Recapping everything Mark Pope said after Kentucky suffers major Ole Miss upset

Mark Pope's No. 14 Kentucky suffered another back-to-back loss after Sunday's 84-98 upset defeat to No. 25 Ole Miss. The Wildcats had previously lost 79-89 to Arkansas in John Calipari's return to Rupp Arena.

Following the game, coach Pope addressed the media and shared his thoughts on the team's performance.

"They're a really good defense, and they do a nice job," Pope said. "I think they're one or two in our league right now, and their switching was problematic for us. It was hard for us to find a rhythm."

The Wildcats still managed to shoot 50% from the field, 47.6% from beyond the arc and also outrebounded the Rebels 37-29.

"For us, the biggest frustration we're feeling right now is on the defensive end, and I'm doing a poor job of finding answers to that right now," the coach added.

Mark Pope accepted the blame for the team’s struggles, saying he needed to figure out ways to help the players be more of a presence

"It's poor, it's poor, poor," he continued. "My guys are playing hard. I'm doing a poor job with our team defensively right now, and that's a credit to Ole Miss. It's a real issue for me."

It was Kentucky's fourth loss in the last five games — a stretch that poses huge concerns for the Wildcats. They concluded the nonconference slate on a high note with just two defeats, but have nosedived in SEC play.

One of the major issues has been the team's turnovers, as they coughed up the ball eight times against Ole Miss, leading to nine points.

Mark Pope reflects on team's efforts to build pace

Despite the blowout loss at SJB Pavilion against the Rebels, Mark Pope did acknowledge some positives from his team's performance.

"Our lack of pace right now has been a little bit troublesome for us, Pope said postgame (1:59). "We're trying to work on a lot of things and so our pace is suffering right now and that hurts us a little bit. But yeah that's certainly a sign of of something we like to do better with."

Kentucky sits at the bottom half of the SEC standings with a 4-5 conference record. Fans are already growing frustrated and calling for Pope's job after the subpar stretch of performances.

Mark Pope and the Wildcats will host South Carolina (10-12, 0-9 SEC) on Saturday to try and get back in the win column.