"It's time to enter your villain era": Fans pounce on Mark Pope after Georgia pulls off major Kentucky upset

After their emphatic win over Florida, Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats came crashing back to earth on Tuesday, losing 82-69 to unranked Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum. Four players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs, who recorded a victory against a top-10 team for the first time in five years.

The Wildcats had no answer for Asa Newell, who scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half. Georgia led the entire period after halftime to improve its record to 13-2. The Wildcats dropped to 12-3 following the defeat, losing for the second time in four games.

Kentucky fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to blast Pope for the Wildcats' disappointing showing against Georgia.

"Mark Pope is not the answer. My 8-year-old son just drank a bottle of vodka I was saving for when Pope won a national championship. He’s so upset. Calipari would have won this game. I’m canceling my Blue Chew NIL donations because of this!" one fan wrote.

"Mark Pope you gotta get mean. It’s time to enter your villain era," one fan shared.

Here are some other reactions.

"Preference thing but I truly wouldn’t mind to see Mark Pope tearing into some referees like they deserve it usually," one fan posted.

"Lost by 13 to an unranked Georgia team. Pope with that false hope, Kentucky is back. The refs screwed us, another first week exit……again and again and again and again," one fan ranted.

"Also, I would die for Mark Pope so this isn’t a slanderous post. I just want to see him realize that this isn’t BYU or the same as it was in 96. He needs to get angry about the officiating at some point or they will keep calling fouls against us knowing that they won’t have to deal with an angry head coach. Imagine how many calls Auburn gets away with because the refs know that Bruce Pearl will hurt their feelings more than their kindergarten bully," one fan commented.

Free throw disparity dooms Mark Pope's Kentucky in loss to Georgia

Free throws proved to be the difference in this contest with Georgia recording 19 more attempts and scoring 14 more points at the charity stripe than No. 6 Kentucky. The Bulldogs shot 29-for-38 from the free-throw line, while the Wildcats made 15 of their 19 free-throw attempts.

Andrew Carr (#7) talks with Kentucky head coach Mark Pope during the game against the Florida Gators at Rupp Arena on January 4, 2025. Photo: Getty

Kentucky struggled with foul trouble against Georgia. Four Wildcats players picked up four fouls each, including starters Andrew Carr, Amari Williams and Jaxson Robinson. Their offensive production suffered as a result with the trio combining for just 13 points.