Through 15 games, Kentucky finds itself with a 9-6 record, including an 0-2 mark in Southeastern Conference play. While some teams might feel like they were already in a huge hole, UK head coach Mark Pope knows that this particular team will continue to work hard in fixing what ails them.
“There’s no time for indulging and feeling terrible,” Pope said. “We raise up, and we get to work and we find answers and that’s actually where the great part of life comes from. Answering the bell when everybody thinks you can’t do it, shouldn’t do it, won’t do it, aren’t going to do it. Most people are too scared to go there. We are not.”
Kentucky fell to Missouri 73-68 on Wednesday night at Rupp Arena. The Tigers closed the game on a 15-2 run to snatch the victory away from the Cats. When Pope was asked if his team was suffering from mental fatigue, he balked at that notion.
“I think everybody has mental fatigue everywhere right now, if you’re putting your whole heart and soul into it,” Pope said. “It’s our job to not let that have any impact on today or yesterday or tomorrow. One of the things I love about sports is it teaches you that it teaches you. It doesn’t matter how bad things get. You can’t go back and rewrite what happened. You can just write the end of the story.”
The Cats have another opportunity to change that narrative on Saturday night when they host Mississippi State at Rupp Arena (8:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network). The Bulldogs are 10-5 this season, but have won their first two SEC games, beating Texas in Austin and Oklahoma in Starkville. Guard Josh Hubbard leads the Bulldogs, and the SEC, in scoring, averaging 23 points per game.
Kentucky has its next opportunity to right the ship on Saturday and the Cats are working hard to make that happen.
