How are the Kentucky Wildcats dealing with their first loss of the season? The frustration is evident after the tough start at Littlejohn Coliseum stripped them of their identity on both ends and resulted in a 70-66 win for the Clemson Tigers.

Physicality was an issue on both sides, highlighted by the home team’s dominance on the offensive glass in the first half, which set the tone. Mark Pope’s side fought back but were unable to fully recover and claim the comeback victory.

“They sped us up a little bit, but it’s not a physicality that we haven’t seen the last few days,” Amari Williams said. “That’s how it went today. I feel like they pushed us out of our spots a little bit as our offense progressed. As far as shots go, it’s basketball, you know? We won’t make every shot, some of them didn’t fall. I’ll just work on it and be ready for the next one.”

As bad as it was overall, the reaction was something positive to take away from the loss.

“The first half was kind of a wake-up call for us,” Jaxson Robinson added. “At the start of the half it was a big concern to keep (Ian) Schieffelin away from the offensive glass and the rest of the team. I think we did a good job of that in the second half and we evened out the rebound advantage. You just have to live with it.”

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