When Mark Pope took over at Kentucky, he talked about unleashing a modern, high-octane offense-one that would let it fly from deep, run the floor with pace, and lean into the analytics-driven shot profile that defines today’s game. Think 35 to 40 three-point attempts per night, spacing the floor, and keeping opposing defenses in constant scramble mode.
But against Indiana? That vision was nowhere to be seen.
The Wildcats attempted just 15 threes, connecting on only three. The pace slowed, the spacing shrunk, and the offense looked like a shell of what was promised back in the spring.
So what happened? Did Indiana’s defense blow up the blueprint?
Did Pope scrap the plan midstream?
Not exactly. According to Pope, the issue wasn’t schematic-it was psychological.
“We are tight. We are tight,” Pope said postgame, pulling no punches.
“We only shot 15 threes today… We are tight. It’s okay.
That’s actually a part of basketball.”
It wasn’t a coach hiding behind X’s and O’s. It was a coach speaking plainly, even vulnerably, about where his team is right now. And that honesty extended even further as he addressed what many coaches avoid.
“I don’t love the players, like I go make fun of a guy because you got nervous and you got scared,” Pope continued. “There’s those guys that’s like, ‘Nah, I never get scared.’
C’mon man, what are we talking about. We all get scared, we all get nervous - own it and let’s grow from it.”
This wasn’t about calling players soft. It was about calling the moment what it is: a team feeling the weight of expectations, a losing streak, and the pressure of playing in front of a fan base that expects greatness every night.
You could see it in the way Kentucky passed up open looks. That split-second hesitation-the kind that turns a clean shot into a rushed one or a missed opportunity-was there. And while sometimes that caution helps avoid bad shots, it can also mean leaving good ones on the table.
But here’s the key: Pope isn’t panicking. He’s not overhauling the offense or abandoning the identity he laid out months ago. Instead, he’s leaning into the grind.
Against Indiana, Kentucky shot just 38% from the field and 20% from three. But they clawed their way to a win by dominating the offensive glass, forcing turnovers, and getting to the free-throw line. It was gritty, it was ugly-and it worked.
Pope called it a “gross” win. And he meant that in the best way possible.
“We will be relentless and we will will ourselves into playing some great basketball,” he said. “If we do that enough, then all of a sudden we are going to have some belief that we can win this way and things are going to loosen up a little bit.”
Translation: right now, it’s not about looking like the slick, high-volume shooting team Pope wants them to be. It’s about stacking wins, even if they’re messy. It’s about building confidence, one possession at a time, until the offense starts flowing again.
Shooter’s slumps are often treated as individual problems. Pope is approaching this as a collective mental block. And by calling it what it is-tightness, nerves, fear-he’s giving his team a path forward.
Eventually, for Kentucky to reach its ceiling, they’ll need to rediscover the offensive identity Pope brought with him. But on this night, they proved they can beat a quality opponent even when the shots aren’t falling, even when they’re not playing loose or free.
The bigger question now: does Pope’s honesty give his players the space to exhale, reset, and start shooting like the team he believes they can be? Time will tell. But if nothing else, Kentucky showed they can fight through the fog-and that’s a pretty good place to start.