In the aftermath of Kentucky’s 82-69 loss to Georgia, questions surrounding the Wildcats’ toughness took center stage. Head coach Mark Pope openly challenged his team’s ability to execute consistently, describing toughness as the ability to “do your job in the moment from second to second to second.”

“That’s actually toughness,” Pope said. “We didn’t have that on great display today.”

The lack of toughness was evident in several key areas. Kentucky lost the rebounding battle 41-34, allowed 15 offensive rebounds for the second consecutive game, and was outpaced at the free-throw line.

Senior forward Andrew Carr echoed Pope’s sentiment during the postgame radio show with Goose Givens. Carr stressed the need for the Wildcats to play with more physicality and aggression, particularly on the defensive glass.

“We got to get more nasty, more angry when we’re playing, bring that edge, get better on the defensive glass,” Carr said. “They got a decent amount of second-chance points.” Many of those points came during pivotal moments when Kentucky struggled to contain the Bulldogs’ physical play.

Carr also emphasized that toughness is about discipline as much as effort.

“Being tough can look like a whole bunch of different things,” Carr said. “For us, one of those — especially tonight — was being tougher about being more disciplined without fouling, trying to play without fouling, moving our feet better, things like that. We’ve just got to get way more tough, way more physical.”

This lack of toughness is not a one-off issue. Kentucky has struggled in similar ways during other recent games, including giving up 15 offensive rebounds in a loss to Florida earlier in SEC play. The Wildcats are 1-1 in conference games, and staring a road trip to top 20 Mississippi State Saturday.

Carr pointed to energy management as a factor contributing to Kentucky’s inconsistency.

“I think a little bit — even a lot of it probably has to do with the amount of effort and energy you’re able to put into every single play,” he said. “I felt like sometimes tonight we got… Coach talks about energy all the time. Our energy was drained from foul calls and things like that, some things that we can’t control necessarily, and that was pulling away from our effort.”

He believes a mental reset is crucial.

“When you’re able to start fresh in a new play every single time, I think it gives you the best chance,” Carr said. “Just playing harder, playing with more of a chip on your shoulders, you have to bring the nasty on both sides.”

If the Wildcats hope to turn their season around, finding that “nasty” edge could be the difference between middling performances and a championship-caliber team big blue nation believes them to be.