Kentucky coach Mark Pope’s Wildcats fell 73-68 to the Missouri Tigers on Wednesday to drop to 9-6 for the season. The loss also dropped the Wildcats to 0-2 in SEC play for the first time since 2006 under coach Tubby Smith.
With 4:37 minutes remaining, the Wildcats held an eight-point lead that was quickly erased by the Tigers embarking on an impressive 15-2 run to close out the contest in front of a disbelieving Rupp Arena.
Mark Pope Details Why His Team Lost to Missouri
During his weekly news conference before Kentucky’s game against Mississippi State, Pope gave a detailed breakdown of his team’s four-minute capitulation against Missouri on Wednesday.
“Well, I believe everything is correctable, even the shots, even making shots, I think that’s correctable,” Pope said. “I think that’s actually, that’s part of our responsibility, also. I think all four and a half minutes are correctable. It was everything, actually. It was so much misfortune.
“It was so much stuff in our wheelhouse that we inexplicably didn’t execute the way we normally do. It was some poor communication. It was some poor internalization of the scout. It was some missed shots. It was some coaching error. It was all of those things that led to that just terrible, terrible four and a half minutes.”
After their shaky start to the season, Pope’s Wildcats have been projected by KenPom to finish with a 17-14 record, including a losing SEC record, leading to them missing out on the NCAA Tournament.
Pope Defiant Despite Kentucky’s Woes
After Kentucky’s 35-point blowout loss to the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Dec. 6, Pope was placed on the hot seat by several analysts after Wildcats fans booed the coach and players. Despite the optimism among Kentucky fans after going on a 4-0 run since that game, the Wildcats have slipped back into familiar patterns after losing their last two games.
In his news conference, Pope was defiant about his team’s season panning out better despite their woes in SEC play.
“The outcome is we’re 0-2 in SEC play, and I’m the leader of this program, and that’s exactly what it is,” Pope said. “What’s fun is that at Kentucky, more than anywhere else, we’re going to talk about it 24/7, and postulate, because we care so much. So that’s where all those conversations come in.
“I actually don’t want to run from it, because the end of the story is so good. But it’s not going to be so good if we don’t get to talk about being 0-2 to start the SEC. That’s why it’s great, you know? Like, most people want to run from the messy middle of the deal, man. I’m not. Like, ‘Let’s dig in and let’s go.’ That’s how special stories happen.”
Earlier in the season, the Wildcats were dealing with injuries to Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance, leading to divisive discourse about their woes under Pope. In the past few weeks, the Wildcats have welcomed back their injured stars, leaving Pope exposed to being placed on the hot seat.