Mark Pope on Kentucky's loss to UNC: "We've got to use it as fuel"

Kentucky basketball put together another poor performance against a top 25 opponent after losing their first two big tests to begin the season when they had a complete collapse against North Carolina that ultimately costed them. The Wildcats were hanging right with the Tarheels in what was a true rockright, with not much scoring. That turned out to especially be true from the 13-minute mark in the second half on, as Kentucky finished 2-16 on field goals, while North Carolina ended hitting five of their last seven shots.

Following the game, Mark Pope addressed the poor areas, saying it is very "uncharacteristic of us." With the rebounding in particular, Pope cited the Wildcats being one of the top defensive rebounding teams in the country, but what the numbers don't say, is what Kentucky's rebounding numbers in the two previous marquee games alone. Kentucky had a +2 margin against the Cards, but Michigan State, the Wildcats were outrebounded 42-28, while also giving up 32 defensive rebounds and managing to grab just 6 off their own misses. Kentucky's poor rebounding Tuesday costed them 22 second-chance points for the Tarheels, which is their season-high. Then there is the shooting, as the Wildcats made just one three on 13 attempts, a low in both in the Mark Pope era at Kentucky.

After losing your first three games against power conference opponents, the locker room morale usually tends to be down. Mark Pope confirmed that on his radio segment after Tuesday's loss, saying he hopes the game will humble his team and use it as motivation as his team continues to figure out how to bounce back after rough patches.

“We had some devastated guys in the locker room. These guys want to do this. They want to figure it out. They want to get it done. They want to play well. And you know, the game will beat it out of you. When we have some stubbornness and some reluctance to actually buy into exactly how we’re trying to take this, the game will beat it out of you. It’ll humble you. And so hopefully that’s the process we’re in, and hopefully we’ll grow from it. ...If you take the pain and you internalize it, then it can burn inside you and can actually forge a bond. It can also destroy you, and so that’s the trick for us. We’ve got to use it as fuel, and we’ve got to get better."

Now, Kentucky will get yet another chance to pick up their first quality win of the season on Friday against Gonzaga in Nashville. The Wildcats will certainly need to use their early struggles as fuel against a high-powered athletic Bulldog squad ranked #11 in the country.