Mark Pope on Auburn's belt celebration: "If you don't want guys celebrating then win the game."

The Auburn Tigers led by as many as 22 points in the second half before closing out the 94-78 win over Kentucky — the program’s first inside Rupp Arena since 1988. It was a victory that had Bruce Pearl‘s group feeling itself on its way out of Lexington, adding a 16th Quad 1 victory to what is already considered a historic resume almost certainly leading to a No. 1 seed.

How does one celebrate that kind of win on the road? Auburn used that opportunity to bring out an actual leather belt and simulate an ass whooping, the basketball equivalent of a football team planting their school’s flag on the opponent’s midfield logo.

Needless to say, the celebration went viral, drawing criticism for being disrespectful — certainly on the floor of the winningest program in college basketball history when the Tigers have been to exactly one Final Four in 119 seasons with a lifetime record of 1,505-1,252.

No. 1 Auburn celebrates after beating Kentucky in Rupp Arena for the first time since 1988. pic.twitter.com/fMiQeCXgLK

— Vince Wolfram (@vincewolfram15) March 1, 2025

Mark Pope was asked about the celebration on his call-in radio show Monday night, initially hesitant to share his thoughts.

“I’m not sure what I’m allowed to say,” he said. “I’m looking around like someone’s going to tell me what I’m allowed to say right now.”

After getting the go-ahead to talk about it, Pope gave an answer that may surprise you. Did he like the celebration? Of course not — because it meant his team gave Auburn a reason to celebrate that way.

If you don’t like it, win the game. That’s how you shut them up, not by complaining about an ass-whooping celebration.

“It hurts me to the bottom of my heart, I know it hurts BBN, but Auburn came in and they beat us and they got to celebrate. That’s it,” Pope said. “If you don’t want guys celebrating, then win the game. It’s as simple as that. I don’t like talking about it, I don’t like remembering it, I don’t like seeing it, but it’s the truth.

“We didn’t hold up our end of the bargain on Saturday and players choose to celebrate how they choose to celebrate.”

They may get their shot at a rematch, Kentucky currently projected to take on Auburn in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals next Friday — should the Wildcats finish as the No. 8 seed and beat the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 16 matchup on Thursday to get there, of course.