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Kentucky

Mark Pope blasts Kentucky for 'debacle' of final 10 minutes of first half vs. Vanderbilt

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•about 24 hours•

BarkleyTruax

Mark Pope
© Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Kentucky trailed Vanderbilt 41-27 at halftime on Saturday after being outscored 23-11 during the final 10 minutes of the first half.

The Wildcats would waste no time closing that gap in the second half, but the run by the Commodores to close the first 20 minutes proved to be too much for Kentucky to come back against in the end. Head coach Mark Pope explained what went wrong for the Wildcats down the stretch.

“Credit to Vanderbilt for turning up the heat,” Pope said of the first-half stretch. “Kind of in the flow of the game, we were really solid with (Vanderbilt guard Jason Edwards) going early, aside from that we were really solid both ends of the floor. The game had a flow to it, and then we started getting punished a little bit on the offensive glass.

“Disappointing that that happened. And then, their pressure kind of kicked in. The second 10 minutes of the first half was a debacle. But I wasn’t disappointed with how our guys started. I was good focus … I wish we had an answer to (Edwards) earlier, but still the flow of the game was okay.”

Edwards finished the game with 18 points, 11 of which came in the first half. He was complemented by Devin McGlockton‘s 14-point, six-rebound performance, along with a combined 21 points from Tyler Nickel and Jaylen Carey. The duo combined for five of Vanderbilt’s 12-made 3-pointers against the Wildcats.

The loss continues more than one negative trend for Kentucky. Their struggled on the road continue and are now 1-3 in such matchups. Also having totaled 69 points during the matchup — it’s just the fifth time this season that Mark Pope’s squad has scored less than 70 points during the 2024-25 season. With a 14-5 record overall, Kentucky is 0-5 when they fail to reach that 70-point threshold.

Kentucky has now lost its last two matchups and will not have tasted victory in two weeks by the time they travel to Knoxville on Tuesday night to take on a No. 6 Tennessee. The Vols are undefeated at home so far this season.

Regardless of the outcome, the Wildcats will have to get their minds right in short order, and John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks are headed to Rupp Arena for a highly-anticipated reunion between the two parties.