Mark Pope believes in Kentucky's upside despite the rough start

Despite getting embarrassed in their first two big tests, Pope knows it's still early in the season.

Nov 21, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope talks with his players on the court during the first half against the Loyola (MD) Greyhounds at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

The Kentucky Wildcats earned a much-needed feel-good win on Friday after putting on a very embarrassing performance against Michigan State in Madison Square Garden a week ago, when they blew out Loyola Maryland in a smooth, clean win in Rupp Arena.

The Wildcats won, and it was needed, but it's hard to have real takeaways in a game not against a high-major team. After their first embarrassing loss, which was against Louisville, they followed it up with a feel-good win after struggling again when they faced Tom Izzo's Spartans just days later. Now, the Wildcats have already notched another feel-good win, and with a matchup with Tennessee Tech on Wednesday, they're looking for another.

A good amount of Kentucky fans aren't going to trust in the team making significant progress until they see how they look next Tuesday against the North Carolina Tarheels, who are currently ranked as a fringe-top 15 team in college basketball right now and feature on of the best freshmen in the sport. Despite the rough start and bad showings in both of their first tests to start the season, Mark Pope believes in what his team's upside can be. That's why he was so hard on himself and his players after their loss in New York City, because he knows the standard.

"I don't think anybody's tougher on us than we are. ...I don't know if anybody could have been as mad at me or us after the Michigan State game as I was mad at myself and us, and so we're holding ourselves to that standard. ...I do believe that this team has a huge upside. Disappointed with how we've kind of started this thing in those two games (Louisville/MSU), for sure, but I am incredibly hopeful that we still have it in us to become a great team, and that's what we're shooting for.”

Pope was asked in his radio show if he had a message to fans about staying patient, and Kentucky fans should love the answer he gave. The Wildcats have not looked good so far this season against marquee teams, and the games they have looked good in have been against low quality opponents. Kentucky is going to have to put together a good performance against North Carolina in Rupp Arena, because they have a grueling stretch in the schedule coming up, with Gonzaga, Indiana, and St. John's all coming up in non-conference play.

Can the Wildcats put together a good performance against the Tarheels in Rupp Arena? They'll need to do so, because fans won't get their hopes back up on the season until they do it against a high quality opponent, and they need to soon.