Mark Pope finally reveals what happened before Louisville (and the answer will disappoint you)

Was it a fistfight between players? Off-court drama with girlfriends? Back-and-forth banter between the Wildcats and fans at the KFC Yum! Center? Mark Pope finally revealed what the “pregame experience” was at Louisville — and the answer did not live up to the hype, nor will it make you feel any better about how the team responded against the Cardinals or the Michigan State Spartans a week later.

The second-year coach says the Wildcats simply started the pregame process earlier than usual, and it backfired.

“There’s nothing there. Literally, we flipped the switch early,” Pope said Thursday. “Like we came into our 40-minute meeting. And normally, our 40-minute, we try and keep it really calm and really relaxed because we’re trying to manage our emotions, and it didn’t work. Like the guys were kinda like, ‘Nah,’ essentially, ‘We’re ready to flip the switch now.'”

Despite Pope personally putting it out there with no context to begin with, and allowing the gasoline to be poured on the fire when asked for clarification days later — he used that opportunity to share a Taylor Swift comparison — he says there was never any drama to discuss.

So all of the rumors and speculation were for nothing, apparently.

“There was no — I wish there was more drama to make it more exciting, but there just wasn’t,” Pope continued. “But the management of your emotion is really important to what we do.

“So I’m sorry that that’s a dud. I wish, I wish I had more, more salacious material for you.”

Again, totally avoidable. Could have been shot down multiple times last week, only for it to take on a life of its own.

Bad decision, Pope.