Mark Pope says fatigue has been an issue for Kentucky and he has to reduce minutes

The Georgia Bulldogs came and took down the Kentucky Wildcats in Rupp Arena, and after having a ton of momentum, the Wildcats have lost two games in a row. The two areas in which the Bulldogs killed the Wildcats were on points off turnovers and shooting the three-ball. Georgia was 14-31 from three in this game.

Some Kentucky fans might be wondering how a team that shoots a little over 31% from deep went 14-31 in this game, and perhaps the Wildcats got unlucky. Kentucky didn’t get unlucky; they weren’t able to contest the three-pointers the Bulldogs were taking in this game. The Wildcats were overhelping down low, and Georgia was kicking the ball to open shooters all night long and hitting.

After the loss, Coach Mark Pope was talking about the game, and one of the issues he brought up was how he is having to play some players too many minutes. Here is what Coach Pope had to say about limiting the minutes of Aberdeen and Oweh: “We gotta find a way to get our guys' minutes down. Probably can’t have Otega at 38 and DA (Denzel Aberdeen) at 36. Our actual performance suffers as those guys get fatigued.”

Coach Pope is having to play these two more minutes per game than he would like, but he doesn’t really have much of a choice. Jaland Lowe and Kam Williams aren’t able to suit up, and the reserve players like Jasper Johnson and Trent Noah have struggled.

Feb 17, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Georgia Bulldogs forward Kanon Catchings (6) passes the ball around Kentucky Wildcats guard Jasper Johnson (2) during the first half at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Last night in 15 minutes, Johnson’s +/- was a -16, and Noah’s was a -13 in about seven minutes. I can see what Coach Pope is saying that he wants to play Oweh and Aberdeen less, but it doesn’t seem like he has much of a choice. The bench players for the Wildcats have not stepped up without Lowe, Williams, and Jayden Quaintance on the floor. This will be an issue down the stretch for Pope’s team.

Kentucky is going to need Johnson to get better down the stretch of the season, or it will be hard for the Wildcats to go on a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Jasper Johnson has all of the upside in the world, but he has to find it, and soon, or things could spiral for this team with a tough stretch of games to finish the season. The Wildcats will have to find a way to win in Auburn this weekend.