Mark Pope's message to fans after Friday's game was very interesting

Mark Pope was asked his message to fans after his team squeaked out a win against Northern Arizona. His answer was very interesting.

Nov 13, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope looks to his bench during the second half against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It was a rough watch inside of Rupp Arena on Friday as Kentucky squeaked out a 78-77 win over Northern Arizona in a very intense finish. First off, Kentucky was down in the final seconds as they intentionally foul a Northern Arizona player, who missed the free throw, but the rebound slipped right out of Malachi Moreno's hands. Then, they fouled again and Northern Arizona mssed yet another at the line that ultimately gave the Wildcats a win thanks to an Alex Wilkins three.

After the game, Mark Pope was asked his message to fans after a very uncomfortable win that followed a blowout loss to Kansas on Tuesday. Fans even booed at halftime and then late when Northern Arizona took the lead. What was his answer? His full comments to the question took an interesting turn to start.

Nov 13, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope looks at his notes during the first half against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Well, I hope everybody in Rupp had fun. It was a pretty exciting game," Pope said after Kentucky's 78-77 win over Northern Arizona. "You saw a Northern Arizona team that was playing great basketball and a Kentucky team that was trying to find themselves and it came down to the last second. It’s pretty entertaining, If not well executed, it’s really entertaining. I think this will be a fun team to follow. With one exception, they’re finding ways to win games. And we'll continue down that path as we kind of settle the ship and execute better."

Mark Pope: “I hope everybody at Rupp had fun”

Full comment when asked his message to fans… pic.twitter.com/owtWf0Eqp5

— Wyatt Huff (@Wildcat_wave) November 14, 2026

It was an answer that sent confusion throughout the room and from fans on social media. After a win like that, there is a lot to improve on. Honestly, it was not a fun watch, despite that thrilling finish. Fans even booed during the game. Still though, this team has a while to turn things around, but they'll need to do so sooner than later, or Indiana could creep up on them next week. It hasn't been the best week of Kentucky basketball with these two games back-to-back. It was a night that felt like a disaster even though Kentucky won, and that exact comment had everyone up in arms to cap off the night.

Now that Alex Wilkins helped Kentucky avoid a program-changing loss to a Northern Arizona team that ranked 299th coming into Friday night, they have to put together better showings, or it could spell some real, real trouble for the Wildcats this season.

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