Although it's only his second year on the job, Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope is slowly losing the fan base's trust.
Big Blue Nation was hoping Kentucky would upset Florida in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. However, the Gators took care of business with a 71-63 win over the Wildcats. Denzel Aberdeen, Mouhamed Dioubate and Otega Oweh stepped up at times, but it wasn't enough to pull off the upset.
Despite falling to 21-13 on the season, Pope promised Kentucky fans that his team will play better in the NCAA Tournament.
"I thought our guys, even though we didn’t play well, you can sense your team as they’re just grinding away and trying to find answers, if their focus is present or if they’re stuck in what just happened," Pope said, via On3.
"If we can carry that with us, we have a chance. We’ll play way better than this. We’ll play so much better than this. I have no doubt. If we can hang on to that ability to focus for 40 minutes on just trying to find answers, we’re going to make a great run.
Empty promises?
Judging by the responses online, Kentucky fans aren't convinced Pope's squad will turn things around for the NCAA Tournament.
"Promises promises. We have heard it like 13 times this season. Same story……we will learn from this….they don't," a Kentucky fan replied.
"Love Pope but bro has literally said this near every game and surprise it’s March there is no getting better anymore," a second fan commented.
"I wish he would just acknowledge our faults and our failures instead of trying to sugarcoat everything," another fan wrote on social media. "We watch every second of every game. Every postgame interview. We've heard these promises before. Something has to change with our preparation for these big games. Has to."
Mark Pope says Kentucky is going to play a lot better than this. pic.twitter.com/63NkLvU2UJ
— KSR (@KSRonX) March 14, 2026
Pope led Kentucky to a 24-12 record and a Sweet 16 appearance last season. There's no question an early exit would result in fans calling for his job.
The official bracket for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament will be released on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on CBS.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi currently has Kentucky as the No. 7 seed in the East Region.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Mar 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Basketball section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.