"Hurts me to the bottom of my heart": Kentucky HC Mark Pope clears the air on Auburn's "belt" celebration

Kentucky coach Mark Pope addressed the No. 1 Auburn Tigers' viral celebration following their win over the Wildcats. For the first time in nearly 40 years, the Tigers marched into Rupp Arena and emerged victorious, handing the home team a 94-78 defeat on Saturday.

In the aftermath of the dominant road win, Auburn players celebrated by passing around what appeared to be a leather belt — seemingly mimicking the act of a physical beating on the floor, which featured Kentucky’s logo. The celebration drew significant backlash from fans and media members.

Here's a video of the "belt" celebration shared by analyst Vince Wolfram on X:

During Pope’s UK HealthCare radio show on Monday, he was asked about the controversial celebration.

"I'm not sure what I'm allowed to say," he said, initially hesitant to directly address the situation. "I'm looking around like someone's going to tell me what I'm allowed to say right now."

However, Mark Pope eventually opened up about his feelings, making it clear that he was not a fan of the celebration.

"It hurts me to the bottom of my heart," Pope said. "I know it hurts BBN. But Auburn came in and they beat us and they got to celebrate. That's it."

"If you don't want guys celebrating, then win the game. It's as simple as that. I don't like talking about it, I don't like remembering it, I don't like seeing it, but it's the truth."

Mark Pope and Kentucky win final home game against LSU

Despite a tough loss to the regular-season champions, the Wildcats bounced back against LSU, winning their last home game of the regular season 95-64 at Rupp Arena.

Mark Pope's team was looking to end its home campaign on a high note and strengthen its résumé ahead of the SEC and NCAA Tournament. Kentucky came out firing, opening up a 15-2 lead in the first five minutes.

They Wildcats hounded LSU’s defense and carried a 27-point lead into intermission. Although the Tigers tried to fight back in the second half, their early deficit was too much to overcome as Kentucky secured a convincing win.

Kentucky's junior guard Otega Oweh was the standout performer, pouring in a game-high 24 points on an efficient 9-for-11 shooting while adding eight rebounds and three assists. The win improved Kentucky’s record to 20-10 overall (9-8 SEC).