Kentucky’s Mark Pope caught on hot mic blasting SEC officials originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope had no chill Saturday night after a hot mic captured his remarks following his team’s 75-74 loss to Auburn.
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Auburn snapped a five-game losing streak with the victory, scoring the final four points of the game, including a putback basket with 1.2 seconds remaining.
The Wildcats (17-10) were whistled for 19 fouls in a contest that featured 33 combined infractions. The most pivotal came with 14 seconds left, when Kentucky’s Collin Chandler was called for a foul while attempting to inbound the ball after Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford had trimmed the lead to 74-73 with two free throws.
Kentucky led 39-35 at halftime before being outscored 40-35 over the final 20 minutes. This was a third straight loss for the Wildcats.
In his postgame press conference, Pope stopped short of criticizing officials directly.
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“I’m not allowed to comment on the referees, I won’t comment on the referees,” Pope said. “We don’t make excuses. Regardless of what is happening, regardless of how disgraceful things are, we don’t give away our power.”
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Right after he stepped away from the podium, mics in the press room picked up Pope addressing to UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart.
“Mitch, if those f—— try to fine me, screw ’em,” Pope said. “I did not say a word about how they cheated us.”
Auburn improved to 15-12 as it looks to build momentum entering the regular season’s final stretch.
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