LEXINGTON — On the day Will Stein’s honeymoon began, Mark Pope’s honeymoon crashed out for good.
Kentucky’s new football coach received a thunderous standing ovation inside Rupp Arena after the first media timeout as the No. 18 Wildcats took on No. 16 North Carolina on Tuesday night in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
When the basketball coach pulled his headphones off and stood up from his postgame radio show more than three hours later, he received a sympathetic golf clap from the few dozen fans still remaining. Not many stayed past midnight in freezing temperatures to hear Pope try and explain what went wrong in a 67-64 loss to the Tar Heels.
A crowd of 20,029 didn’t need postgame commentary to understand how Kentucky fell to 5-3 with the first nonconference home defeat of Pope’s tenure. The issues were obvious and too abundant to fully address in a postgame radio show interrupted by frequent commercial breaks.
North Carolina crushed UK on the offensive glass, leading to a 22-5 deficit in second-chance points for the Wildcats. UK hit just 1 of 13 attempts from beyond the arc, its fewest 3-point makes in a game since the 2020-21 season, when it finished 9-16.
The Wildcats went over 10 minutes without a field goal in the second half and finished with just eight assists, tied for its fewest in a game under Pope.
Defensively, UK deserves credit for holding its own and making life hard on North Carolina freshman phenom Caleb Wilson, who finished just 5 of 19 from the floor. But a passable defensive effort fell apart late as UNC hit 5 of 7 shots from the floor over the final four minutes.
It wasn’t Wilson who killed them in the end. It was lesser-heralded UNC freshman Derek Dixon, who made two go-ahead buckets in the final minute while logging a career-high 24 minutes in his first true road game.
“It’s just great for our growth as a young team,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said.
The Tar Heels have added some early fortification to their resume with wins over Kansas and a road win over Kentucky. Their ledger stands in stark contrast to UK’s, which features no wins over teams ranked in the top 200 of the NET.
The Wildcats are now 0-3 against high-major opposition with a Friday night showdown in Nashville against No. 11 Gonzaga looming. Soon after come tests against No. 22 Indiana and No. 23 St. John’s.
“There’s no safety net right now,” Pope said. “We just have to get better.”
In terms of schedule, Pope is spot on. There is no safety net. However, there is cautious and hopeful insurance of sorts in terms of Kentucky’s roster, as three projected starters could return from injury in the weeks ahead.
Point guard Jaland Lowe has played in just two games amid shoulder issues, and gritty forward Mo Dioubate has missed the past three games with an ankle injury. Getting either or both back would be a boost.
But arguably the most important piece is center Jayden Quaintance, who is still working his way back from a knee injury that ended his freshman season at Arizona State last year. The towering sophomore could be one of the best rim protectors in college basketball if he returns.
Freshman center Malachi Moreno is showing plenty of promise and appears to have a bright college basketball future. But a healthy Quaintance likely would have erased Dixon’s go-ahead layup with 16.7 seconds left. The shot just narrowly cleared Moreno’s outstretched hand and banked in, sending a hush over Rupp Arena.
Quaintance, who averaged 2.6 blocks last season, would have sent it into the stands.
A year ago, Wildcats fans stayed patient amid some rough patches because Pope beat Duke in November and took down Gonzaga and Louisville in December. When the tough times came, there was proof of concept to fall back on, and the ugly performances usually had injury-related explanations.
In spite of a poor run of health, Kentucky still managed to defeat a record eight top-15 opponents and earn a No. 3 seed for the NCAA Tournament. A Sweet 16 loss to Tennessee may have ended the honeymoon for some, but many UK fans saw the 2024-25 season for what it was: a promising debut campaign filled with marquee victories that showed Pope’s schematic chops and ability to galvanize a hobbled roster.
The 2025-26 season has provided him an opportunity to re-create every aspect of what made his first season so good. There have been marquee opponents to slay, injuries to navigate and complex schematic webs to untangle. So far, the Wildcats have failed in every aspect.
Against North Carolina, the best reminder of last season’s good vibes came not from the basketball team but from the football coach, whose brief appearance was a reminder of those sweet honeymoon vibes and just how fast they fade.
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