Lexington’s Rupp Arena was pretty loud with boos against the home team, the Kentucky Wildcats, despite their narrow one-point victory (78-77) over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
This is because Mark Pope’s Kentucky lost to the Kansas Jayhawks in the Champions Classic earlier this week. Friday’s win wasn’t satisfying either. The video below shows the crowd’s strong reaction at Rupp Arena after Kentucky’s narrow win.
Despite leading by 13 points in the first half, Kentucky allowed Northern Arizona to fight back, and the road team even took a four-point lead in the final minute. However, after Northern Arizona missed the front end of a one-and-one, Alex Wilkins knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer with two seconds left.
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The decisive shot saved Kentucky from a major embarrassment. They were 30-point favorites entering this matchup, and the one-point victory raises more concerns than optimism in Lexington. Wilkins, Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno finished with 14 points each. Moreno also had six rebounds and six assists in the win. On the other hand, Northern Arizona guard Chris Komin was the top scorer with 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting, including 5-of-8 from the 3-point line.
Mark Pope Had An Interesting Response to Kentucky’s Win Against Northern Arizona
Mark Pope had an interesting response when asked about his message to Lexington fans after a one-point win over Northern Arizona.
“I hope everybody at Rupp had fun, like, it was a pretty exciting game,” Pope told reporters via On3. “You saw a Northern Arizona team that was playing great basketball, and a Kentucky team that was trying to find themselves, and it came down to the last second, and it’s pretty entertaining, if not well executed, and I think this would be a fun team to follow.”
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Pope is content with his team, finding ways to win in the end, apart from the 20-point loss to Kansas in the Champions Classic. However, that may not be enough for Rupp Arena, which expected a blowout win on Friday night.
Pope’s job has come into focus, especially after the 20-point loss against the Jayhawks this week. After finishing in the Sweet 16 and the Round of 32 in the past two NCAA Tournaments, respectively, Pope is firmly on the hot seat.
Kentucky basketball resumes Monday with a game against Grambling State in Rupp Arena.
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