It's wild how things can change in a flash. Not long ago, Kentucky basketball fans were riding high following a preseason win over No. 1 Purdue. If anything, it had some people overreacting and thinking that the Wildcats were ready to push for a natty.
Mark Pope quote after loss to Georgetown is all too familiar for Kentucky fans
Let's hold the phone on that. On Thursday night, Kentucky was humbled in the worst way possible, suffering a pretty rough home exhibition loss at Rupp Arena to Georgetown. Following the final whistle, angry fans have been letting Mark Pope have it. Well, his postgame comments aren't making a lot of UK supporters happy either:
Mark Pope: "I think this team has potential, but we're not run-away good. We're just team great. We can be team great if we lean into each other. We're not just going to go out and dominate people because our individual talent is overwhelming."
— Cole Parke (@ColeParke_wsc) October 31, 2025
Mark Pope has a lot of Kentucky basketball fans talking and not in a good way
Yes, it's just one loss in a game that doesn't even matter for the standings or anything. Still, Pope saying during his postgame presser that 'we're not run-away good' doesn't sit well with a lot of people. We're not expecting Kentucky to win by 20 every night, but losing at home to Georgetown with such a talented roster is unacceptable.
It should be noted that Kentucky was without three starters in Jaland Lowe, Denzel Aberdeen, and Jayden Quaintance. Despite that, rumors swirled this offseason that Kentucky's roster for 2025-26 is north of $20 million.
If the Wildcats broke the bank to overhaul things in Lexington, then it shouldn't matter if some starters can't play. There's supposed to be plenty of depth too. What's going to happen if the Wildcats deal with injuries this year?
There will be no excuses for Pope, as he has to get this team over the hump throughout the year. Plenty of people are still pretty disappointed over the Sweet Sixtween loss to the Tennessee Vols last season, as Rick Barnes and his players dominated that contest.
Following that defeat, there were plenty of angry fans who were questioning if Pope was the right guy to get this program back to where it needs to be. He's back on the bench with this team and there's a ton of buzz surrounding No. 9 Kentucky. However, some of his comments are rubbing people the wrong way and like we said above, there are zero excuses for him moving forward.