"Mark Pope should consider resigning" - Kentucky fans unhappy after John Calipari pulls off major upset with Arkansas in his homecoming

The Kentucky Wildcats under coach Mark Pope dropped their second consecutive game when they lost 89-79 at the Rupp Arena to the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday evening. The loss itself was more consequential since it came from former coach John Calipari, who shockingly resigned last April to take the Razorbacks' job.

During his postgame news conference, Pope, who replaced Calipari, revealed the mood of the Wildcats' dressing room and addressed the fan's booing when the game finished.

"My guys were really hurting in that locker room," Mark Pope said. "They know what this building means. They know what this jersey means. They see everything and hear everything. They know what matters. They're getting a (first-hand), up-close look at how much it means to the people they're playing for.

"If there's anything about tonight, it was just all kind of complicated, conflicting, upside down, twisted up feelings with everybody in BBN (Big Blue Nation). And certainly our guys had that come out of this game."

Kentucky fans who welcomed their new coach so warmly a few months ago when he replaced Calipari did not take too kindly to the loss to his predecessor.

"Yeah, I’m not interested in watching this UK team the rest of the year. Pope should actually consider resigning in his post game press conference. Defense was shit. Substitutions were shit. “Adjustments” were shit. Pope got OUTCOACHED by John Calipari at Rupp. Pathetic."

"Mark Pope if he wasn’t a Kentucky alum."

"Games over. Were cooked. Mark pope sucks. Team sucks. Cal wins."

Some fans placed the blame squarely at the popular Pope's feet.

"This was another disaster from Pope. Arkansas didn’t even do anything crazy, we just had no plan," one fan tweeted.

"You just don't lose these type of games at Rupp. Mark Pope deserves criticism for this," another fan tweeted.

"He’s too soft and inconsistent. There’s a reason he hasn’t won a tournament game," one fan tweeted.

Mark Pope gets John Calipari's support after loss

John Calipari was in the pressurized environment of being the Kentucky Wildcats coach for 15 years, amassing a 410-123 record during his tenure, including a national championship title in 2012. During his postgame news conference, he expressed his support for Pope, even admonishing fans who wanted him fired for the loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks.

"Mark Pope is doing a great job. Not a good job. A great job," John Calipari said. "Today? We kind of got them today. Just move on. Next game. This is one game. And if anybody takes it (as) more than that? You're crazy. It's one game."

The loss to the Razorbacks was a huge upset, especially since Arkansas has a patchy record this season, 13-6 overall and 2-6 in Southeastern Conference play versus Kentucky's 15-6 overall and 4-4 in SEC play.

If there's anyone who knows about the pressures of being the coach of a blue blood program like the Kentucky Wildcats, it's John Calipari, and the loss to the former coach will have done the current coach no favors among the Big Blue Nation.