Mark Pope admitted his response to Kentucky’s loss in New York City just wasn’t good enough, matching the Wildcats’ performance against Michigan State. The second-year coach took forever to get to the podium, then gave uninspiring quotes before transitioning to depressed and downright pouty in appearances on postgame radio with Tom Leach and a quick chat with The Field of 68. He looked broken and lost on clear answers to get this fixed — if there were any, especially with Jaland Lowe’s long-term status in question.
His response Thursday when previewing Loyola (Md.) felt like a forced overcorrection, overly positive with no concern about this team’s ability to figure it out.