Kentucky coach Mark Pope says fans' boos were 'extremely well-deserved' after 35-point beatdown from Gonzaga
- - Kentucky coach Mark Pope says fans' boos were 'extremely well-deserved' after 35-point beatdown from Gonzaga
Jack BaerDecember 6, 2025 at 5:13 AM
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It's been a nightmare start for Kentucky so far. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) (Michael Hickey via Getty Images)
No. 18 Kentucky was already one of the most disappointing teams in the country. Then it lost a home game by 35 points.
The dam broke on Friday for the Wildcats, who entered a game against No. 11 Gonzaga with a 5-3 record and exited with a 5-4 record. The final score: 94-59, a 35-point thumping.
The game started badly and ended badly for Kentucky. Gonzaga began the game with a 19-2 run and was up 43-20 at halftime. As the Wildcats players began the trek to the locker room, the fans at Rupp Arena showered them with boos.
Both the score and the jeering aren't a common sight at Kentucky home games.
Yeesh pic.twitter.com/QKkAOH8mLb
— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) December 6, 2025
Kentucky getting booed off the court trailing 43-20 at halftime pic.twitter.com/KJYDzYTAiz
— Tyler Russell (@TylerJRuss) December 6, 2025
The second half was no better. Overall, Kentucky was 16-of-60 from the field (27%) and got outrebounded 43-31. Gonzaga, meanwhile, shot 36-of-63 (57%) and was 9-of-18 from 3-point range. Graham Ike led all players with 28 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes.
After the game, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope said his team deserved the boos, with himself the most deserving:
"We've diminished into a bad spot right now and we have to dig ourselves out of it. It's going to be an internal group thing and we feel the responsibility we have to this university and this fanbase. All the boos we heard tonight were incredibly well-deserved, mostly from me. We have to fix it."
Kentucky began the season ranked No. 9 in the country after going 24-12 in Pope's first season. To bolster last year's group, the Wildcats spent big on a transfer class that included Arzona State's Jayden Quantance, Pitt's Jaland Lowe, Florida's Denzel Aberdeen and Alabama's Mouhamed Diabate. The reported price tag for the roster: $22 million.
It seemed like a formidable group if Pope could get all the new talent on the same page, but the team has now lost all four of its games against ranked opponents. The Louisville loss was embarrassing. The Michigan State game was out of reach the entire second half. The UNC loss was a gut punch.
And now, a 35-point loss, at home. Don't expect them to ranked come Monday.
To be fair, health has not been on Kentucky's side so far. Quaintance, a lottery pick-level talent, is still recovering from a torn ACL and Dioubate missed his fourth straight game due to a sprained ankle. Lowe returned from a shoulder injury Friday and posted zero points on 0-of-5 shooting from the bench.
Still, Kentucky teams, even short-handed ones, aren't supposed to lose by 30-plus. The program is a blue blood, with immense resources and expectations to match. Pope seems well aware of that, and his program will get two more shots against ranked opponents this month — home games against No. 22 Indiana and No. 23 St. John's — before conference play starts in the new year.
Source: “AOL Sports”
