Mark Pope says last ten days put an 'emotional toll' on this Kentucky team

The Kentucky Wildcats went through some hard times in their three game losing streak over the past week.

Feb 24, 2026; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope directs his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

This Kentucky basketball team found themselves riding high following a streak where they won eight of nine games. But, they followed that up by dropping three-straight. One was to the clear top team in the SEC, Florida, who they came without single-digits in the final minute from a too-little-too-late comeback attempt. Then, they dropped two games to desperate teams who needed a win to keep their tournament hopes alive.

That's why Tuesday's win over South Carolina was so important: To get a little sigh of relief. Kentucky found themselves in a dangerous must-win spot against the Gamecocks, as a loss would have not only put them as likely playing on Wednesday of the SEC Tournament, but also put question marks surrounding their NCAA Tournament hopes. But, they got a huge burden lifted off of their shoulders, and you can tell it means a lot to this team to get a win under their belt again.

Following the much-needed victory, Mark Pope spoke about just how mentally exhausting the last ten days have been. The Wildcats came close late against Florida, stunned at home against Georgia, and blew a late lead at Auburn that included a very controversial call with 14 seconds left that had Pope visibly frustrated after the game. Here is what Pope had to say about the challenges the past week has brought upon he and his team, where he admitted it had an impact on Tuesday's game.

"I do think there's an emotional toll on our guys," Pope said. "You know, a couple games, and then the game Saturday, the way it finished, I think really we spent more time trying to purge ourselves and refresh ourselves from the energy of the last ten days than we did really on prep for the game in terms of X's and O's. And we do that with some success, with enough success, and we'll work hard to get our juice up to peak, peak, peak level for a massive game on Saturday."

Feb 24, 2026; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Jasper Johnson (2) steals the ball from South Carolina Gamecocks guard Mike Sharavjamts (55) during the first half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

How did Pope's team manage all that has transpired over the last week in their performance on Tuesday? It wasn't pretty, but their response proved to be there in the end.

"I felt like as hard as these guys tried to free themselves of all the energy of the last ten days or so, it's hard because it's emotionally wearing and taxing and and then things like the energy in the gym, certainly contribute to that. But I thought our guys managed it really well."

It certainly took time for their juice to get going on Tuesday. Although they had a seven-point lead at half, it was still very ugly, thanks to poor shooting and turnovers, not to mention allowing four threes early to South Carolina. Then, it took them a really long time to turn things around in the second half as despite holding the lead for the entire time, they still let a bad team creep back within two points multiple times. They used a 10-0 run in the final two minutes to help pull away with the win.

They will certainly need to bring a much better level of basketball back to Rupp Arena on Saturday if they want a chance to knock off No. 25 Vandy and avoid the regular season sweep against them as they also work to stay away from playing on Wednesday in the SEC Tournament.