"Our default is still bad habits": Mark Pope says he will "lose sleep" after a 20-point loss against Ohio State at MSG

NCAA Basketball: CBS Sports Classic-Ohio State at Kentucky - Source: Imagn
Mark Pope isn't happy after losing to Ohio State (Image via Imagn)

Mark Pope and the fourth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats suffered a shocking, 85-65 blowout loss to the unranked Ohio State Buckeyes at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. And he was visibly upset after the game.

"We’re going to get better. ... We’ve just got to keep trusting what we do," Pope said. "We had some defensive struggles tonight, and we just fell to pieces offensively. And we just went to our default, and our default is not right yet. Our default is still bad habits.
"And it’s not bad habits coming out of a bad place in guys’ hearts. It’s coming from a great place. It’s coming from a desperation to help their team. But we don’t do that by ourselves, and we do it by discipline, and we do it the way we do it, by making plays for each other and that’s still not our default, and that’s just a trust-building process.
"We’re going to lose a lot of sleep over this, man. It’s really hard to go into a break this way. We will lose a ton of sleep, but we just have to translate that into great, constructive work with us getting better."
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Mark Pope and Kentucky lose to the Buckeyes 85-65 in New York

Mark Pope and his Kentucky Wildcats (10-2) endured a rough night, losing 85-65 to Ohio State in New York. Despite the setback, Pope remains optimistic about his team's ability to bounce back and use the experience as a turning point in their season.

"We have an incredible group of players," Pope said. "They’re smart, resilient, and I’m confident they’ll respond in a big way. If we handle this right, this loss could become a defining moment that helps us grow and improve."

The outcome was a worst-case scenario for Mark Pope and Kentucky. The Wildcats entered riding the momentum of a stellar start to the season. However, they left New York with a humbling loss to an Ohio State (8-4) team that had been struggling, having lost to No. 2 Auburn by 38 points just a week earlier and to Maryland by 24 points 10 days earlier.

Kentucky’s performance was uncharacteristically poor on both ends of the court. They shot a season-low 29.8%, managing only 18.2% from beyond the arc. Defensively, the Wildcats struggled to contain Ohio State, which controlled the tempo from the opening tip to the final buzzer.

The loss leaves Mark Pope and Kentucky with 10 days to regroup before their next game against Brown on New Year’s Eve — their final nonconference matchup before beginning SEC play against No. 7 Florida on Jan. 4 at Rupp Arena.

The team will take a short break to spend time with their families before returning to Lexington on Dec. 26.

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Edited by Joseph Schiefelbein
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