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Mark Pope claims Kentucky is 'far away' from where it wants to be after Michigan State loss

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby: Grant Grubbs2 hours agogrant_grubbs_
Syndication: The Courier-Journal
Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope watches as the Cards go up on Kentucky in the first half during the UofL-UK annual rivalry game at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky Nov. 11, 2025. (Matt Stone/imagn)

On Tuesday, Kentucky suffered an 83-66 blowout loss against Michigan State. After the game, Wildcats head coach Mark Pope didn’t mince words about his team’s performance.

“We’re far away from the team that we hope and aspire to be. We can’t waste a second on trying to grow into that,” Pope said. “We’re disappointed and discouraged, and completely discombobulated right now. We have work to do, so there’s no time like the present.”

In the loss, Kentucky’s offense was a mess. The Wildcats shot 20-57 (35%) from the field and 7-30 (23%) from beyond the arc. No player scored more than 12 points for the Wildcats.

When Kentucky missed, it rarely was able to come up with the rebound. The Wildcats reeled in just six offensive rebounds in the contest despite missing 37 shots. In contrast, Michigan State recorded 10 offensive boards on 32 missed shots.

Rebounding wasn’t the only statistical category where Michigan State’s dominance down low was obvious. The Spartans also recorded 30 points in the paint, compared to Kentucky’s 24.

Kentucky’s lackluster performance becomes all the more concerning when considering the Wildcats also had a subpar showing in a loss to Louisville last week. In that loss, Kentucky gave up 96 points while committing 14 turnovers on offense.

Kentucky entered the season ranked No. 9 in the country. Now, the team is simply searching for its identity.

“We’re in the process of learning and growing together as a team. I think this team has a terrific future. I believe that this group can become something” Mark Pope said after UK’s latest loss. “In this early part of the season, I feel like the identity that we felt like we carried has been stripped away and maybe we’re facing some reality right now. That’s an incredibly, incredibly painful process. It’s a terrifying process.

“If you treat it right, it can be a galvanizing process. That comes down to an issue of the character of your organization. I think the character of our organization is terrific, but it’s being tested in a big way right now. We’ll either answer the bell or not.”

On Friday, Kentucky will look to answer the bell when it squares off against Loyola Maryland at 7 p.m. ET. The game will air live on SEC Network+. On Dec. 2, the Wildcats will face another massive test in a showdown against North Carolina.