Mark Pope believes Kentucky will respond well to lessons learned against Vandy

Nothing went right for Mark Pope's Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday night in Nashville against Vanderbilt. Kentucky found themselves down by five with 14:57 to go in the first half. That then turned into an 11-point Vanderbilt lead, which then led to the Wildcats being down by 16 rather quickly. They cut the lead to 13 with 4:58 left until halftime, but a Vandy run stretched it open to as much as 22 points. Kentucky was never able to gain the lead at all in Tuesday's 25-point loss.

This Kentucky team had a pair of comeback wins in their five-game win streak in conference play, responding to adversity in a big way by embracing physicality and becoming the aggressors. On Tuesday, they never did that at all, as they instead were faced with a huge deficit against one of the more electric offenses in the country. It wasn't a good position for the Wildcats to be in obviously, one that they could never find any glimmer of hope to even get out of. After the game, Mark Pope was asked about Kentucky's resiliency and if the fact that they have responded before this season gives them any confidence moving forward. Pope knows Tuesday's performance was unacceptable, but he believes in his team to respond the right way.

"Listen, we were a disaster tonight and it will never be acceptable," Pope said following Kentucky's loss at Vanderbilt. "We're also a good team and we'll take all the lessons that we need to take from this game and we'll be better and more prepared. That's the only choice we have. So, we'll respond in a great way. That's what we do."

Kentucky has been in a similar position before and responded. Remember earlier this season in the same city that the Wildcats suffered their loss to Vandy in on Tuesday where they were booed off the court by their own fans for a lack of effort? This Kentucky team responded in a major way, picking up wins over Indiana and St. John's where, like on Tuesday, found themselves facing adversity, but they still responded. Then, with their backs against the wall after starting 0-2 in SEC play, the WIldcats rattled off five-straight wins to get to this point.

Now, Mark Pope's team is back to needing to respond. Can they do it again all while facing the toughest stretch of the entire season, taking on two ranked opponents on the road and three road games in general? It doesn't get easier from here and Kentucky's response will be tested.