John Calipari Blamed Kentucky Players For Upset Loss Tonight
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 21: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats chats with Reed Sheppard #15 of the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half of a game against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 21, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Following Kentucky's loss to Oakland in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night, Wildcats fans flocked to social media to call for his job.
After they hear his comments about the team's players, they'll want his firing to happen immediately. After entering tonight's game against 14-seed Oakland as a 13.5-point favorite, Kentucky walked out with a 79-76 loss.
Not long after the game came to an end, Calipari spoke with reporters and very clearly threw his players under the bus.
"We had some guys that didn't play the way they've been playing all year," Calipari said after the game. "We did everything we could. We knew the zone would be tough, but we missed shots we don't miss. The preparation, I though they were in a great [spot]. We tried to keep them loose, but when the game started they were just...you had some guys not play to the level they could play."
He wasn't done there, though.
"We made some critical mistakes at critical times today," he added later. "When you have a really young team and look at where did the mistakes come from, they were freshmen."
Calipari said he thought this Kentucky team could make a run, which makes the loss even more devastating.
"I have been through the ups and downs in this sport," he said. "I am really hurting on this one. This team I really felt could do so much more. I feel really bad for our fans and we would have played a little bit better."
Calipari could easily take credit for the team's lack of preparation and poor performance tonight, but opted not to.
