The tone on the post-game radio show was different this time.
After previous losses, Mark Pope has been analytical, almost detached. But following a gut-wrenching 67-64 loss to North Carolina, a game Kentucky led late before collapsing, Pope sounded like a coach who is feeling the weight of the moment right alongside his players.
Speaking with Tom Leach, Pope was candid about the offensive ineptitude that doomed the Wildcats, specifically the 13-minute scoring drought that turned a raucous Rupp Arena into a Monday morning Church. But amidst the frustration, he insisted that the pain is a necessary part of the process.
He is asking for more patience, but BBN has "Fire Mark Pope" trending. Things could get even uglier after Friday night against a ranked Gonzaga.
The numbers don't lie
Pope didn't try to spin the stat sheet. When you get bullied on the glass and can't hit the broad side of a barn, you lose. It is that simple.
"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. We just couldn't quite do it."
The rebounding margin (41-30) and the offensive glass disparity (20 offensive rebounds for UNC) were the killers. Pope attributed it to North Carolina’s length and Kentucky’s inability to secure the ball after the initial stop.
"North Carolina has great length. Our second hits were very poor," Pope noted. I'd say he's right.
Diagnosing the drought
The topic on every fan's mind was the catastrophic 13-minute scoring drought in the second half. Pope pointed to a mix of physical fatigue and mental errors.
"Really easy missed opportunities, forced shots, ambitious selection," Pope explained. "We lost pace, we had some fatigue on the floor. Poor execution, poor selection."
He rejected the idea that they should have just isolated Otega Oweh more, instead noting that the entire offense "became a little more stagnant."
Kentucky basketball is in a battle against 'stubbornness'
Perhaps the most telling quote of the night came when Pope discussed his team's mindset. He hinted that some players are still trying to play "hero ball" rather than trusting the system, and that North Carolina punished them for it.
"The game will beat it out of you when you have stubbornness or reluctance to buy in," Pope said.
He described the locker room scene as "devastated," noting that the players desperately want to make the winning play but sometimes focus too much on doing it themselves.
"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."
Finding the silver linings
Despite the loss, Pope refused to bury his team. He praised the interior defense, specifically highlighting the efforts of Andrija Jelavić and Malachi Moreno.
"I thought [Jelavić] was really good, he came up with a huge block," Pope said. "I thought we were really good in our interior defense."
He also credited Moreno for hitting "huge free throws" late in the game to give Kentucky a chance.
The road ahead
Pope closed the show with a message of resilience. He believes this group has a "bright, bright future," but they have to be willing to use this pain as fuel rather than letting it break them.
"If you are humble and listen to the game and learn, you get better. It can also destroy you," Pope warned. "We gotta use it as fuel and we gotta get better. I have a ton of confidence."
Kentucky has just 2 days to "listen to the game" before they take the court again Friday against Gonzaga. The lessons this game are saying are loud hard to ignore. Will they listen?