Kentucky’s deflating loss to Iowa State must bring the Mark Pope era to an end

Every job is different. There are levels to this. Even though TJ Otzelberger has a fantastic Iowa State team, his Cyclones were very much up against it coming into their Round of 32 matchup vs. Kentucky. They were down their best player in Joshua Jefferson. Frankly, that did not slow them down one bit. Iowa State had a one-point lead at halftime before blowing Mark Pope's team out in the second half...

For Kentucky to lose 82-63 to Iowa State down its best player, this falls on Pope completely. He got bailed out by Otega Oweh late in the second half and in overtime vs. Santa Clara in something that can only be described as a Larry Bird-esque performance. Kentucky is one of the four best jobs in the country. Pope should know that because he played in Lexington. He has to know that it is over...

As far as how the college basketball world felt about the game, they really let Pope have it over on X.

College basketball world wants Kentucky to move on from Mark Pope

Coaching matters, as illustrated by Otzelberger thriving for Iowa State, and Pope falling apart for UK.

No doubt about it, Pope is under so much pressure, whether he gets a third season or not at the helm.

This is a job where it should drive itself, but here we are with Pope underperforming in huge moments.

Keep in mind his boss in athletic director Mitch Barnhart is retiring at the end of the academic year...

Mark Pope may have left Mitch Barnhart with no choice but to fire him

Let's be totally honest with ourselves. We were effectively one half away from Pope falling ass backwards into back-to-back trips to the Sweet 16. Santa Clara was always going to be a tough first-round matchup for anyone, but those are games where brand equity matters a ton. Oweh played like he wanted to go on a deep run at Kentucky this year. Pope did not coach his way out of a paper bag...

With Barnhart stepping down at the end of the school year, could he fire his second big-named coach in as many months? He had the stones to finally move on from an ineffective Mark Stoops at the helm of the UK football program. Stoops was the longest tenured head coach in the SEC at over a decade before he was dismissed. Even he left Kentucky way better than he found it... Pope has not done this.

In the end, Big Blue Nation is furious with the product it regularly gets on the floor. This is Kentucky basketball we are talking about! UK is known for getting to Final Fours and winning national titles on the regular. To bow out this pathetically in the Round of 32 vs. what was thought to be a gettable Iowa State team is unbelievable. A loss would have been fine, but a blowout following a collapse sure is not.

Right now, Pope is sitting on the hottest seat in college basketball this side of Hubert Davis at UNC.