Kentucky coach Mark Pope explains his rationale for fouling up three

Mark Pope explains when he likes to foul up three points.

Jan 24, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts to the action on the court during the second half against the Mississippi Rebels at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

One of the hottest topics that will start a heated debate in a college basketball home is whether a team should foul up by three points late in a game. Kentucky was in this position against the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, and it was handled in an interesting way.

Tennessee dribbled the ball to their end of the floor, where Rick Barned called a timeout with 8.4 second left in the game. The Vols went to inbound the ball, and Brandon Garrison fouled a Tennessee forward while trying to deny the entry pass. It didn’t seem like fouling was the plan of Coach Pope, but he did give a thumbs up as to say we're all good.

After missing a free throw on Kentucky’s end, Mo Dioubate got a rebound, passed the ball to Denzel Aberdeen, who was fouled with 3.7 seconds on the clock. He made both free throws to put Kentucky up 74-71. The Wildcats did not foul, and Tennessee did not make the half-court heave despite it drawing iron.

Feb 4, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope watches the action during the first half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

This evening on Pope’s radio show, he was asked about his philosophy for fouling when ahead by three points, and his answer was very interesting.

Here was Pope’s response to his philosophy on fouling up three: “My philosophy used to be very neutral towards fouling, but with the inconsistency of the new rule this year about extending the shot. It’s supposed to be you have to be on the step, then continue with it, but it's been really inconsistent, and now fouling up three has gotten really scary. Because of the continuation calls, they are not really consistent yet. I am so grateful that we have the best referees in the world refereeing our games. But I still don’t think it’s fair to those guys to put them in a situation where they have to determine the game, so we like to just determine it by playing great defense right now.”

Big Blue Nation used to get very mad at Coach John Calipari for the way he handled fouling up three, but now the rules have changed a bit with the continuation to where things like Coach Pope said can get “scary.” Hopefully, this isn’t something the Wildcats will have to worry about the rest of the season, but as all basketball fans know, this will pop up once or twice. Coach Pope has an elite knowledge of situational basketball, so BBN should trust him to always make the right call.