Mark Pope says Kentucky's offense looked 'paralyzed' against Gonzaga

Pope says he and his team will continue to search for answers on both ends.

Dec 5, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Trent Noah (9) drives to the basket against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Kentucky found themselves left without answers during Friday night's blowout loss to Gonzaga. From the opening tip, the Wildcats were outworked in every facet of the game. From a stagnant offense with no movement or even effort, one that was left searching for ways to create some sort of offense, but the answers never came. Then, on the defensive end, Kentucky had no answers for Gonzaga's starting big men, who torched them in different ways all night.

It was an embarrassing performance, something Kentucky fans can say they've seen happen multiple times already this season. Kentucky shot 16-60 for the entire game, hitting more free throws than actual shots from anywhere on the court, going 20-26 from the free throw line. That's an embarrassing stat, but Kentucky's offense just couldn't find any flow, with a lot of possessions ending with forced shots due to constant passing around the perimeter, in search of someone to take over and get a bucket. No one did that.

Mark Pope was asked about Kentucky's very slow start, where it took them nearly 9 minutes before they made their first field goal. He says his team looked 'paralyzed' on offense, and he's certainly right. Not much was going on offensively for the Wildcats, literally. Kentucky had a number of different scoring droughts throughout the game, especially early, that were a microcosm of how the Wildcats performed.

"It felt like we came out and I think the guys were really trying to be physical," Pope said of his team going into the game. "I think they were really trying to get contact, and I felt like we were really physical (to start) but we were really tentative, and that's something we got to figure out, almost like we got ourselves in a space where we were paralyzed offensively, so it was, you know, I don't have a lot more than that right now."

What makes their offensive performance even worse is the fact that it translated over to defense, being a step slow getting back in transition, but mostly containing their big men, who was an absolute headache for the Wildcats to deal with, as they combined for 48 points and Gonzaga went on to get 46 points from the paint on the night. Pope has to continue finding answers and can have all the conversations he wants with his team, but it's ultimately up to his players to execute and even just give effort. It's concerning, because not even the fans booing throughout the game could get them going to try and perform for their fansNational folks are even catching on to the team's lack of effort and response.

It was an ugly night, but it started with Kentucky's very, very poor offensive performance. Kentucky clearly has an identity and effort problem, and their offense has hurt because of it.