team must show a marked improvement (top 3 or 4 in the SEC, a Sunday game in the SEC tournament, at least an Elite Eight) in order to warrant a 4th year as Coach.

 

[ukalum1988]

FTR, I voted “no”, but I would trade a 6th place finish in BB for a NC in FB.

Unfortunately the 6th place finish in BB is much more likely to happen.

 

[Resignmarkpope]

The threshold for keeping Pope is any one of these:
- 1 or 2 seed (NCAA)
- SEC title (season or tournament)
- Elite Eight

If he is 0-3, he's done.

Mark pope is a Fn JOKE! Complete fraud! Never won anything at any level as a coach! No conference or tournament championships. No final fours, no coach of the year EVER!!!!he’s been coaching over a decade! F m pope

 

[Cattorney]

I’ve never talked to any Kentucky fan who said they want to be 6th in the SEC. Never. Not a single one — even on here.

Well. I would say that. You’re welcome to quote anyone on this website who has ever said they really want to be 6th. Pretty sure this is a failed attempt at a strawman.

Did OP say "want" or "find acceptable"?

Before you try to use terms like strawman that you clearly don't understand, you might want to try comprehending whay the actual argument was first.

 

[Cattorney]

In two injury plagued seasons against unbalanced schedules working against him he has finished tied for 6th and tied for 7th. While those finishes are very disappointing it does not at all establish a standard of 8th to 10th place finishes.

We didn't finish tied last year. We were 9th. UGA and Missou had beaten us, so that broke any tie.

 

[Cattorney]

False. You can not truly be ignorant of the fact we finished tied for 7th. It has been clarified many times on here. Lucky for you the ref made the call he did against Auburn or it would very likely been a tie for fourth which would have crushed your soul.

Conference Standings - 2026 SEC Men's Basketball | WarrenNolan.com

SEC Conference Standings for Men's College Basketball with division standings, games back, team NET, streaks, and conference NET

www.warrennolan.com

So if we finished 7th, why weren't we the 7 seed?

 

[Cattorney]

Returning a large amount of their key players and remaining mostly healthy throughout the season is a pretty large factor I would say.

That is the same coach who went 40-29 his first two seasons at Florida. I'm sure you consider it crazy but winning is not worth having a coach who sends dick pics to co-eds in my book anyway.

So, players actually want to keep playing for Golden and injuries don't define his seasons?

 

[SenseMaker_Cats]

We didn't finish tied last year. We were 9th. UGA and Missou had beaten us, so that broke any tie.

“We didn’t finish tied last year” but here’s what broke the tie.

 

[DonAndy]

We finished 9th.

Well damn lol. Well I can handle ninth. But better not see no sixth place finish

 

[Bill_the_cat]

No

 

[Cattorney]

“We didn’t finish tied last year” but here’s what broke the tie.

It's not a tie if it's broken. That's the point of a tie. If we were truly tied, we wouldn't have been seeded 9th instead of 7th. It surely wouldn't be because we lost to the 2 other teams.

 

[PooPooPeePeePoo]

As sad as it is, I’m more optimistic that we will win a football championship before a basketball one again. Pope has utterly dismantled our program. He should have been gone yesterday.

 

[seccats04]

While we’re all bickering back and forth about the state of the program and if Pope is good enough, let’s thank the man who put us in this position, Mitch Barnhart. After the BCG hire, that man should’ve not been allowed to make another.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

As sad as it is, I’m more optimistic that we will win a football championship before a basketball one again. Pope has utterly dismantled our program. He should have been gone yesterday.

So your basically saying u wont live to see another championship n basketball. Because there's about 0% chance we win a natty title n football. The Indiana comparison is lazy and not close to the same situation.

 

[seccats04]

No it hasn't but in truth the SEC has gone from 10 to 16 teams and improved dramatically in the quality of opponents since I've been following the Cat's. I honestly think a 6th place finish is the equivalent of 2nd or 3rd in a number of past seasons.

Do you hear Alabama football fans making excuses for their program? No. DeBoer knows he has to win big this year or he’s out. And that’s a year after making the playoffs.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Do you hear Alabama football fans making excuses for their program? No. DeBoer knows he has to win big this year or he’s out. And that’s a year after making the playoffs.

Of course not. Alabama football fans dont tolerate excuses.

