Kentucky coach Mark Pope had seen enough. With Michigan State surging on a 17-2 run and holding a 13-point lead with under seven minutes left in the first half, Pope tapped the referee for a timeout, hoping to reset a team that was struggling to find its footing. But the break didn’t change the outcome. The No. 12 Wildcats fell 83-66 to No. 17 Michigan State in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden, dropping to 3-2 on the season.
More than 45 minutes after the game, Pope was still trying to process what had happened. “We’re far away from the team that we hoped or aspired to be,” he admitted. “We can’t waste a second trying to grow into that. We’re disappointed, discouraged, and completely discombobulated right now.”
This wasn’t supposed to happen at Kentucky, a program boasting one of the largest rosters in college basketball, with an estimated $22 million in player salaries, including Name, Image, and Likeness deals. Pope had high expectations. “We have the best donors, the best fans, the University of Kentucky,” he said back in May. “We should be the best at everything.”
Since taking over in April 2024 after John Calipari departed for Arkansas, Pope had brought stability and hope. Calipari left behind a legacy of championships, NBA talent, and decades of success, but also recent disappointments in the NCAA tournament. Pope, a former player on Kentucky’s 1996 national championship team, quickly established himself as a fan favorite with nine seasons of head coaching experience, including five at BYU. His first year with the Wildcats saw a revamped roster, a 24-12 record, and a Sweet 16 appearance.
Entering 2025-26, Kentucky was ranked ninth in the Associated Press poll and picked to finish second in the SEC behind reigning national champion Florida. Yet early struggles have highlighted a lack of cohesion on a roster filled with transfers and freshmen still adjusting to one another.
The Wildcats lost by eight points at rival Louisville last week, and against Michigan State, they looked overmatched. The Spartans, who had struggled from 3-point range all season, made 11 of 22 attempts and dished out 25 assists on 32 field goals. Kentucky’s defense and overall execution faltered. “We just played poor,” Pope said. “Poor attention to detail on the defensive end.”
Kentucky was also shorthanded. Point guard Jaland Lowe sat out his second consecutive game due to a shoulder injury, and Jayden Quaintance, a highly touted Arizona State transfer, remains sidelined recovering from ACL surgery. Despite this, Kentucky’s talent is undeniable: Otega Oweh leads the team with 12.8 points per game, Mouhamed Dioubate, Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler, and others provide scoring depth, and a mix of transfers and freshmen like Kam Williams, Jasper Johnson, Andrija Jelavic, and Malachi Moreno offer promising upside.
Yet the Wildcats shot a season-low 35.1% from the floor and 23.3% from 3-point range against Michigan State, while pulling down just 24 rebounds. Pope takes responsibility: “My messaging is not resonating with the guys right now. That’s my responsibility.”
Looking ahead, Kentucky has the pieces to turn things around. If Oweh returns to form, Chandler continues to improve, injured players come back, and the newcomers adapt to Pope’s system, the Wildcats could live up to preseason expectations and emerge as one of the nation’s top teams.
“We won’t fail this season,” Pope insisted. “We just have failed up until today. We will build an organization where it won’t be disrupted every time someone steps in and out because we’ll have a team identity, not an individual identity. Until we get there, we’re going to really struggle. That’s my job. That’s why they brought me here. I’m doing it poorly. I won’t do it poorly for much longer.”
