Mark Pope knows Georgetown exposed Kentucky in many areas on Thursday

Pope knows his team will face what they struggled with against Georgetown a lot in SEC play.

Oct 30, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope claps on the sideline during the second half against the Georgetown Hoyas at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Not much went right for the Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday night in their final exhibition before the regular season begins. After riding high on a convincing blowout win over #1 Purdue in Rupp Arena last week, the Wildcats were hit in the mouth by a Georgetown team that was fully prepared for everything coming their way.

After the game, Georgetown Hoyas head coach Ed Cooley said his team was prepared, and they did scout the Wildcats even though it was just an exhibition. "I’d be lying to you if i say we didn't prepare," Cooley said. "If you don't prepare, don't expect to win. ...If we came in here without a scout, we would’ve gotten beat by a hundred."

Mark Pope knows Cooley's Georgetown squad was prepared, and he admitted they exposed the Wildcats in many areas, and in particular, areas that his Kentucky team will see a lot in SEC play, a very physical style with plenty of athleticism.

"You're always looking to expose. To get exposed through these six weeks and trying every way you can to expose yourself. They did an unbelievable job by exposing those spaces where we don't expose ourselves. It's a terrific opportunity for us to learn, which is what we want right now."

Oct 30, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Georgetown Hoyas guard Malik Mack (2) handles the ball against Kentucky Wildcats guard Collin Chandler (5) during the second half at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky was exposed all game in many areas, and without their two top point guards in Jaland Lowe and Denzel Aberdeen, who Pope is hoping to get back in the next week or two, their offense never found a consistent rhythm, with a number of scoring droughts, as well as going a horrid 0-13 from three in the second half. Whenever the Wildcats needed a run, they couldn't get one, because whenever Kentucky did have a flow on offense, Georgetown always had answers. The WIldcats were manhandled on both ends, but the defensive end was where it was the worst aside from the poor shooting. Kentucky allowed the Hoyas to shoot 55 percent overall and total 38 points in the paint.

The Wildcats were destroyed on ball screens all night, and Mark Pope knows that's one of the biggest areas where they were exposed defensively. Georgetown was able to get downhill at will all night, hence their points in the paint. "They did a nice job on the first half, exploiting some grassroots and defensive issues, you know, getting rid of our third defender and playing a slip game," Pope said. "They really hurt us downhill, and either coming off lying pins or getting down ball screens hurt us. And in the second half, they hurt us a little bit more in isolation."

Kentucky will see athleticism and physicality all season, which both impacted them on each end of the floor. The Wildcats certainly got their first taste of what it will be like in the SEC, and Pope has all of the data at his disposal for his team to work on.