Mark Pope expresses disappointment in Kentucky after rivalry loss vs. Louisville

The build-up to Tuesday’s rivalry game between Kentucky and Louisville took place over a few months. Between the two programs aggressively building rosters in the offseason and an incident between Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey on the recruiting trail, both teams wanted this one. Kelsey’s bunch ultimately came out on top, sending a bumping KFC! Yum Center home happy.

Obviously, Pope walked into his postgame press conference disappointed in the result. He was not thrilled about the performance either, being down by as much as 20 at one point. You could sense his frustration based on the answers alone.

“We’re incredibly disappointed in the product we put on the floor today,” Pope said via Jack Pilgrim of On3 | Rivals’ KSR. ” … We played extremely poorly, but we have a competitive group. … That’s not the standard here.”

Kentucky went 10 deep in its rotation, with nine of those guys getting double-digit minutes. Pope might still be working out his best combinations. After all, it’s only Nov. 11. Usually, this game is played well past Thanksgiving and closer to Christmas. Still, this is one Pope wants to win on an annual basis, no matter the circumstances.

From the get-go, the pace was almost tough to comprehend. A pure track meet broke out, leading to a high-scoring game. Louisville finished with 96 points, Kentucky 88. As mentioned, the deficit reached large quantities for the Wildcats. If there was a positive takeaway for Pope, it appears to be his team’s competitive spirit.

Looking at the box score, Kentucky shot just over 47.1% from the field and 35.3% from three — similar numbers to Louisville. Free-throw disparity turned into a large one, with the home team getting nearly double the number of shots from the charity stripe at 31. Pope talked about the damage freshman Mikel Brown Jr., who made 10 of 11 free throws, did against them.

“He did a ton of damage just making the right decisions,” Pope said. “…But he really, really, really hurt us downhill.”

Clearly, the frustrations are there for Pope. No matter which way you look at it, a tough day at the office for Big Blue Nation.

The schedule does not slow down anytime soon for Kentucky. Exactly one week brings the Champions Classic, where Michigan State shares the floor with them in Madison Square Garden. Tough nonconference opponents such as North Carolina, Gonzaga, Indiana, and St. John’s also pop up before getting into SEC play.