Mark Pope talks Kentucky's response to technical fouls against Arkansas

Kentucky showed fight after their late-game technical fouls against Arkansas.

Jan 31, 2026; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope separates players during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Kentucky won 85-77. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

As they have for much of this season, Kentucky was faced with plenty of adversity in their 85-77 win at Arkansas on Saturday night. The Wildcats actually started this one off hot, going up as much as 13 in the first haf before taking a seven-point lead into halftime. Then, the second half came, where things got very chippy.

In the span of 38 seconds, from 14:49 to the 14:11 mark of the second half, Kentucky was given three technical fouls that helped Arkansas take the lead, but what happened after that had every Wildcat fan proud of their team. Kentucky responded with a 5-0 run to regain the lead where they never gave it up from then on. The Wildcats stretched their lead to as much as 10 points from that point and on, really taking advantage and playing into the hands of how the game was called with so many fouls.

Kentucky responded and showed fight on the road after getting three technicals called on them. They could have folded in an environment that got extremely loud after those fouls, but they used it as fuel. Mark Pope talked after the game about his team's incredible resiliency and what emotions were flowing during and after those fouls, which turned out to be the turning point in the game.

"What I loved about that stretch is the guys' fight and determination," Pope said of Kentucky's response after the three technical fouls. "Even with the three techs happening back to back to back, I felt like it was coming from exactly the right place in our team that we are searching for that core of fight and undaunted competitive spirit and it just overflowed a tiny bit, but we felt right. The techs were after, like, really extraordinarily competitive plays and so we definitely have to be a little more disciplined, but I actually the gym felt good at that point. It felt like, man, these guys are here to fight. So yes, we can clean up a little bit, but I wouldn't trade the heart of it for anything."

That's what Kentucky showed when things looked to be going sideways is heart. They had a lot of it down the stretch on Saturday and it's what helped them pull away in the final minutes.