The post-game radio show felt different this time—and so did Mark Pope.
After previous losses, Pope carried a calm, clinical tone. But after a crushing 67–64 loss to North Carolina, a game Kentucky controlled late before watching it unravel, the head coach sounded like someone feeling every ounce of pressure the fanbase is throwing his way.
Talking with Tom Leach, Pope didn’t hide from the ugly truth: the offense collapsed, the arena went flat, and a 13-minute scoring drought turned what should’ve been a statement win into the program’s most demoralizing moment of the young season. But even as he acknowledged the frustration, Pope framed the pain as something this team needs to grow.
He’s asking for patience—but “Fire Mark Pope” trended nationwide. And with a ranked Gonzaga coming to town Friday, things could get even more tense.
The numbers paint a brutal picture
Pope didn’t try to sugarcoat what everyone saw.
When you get bullied on the boards and shoot like a YMCA team on a cold Saturday morning, you lose. End of story.
“We don’t have a lot of great numbers… we had some fight,” Pope said. “When you shoot 20 percent from the 3-point line and give up 20 offensive rebounds… it’s a hard night.”
Kentucky was out-rebounded 41–30, surrendering 20 offensive boards—extra chances that UNC cashed in repeatedly. Pope credited the Tar Heels’ length but admitted Kentucky failed to finish possessions.
“North Carolina has great length. Our second hits were very poor,” he said.
He wasn’t wrong.
The drought that broke the game
Fans can argue about rotations, play calls, or who should’ve taken more shots—but the 13-minute scoring drought is the headline.
Pope said it came down to fatigue, sloppiness, and players trying to force plays instead of trusting the structure.
“Really easy missed opportunities, forced shots, ambitious selection,” Pope explained. “We lost pace… poor execution, poor selection.”
He pushed back against the notion that Kentucky should’ve simply isolated Otega Oweh late, instead saying the entire offense stalled and “became a little more stagnant.”
The clips back him up.
Pope’s biggest admission: his team is battling ‘stubbornness’
The most revealing moment of the night came when Pope called out something deeper than execution—mindset.
“The game will beat it out of you when you have stubbornness or reluctance to buy in,” he said.
He suggested that some players still drift toward hero-ball, trying to be the savior rather than making the right play. UNC punished every one of those moments.
Pope described the locker room as “devastated,” noting that the guys want to make the winning play, but sometimes want it too badly.
“For us to get to where we have to go we can’t waste possessions… We have to dig into this concept of fighting to make plays for teammates.”
There were bright spots—real ones
Even on a night when everything felt like a step backward, Pope highlighted the positives.
He praised the interior defense, especially the rim protection and toughness shown by Andrija Jelavić.
“[Jelavić] was really good—he came up with a huge block,” Pope said.
He also credited Malachi Moreno, who calmly hit clutch free throws late to keep Kentucky within striking distance.
Small steps. But steps nonetheless.
Two days to reset—and a season to save
Pope ended with a message that sounded equal parts belief and warning.
“If you are humble and listen to the game and learn, you get better. It can also destroy you,” he said. “We gotta use it as fuel and we gotta get better. I have a ton of confidence.”
Kentucky has just 48 hours to absorb that message before a ranked Gonzaga team walks into Rupp.
The lessons from UNC are loud. They’re painful. They’re urgent.
The question is no longer whether the team hears them—
but whether they listen.
