Kentucky Basketball suffers one of its worst NCAA Tournament losses of all time

The Kentucky Wildcats’ season has come to an end as they were throttled by Iowa State by a final score of 82-63. A terrible second half resulted in a historic loss for Mark Pope’s squad.

The Wildcats suffered their worst NCAA Tournament loss since 1971 (107-83 vs. Western Kentucky) and their second-worst in program history. Just another brutal statistic that has piled up on Pope’s resume at the helm for the Wildcats, which now includes 26 losses over a two-year span.

Advertisement

It was a tough last 20 minutes for the Wildcats as they were outscored 51-33 by the Cyclones, who were led by Tamin Lipsey, who had 26 points, a game-high in Sunday evening’s matchup.

The Cyclones showed no mercy against the Wildcats, who had 20 turnovers, a season high for the team. Their swarming defense and constant pressure really affected the Cats’ half-court offense and challenged their depth as the guards found themselves in foul trouble.

A brutal loss for the Wildcats, who’ve now gone seven seasons without reaching the Elite Eight, leaving many in the BBN wondering if Pope is capable of getting this program back to respectability.