Mark Pope provides puzzling Taylor Swift comparison on 'out-of-character' Louisville comments, promises to clarify

On Thursday, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope caught fans’ attention when he alluded to a “pregame” moment at Louisville that may have contributed to the Wildcats’ loss. After UK’s 99-53 victory over Eastern Illinois on Friday, Pope brought up the mysterious incident again.

“I’m big Taylor Swift Fan, and I just like to leave out these little things that just keep everybody wondering and guessing. There’s really not much to it,” Pope said. “At some point, I’ll tell you the story, but I’d like you guys to prognosticate on that for a couple more days. It really is nothing. It’s just something about the emotional level of our team.

“I wanted to tease this out and let it play for a few more days, but when we talk about it, it’s really not going to be very interesting. It was just the way that we felt as a team and how we responded.”

Pope’s comment on Friday left many Kentucky fans more confused than when he first discussed the pregame incident. Some prominent voices in Kentucky’s fanbase weren’t shy to express their displeasure with Pope’s vague response.

“Pope is generally really good at reading the fan base,” Kentucky Sports Radio host Matt Jones wrote on X. “He gets BBN likely better than any coach in my lifetime. But with the UL loss and the [Jaland] Lowe injury uncertainty, I am not sure this is the best time to tease the fan base with ‘wonder what happened before UL game.'”

Despite Kentucky’s blowout win on Friday, many Wildcats fans are still ruminating on the team’s loss to Louisville earlier this week. In the loss, Kentucky outshot Louisville from the field and 3-point range. However, the Wildcats’ turnovers cost them the game.

In the loss, they committed 14 turnovers and 14 assists. In contrast, Louisville only committed six turnovers, while racking up 20 assists.

Kentucky particularly had trouble slowing down Louisville freshman Mikel Brown Jr., who exploded for a game-high 29 points, along with five assists. Meanwhile, SEC preseason Player of the Year Otega Oweh recorded 12 points on 4-13 shooting, and committed five turnovers alone.

On Tuesday, the Wildcats will have a chance to bounce back when they square off against No. 17 Michigan State in Madison Square Garden for the Champions Classic. The game will air live on ESPN. Mark Pope and Kentucky can’t afford another distracting pregame incident.