Now Mark Pope must find a way for Kentucky to win in March without Jaxson Robinson
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Game day: No. 1 Auburn 94, No. 17 Kentucky 78
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Auburn in Rupp Arena.
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It is one thing to play a large portion of your college basketball season with a shorthanded roster.
It’s another thing entirely to head into the most important part of the college basketball season with a shorthanded roster.
As disappointing as Kentucky’s 94-78 loss to top-ranked Auburn at Rupp Arena was on Saturday, the news that coach Mark Pope delivered after the game was even worse.
Pope said that starting shooting guard Jaxson Robinson, the team’s second-leading scorer, will have surgery on his injured wrist on Wednesday. He won’t be back to 100% until June, meaning his college career and his career as a Kentucky Wildcat are over.
And it’s March 1.
It’s a tough blow for a team that has been forced to navigate though much of the season with an ever-changing roster of availability because of multiple injuries — Kerr Kriisa’s foot surgery; Andrew Carr’s back problems; Lamont Butler’s injured shoulder.
It is true that Saturday was the fifth game that Robinson has missed this season. The Cats have dealt with his absence before. (UK is 2-3 in those five games.) Even then, there was the expectation, or hope, that the BYU transfer would return at some point. Now, that hope is gone.
“I definitely feel for Jax,” Butler said after Saturday’s loss. “It’s tough to be out for the season at this point, but we’re a resilient team and I think it’s just the next-man-up mentality.”
Even the most resilient team would have had trouble knocking off Auburn on Saturday. The nation’s No. 1 team played like the nation’s No. 1 team. Bruce Pearl’s club jumped to an early 21-8 lead and never looked back. Georgia Tech transfer Miles Kelly went 9-for-14 from 3-point territory and finished with 30 points. Chad Baker-Mazra scored 22, and freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford added 21.
The Tigers (15-1) clinched at least a share of the SEC regular-season title despite the fact their best player — arguably the nation’s best player — finished with just nine points. Johni Broome was 3-for-9 from the floor, 3-for-7 from the foul line and grabbed six rebounds. The former Morehead State star entered averaging 18.8 points and 11.0 rebounds.
Despite being 5-2 against AP top 10 teams before Saturday’s start, the Cats couldn’t meet the moment this time. Offensively, they committed a season-high 18 turnovers and made just four of their 17 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc. Defensively, they watched Auburn shoot 51.8% from the floor and go 12-for-26 from 3.
“Auburn played great basketball tonight,” UK coach Mark Pope said of the Tigers, now 27-2. “Auburn has played great basketball all season long.”
If you’re searching for bright spots in blue, Butler looked the best he has been since returning from his shoulder injury. The San Diego State transfer, who has missed eight games this season, scored 15 points in his 32 minutes.
Meanwhile, Robinson’s replacement, Koby Brea, finished with a team-high 21 points. The sharpshooter was 4-for-7 from 3-point range. His teammates were 0-for-10. Brea also grabbed six rebounds and committed just two turnovers in 38 minutes.
Now 19-10 overall and 8-8 in the SEC, the Cats have just two games remaining in their regular season. LSU arrives for UK’s Senior Night on Tuesday. The curtain drops with Kentucky making a tough road trip to Columbia to face a Missouri team that has been more than a pleasant surprise. The SEC Tournament starts March 12 in Nashville.
That’s not much time for Pope and his staff to recalibrate yet again. The Cats have to reshuffle their deck most of the season in hopes of find winning cards. A split of the final two conference games would mean a 9-9 mark, not all that bad considering the ridiculous strength of the conference, the multiple injuries and the fact Pope had to start from scratch.
After that, with no Robinson, no one knows.
Said Butler, “We have to step up to the plate and bring our A-game every day so we can win games.”
This team Kentucky team has surprised us on multiple occasions. Maybe, come tournament time, it can surprise us again.
This story was originally published March 1, 2025 at 5:35 PM.
