Three things that must improve from last season to this year for Mark Pope and Kentucky

Kentucky has to improve in these areas of the game next season.

Mar 11, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope yells to his team against the Louisiana State Tigers during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

It is fair to say that last season didn’t go as planned for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats. The expectations heading into the season were through the roof, but things didn’t work out, and injuries did play a large role in this. Now, Coach Pope has put together a new roster for the 2026-27 season, and once again, the expectations will be high for Kentucky.

Knowing it didn’t go great for the Wildcats last season, let's discuss three things Mark Pope and his team need to improve this year from last year.

Mark Pope has to make these three adjustments from last season to this year

Getting off to hotter starts

Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts to a play during the first half against the Iowa State Cyclones during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The most frustrating thing about last year’s team is how they always dug themselves into a really big hole. There were times when Pope’s team was able to crawl out of this hole to come back and win, but more times than not, they weren’t able to mount a comeback. Playing from behind is not fun, and the Wildcats have got to do a better job of getting out to hotter starts this season. Eventually, the Wildcats will see a big deficit this season, and I hope they will mount a comeback, but fans don’t want to see this become an often-occurrence this season.

Shooting the three better

Mar 27, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) reacts in the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers during a Sweet Sixteen game of the Midwest Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Heading into last season, Big Blue Nation had its fair share of concerns with the three-point shooting the team had, and this ended up being a big issue. The only really reliable shooter the Wildcats had was Collin Chandler. The team as a whole shot 34.1% from deep. For a Pope team to be successful, these numbers need to be much better. The hope is that the shooting on this season's team will be much better, and adding Milan Momcilovic, the best shooter in the nation, is a big help.

No scoring droughts

Mar 19, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope speaks during an interview at the practice session ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

Another issue for Kentucky last season was the scoring droughts. Countless times, BBN would see the graphic pop up on the screen showing the Wildcats hadn’t scored in a long time, and this became very frustrating. This year’s team needs to be able to end these droughts quickly, and if this happens, it will also help keep them out of big holes. It is hard to win a game when you aren’t scoring the ball, and Pope’s Wildcats need to avoid these droughts this season.

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