For Kentucky fans who have followed Mark Pope’s career, Thursday night's 84-70 loss to Georgetown felt eerily and uncomfortably familiar. It was a painful echo of past failures, a reminder of a specific blueprint that has repeatedly undone his teams.
Déjà vu: A painfully familiar script
Last season, Kentucky’s lowest moments came against teams with dominant, penetrating guards who disrupted everything. The 20-point loss to Ohio State, where Bruce Thornton exploded for 30 points and UK shot 17-of-57, stands out. So does the 13-point loss to Georgia, where the Cats were a miserable 24-of-64 from the field.
This problem isn't new; it followed Pope from BYU, which we talked about here last year. His teams have historically struggled against quick, physical backcourts that pressure the ball, deny entry passes, and break down the offense into one-on-one chaos.
Georgetown followed that blueprint to perfection. And yet again it worked.
The blueprint: Dominate the backcourt
The statistical split tells the entire story. Georgetown’s starting guards, Malik Mack and KJ Lewis, were sensational. They combined for 41 points on 17-of-29 (58.6%) shooting. They controlled the tempo, broke down Kentucky's perimeter defense at will, and lived in the paint.
Kentucky's starting guards, Otega Oweh and Collin Chandler, were completely stifled. They combined for 28 points, but on highly inefficient 6-of-21 (28.5%) shooting, and Chandler was hounded into 5 turnovers. The Wildcats, as a team, looked disjointed and panicked, unable to get into their sets. Chandler in particular had a hard time even bringing the ball up the court. He would often turn his back to the defense, something a point guard should not do too often.
A familiar nightmare: Georgetown loss exposes the way to beat Mark Pope
After the game, Pope seemed to acknowledge the recurring nature of this problem. "I just did a poor job to prepare us to do it. But we'll get there," he said. "That's why these games are incredibly valuable.”
But Kentucky is a place where "getting there" needs to happen fast. The real games start Tuesday, and the blueprint to beat this team is already circulating. Every opponent knows: pressure Kentucky's guards, be physical, and the offense will crumble. Until Pope finds a consistent counter, nights like this will continue to happen.
So the question becomes, why doesn't Mark Pope fix it?
Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion