Mark Pope’s No. 9 seed Kentucky Wildcats suffered a 71-63 loss to No. 1 seed Florida Gators in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday. The Gators, the reigning national champions, extended their win streak to 12 games, but the talk was all about Pope’s Wildcats, who failed to make an impression on the big stage.
Fans on social media also slammed Pope for his tactics, with some wanting UK to fire the coach.
“Putting in Trent Noah at this point just means that Mark Pope has given up on this game. Anyone who doesn’t want Fire Mark Pope tonight simply isn’t serious about winning at all,” one tweeted.
“Mark Pope should be fired. Did not win a single tourney game at BYU and can’t win with a 22 million dollar roster at Kentucky. Pretty embarrassing,” another added.
“Mark Pope has turned Kentucky basketball into a joke,” a third commented.
Here are a few more reactions.
“Billy G come home. Mark Pope sucks,” one wrote.
“Mitch Barnhart, John Calipari and Mark pope have done significant damage to Kentucky basketball. Changes are warranted,” another added.
“This SEC tournament is a fail by Mark Pope,” a user tweeted.
After his Kentucky team crashed out of the SEC Tournament, Pope said it was a frustrating loss, but praised his players for their competitive spirit against the defending national champions.
Pope is in his second year at Kentucky. However, there were high expectations from his team after the Wildcats made some big additions to their roster last offseason.
Mark Pope’s Kentucky is Still on Course to Make the 2026 NCAA Tournament
Despite an exit in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, Mark Pope’s Kentucky is set to make the NCAA Tournament this year. Many bracketologists list the Wildcats as a No. 6, 7, or 8 seed for March Madness.
Kentucky hired Pope in April 2024. In his first year, he took the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.
This season, it will be interesting to see if Kentucky can make a deeper run in March Madness.
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