Tuesday night in Chicago was supposed to be the beginning of Mark Pope's redemption, and Kentucky basketball was supposed to be back. At the end of the night, the Wildcats had been blown out by Kansas 89-69, Pope had no answers, and Big Blue Nation was angry.
Kentucky started hot, but early foul trouble for Malachi Moreno led to a Kansas run that the Cats never recovered from. Milan Momcilovic never got going, and scored just 5 points. Alex Wilkins also struggled. Kentucky turned the ball over too much, failed to find any flow on offense, and even shot poorly from the free throw line. It was a performance reminiscent of last season's struggles against good non-conference teams.
It wasn't just the offense that struggled either. Kansas moved the ball
quickly, and Kentucky defenders simply couldn't keep up. Rotations were slow, and they were beaten repeatedly by cuts to the paint. Rebounding was also an issue.
Once the game was over, the Wildcats limped back to Kentucky with more questions than answers. Fans, however, wasted no time in expressing their ire at the way things played out. Here are some of the reactions on X.
Where was Milan Momcilovic?
Really trying to understand how our offensive minded head coach can’t create any looks whatsoever for Milan Momcilovic
— Big Blue Kodak (@bigbluekodakk) November 11, 2026
We paid Milan Momcilovic $7 million just to call zero plays to scheme him open.
— tanin smith #BBN (@TaninSmithKK) November 11, 2026
We go multiple possessions in a row without him touching the ball
Literal coaching malpractice. What an absolutely awful brand of basketball Pope has given us during his “prove it” year.
Milan Momcilovic with 1 shot is how you get down 10 at the half
— Mike Willis (@michael_willis1) November 11, 2026
Milan Momcilovic getting his first three of the night with 6 minutes to go is not winning UK a single basketball game in its gauntlet schedule
— Jenna Lifshen (@jensreporting) November 11, 2026
So Kentucky paid Milan Momcilovic 6 million to stand in the corner and not touch the ball once the last 10 minutes of the first half. They run no screens for him. He just stands there.
— Derek Flack (@BaseballCoach14) November 11, 2026
Mark Pope's seat is red hot
In his 75 games at Kentucky, Mark Pope has trailed by double digits in 27 of them.
— Mason Tucker (@masontuck) November 11, 2026
In his 52 power conference games he has trailed by double digits in 24 of them.
Listen y’all … I appreciate Mark Pope’s efforts and I will always respect his contributions as a player and his love for the program but it’s time to admit he’s not the man for the job. He needs to preserve a little dignity and step aside.
— George (@catfangeorge) November 11, 2026
I love Mark Pope...always said he should get a longer leash because he's an alumni and title winner....he seems like a genuine good dude. But that doesnt equal being the right fit for our coach. Losing two generational in state talents to KU is one thing. Last night is another.
— Jon Grace (@jonboy606) November 11, 2026
Yet another important game where Mark Pope is getting blown out. Don't know how you rally the troops in this one
— Locked On Kentucky (@LockedOnUK) November 11, 2026
If he keeps doing this, he won't be here next season.
Don’t know if I can do another full year of the Mark Pope no-clue-deer-in-the-headlights look at post game pressers
— Gavin (@BuriedTreys) November 11, 2026
Aside from the fact that they don’t have the defense to survive shooting 20% from 3
Looking like last year’ offense on way too many possessions
If Mark Pope really cares about Kentucky, he will resign before season's end to save the program some money towards the next coaching search.
— The Kentucky Logo (@TheKentuckyLogo) November 11, 2026
Mark Pope is 29-27 versus Power 5 schools at Kentucky
— The Kentucky Network (@KentuckyNet) November 11, 2026
How is he still employed?
11-2 run when Potter came in.
— . (@ColtsAndBBN) November 11, 2026
Mark Pope is getting fired in March and I’m so ready.
He made this program Indiana 2.0
The Mark Pope era is over.. This isn’t an overreaction, it’s the hard truth. You can see it in every play of this game. Kentucky doesn’t rebound, we don’t fight, we don’t hustle.
— Kentucky Pulse (@KentuckyPulse) November 11, 2026
This is one of the most talented Kentucky rosters in a while and Pope literally cannot and will not…
And a final word
Kentucky basketball ain’t exactly Kentucky-ing right now. Good lord this sucks. #BBN
— Adam Edelen (@adamhedelen) November 11, 2026
This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky fans express anger over Kansas loss on social media
