"It's unacceptable for us": Mark Pope calls out Kentucky’s lack of focus after Georgia dominates in upset victory

Mark Pope and the No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats suffered an 82-69 loss at the unranked Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday, as rebounds became a detriment to UK as Georgia exposed the Wildcats in that aspect of the game. The issue is one that the coach found to be unacceptable.

Georgia won the rebounding battle 41-34, but it was the offensive boards where the Bulldogs made their impact most, grabbing 13. Pope reflected on this area after the game, emphasizing the need for the team to regain their focus on the glass after allowing 13 or more offensive rebounds for the second straight game.

“Yeah, they had 15 today," Pope said. "And it’s back-to-back games where we gave up 15 offensive rebounds. And that’s, man, that’s a real bell we’ve got to ring. It’s unacceptable for us, and it’s ... a sign of distraction.”

Mark Pope, Kentucky fixing issues after Georgia loss

The loss to Georgia was tough for Mark Pope and the Wildcats (12-3, 1-1 Southeastern Conference).

Limited to 69 points, they shot 37.50%, including 24.0% from beyond the arc. Despite Kentucky getting a game-high 20 points from Lamont Butler, Georgia had balance on offense with four players scoring in double-digits as Asa Newell provided 17 points and seven rebounds.

“There were so many uncharacteristic plays on the court tonight," Pope said. "And those are, for us, as a deciding team, as a decision-making team, those are manifestations of some distraction.

"And us rooting that out and getting better at focusing on the moment, on the moment and exactly what’s happening, is especially important. So, we’re working on that really hard.”

Kentucky has lost two of its last four games. The Wildcats' offensive performance against Georgia (13-2, 1-1) was far from the 88.8 points they are averaging this season.

Six players are scoring more than nine points per game for the Wildcats. Otega Oweh leads the way with 15.7 points and 3.9 rebounds, while Butler puts up 142 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.1 rebounds.

Mark Pope and the No. 6 Wildcats will look to return to the win column when they visit No. 14 Mississippi State (14-1, 2-0) at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.