And old Paul pivoted real quick to attacking Florida's coach because he knows if he was the coach here we would win a national title real quick and win or compete to win the sec most every season.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

It would have to come with two things for me: 1. Is that the SEC is a gauntlet like it was two years ago and 2. It would have to have ATLEAST and Elite 8, but really a Final 4.

Being 6th in the SEC means we lost several of our big SEC games. Probanly split with Tennessee, lose two to Bama, etc. It also likely means we lost a few in non conference.

 

[scratchycat3]

Last I checked we haven't played a game yet. How about let's just see what happens this year? Year One Pope I was over the moon. Last season was obviously a MAJOR disappointment. The "Ferrari" never left the garage. I'll give him another chance this year but we have to make some noise to keep him in my good graces. I will say He Who Shall Not Be Named did one heck of a lobotomy on a huge portion of this fan base. So much so that they still pine for days of pretty much the same results as we witnessed last season.

He’s never had a good year in his career ever

 

[scratchycat3]

Popes only been here two yrs.
You are still mad at.
Here's an idea, let them start playing.
They may suck. They may play really well.
Which would make you angrier?

They will suck regardless and pope sucks he was never qualified to coach here . We all know how this season is gonna go . Hes never had a season where he hasn’t had double digit losses it’s who he is . That’s not magically gonna change

 

[scratchycat3]

No it hasn't but in truth the SEC has gone from 10 to 16 teams and improved dramatically in the quality of opponents since I've been following the Cat's. I honestly think a 6th place finish is the equivalent of 2nd or 3rd in a number of past seasons.

That will never be the expectation regardless of how good the conference is . So we can only be good whenever the conference is and not be good whenever the conference is actually good know I understand thanks for telling us .

 

[wildcat111]

I’ve been seeing a lot of 5th or 6th place finishes from a few experts online and that seems like our likeliest position once we get preseason SEC standings from media day. I’ve seen some fans who seem to outright find those results “acceptable”. But would you be fine with that? Would that be enough for you to want Mark Pope to return for a 4th season?

The downward spiral continues. Why would anyone be happy with a 6th place finish in the SEC?? This is KENTUCKY BTW.

 

[Ash Williams]

False. You can not truly be ignorant of the fact we finished tied for 7th. It has been clarified many times on here. Lucky for you the ref made the call he did against Auburn or it would very likely been a tie for fourth which would have crushed your soul.

Conference Standings - 2026 SEC Men's Basketball | WarrenNolan.com

SEC Conference Standings for Men's College Basketball with division standings, games back, team NET, streaks, and conference NET

www.warrennolan.com

Weird flex, you keep opening the same door into your face.

 

[MegaBlue05]

Most likely no.

But if we, say, finished 6th, made a run in Nashville, won the SECT and ended up in a final four, I wouldn’t care about finishing 6th.

But if we finish 6th, don’t make it to Saturday in Nashville and lose in the first weekend, it’s time for a new coach.

 

[Zannman]

6th in Nation not in the SEC.

 

[Catastic5]

In two injury plagued seasons against unbalanced schedules working against him he has finished tied for 6th and tied for 7th. While those finishes are very disappointing it does not at all establish a standard of 8th to 10th place finishes.

WTF is wrong with you? How are any of those results acceptable, even with injuries? We’ve had plenty of injuries in the past and never ended that poorly in the SEC standings.

The poster who kept going after me for suggesting that some UK fans are fine with these mediocre results and here you are flaunting every excuse imaginable as to why these mediocre results are acceptable. If you’re a Kentucky basketball fan, you’re one poor excuse for one.

And don’t tell me you’re not fine with these results, you make EVERY-SINGLE-EXCUSE for Pope. You are completely, 100% fine with the direction of our program. It’s pathetic. No one makes this many excuses otherwise. They sure as heck do not waste this much time in their lives online telling everyone why this is fine if they didn’t agree with these results.

 

[SECualHealing]

I wouldn't be fine with a 6th place finish in the big tourney

 

[DudahUK]

I’ve been seeing a lot of 5th or 6th place finishes from a few experts online and that seems like our likeliest position once we get preseason SEC standings from media day. I’ve seen some fans who seem to outright find those results “acceptable”. But would you be fine with that? Would that be enough for you to want Mark Pope to return for a 4th season?

What kind of stupid question is that?