With a $22 million roster and preseason top-five expectations, the Kentucky Wildcats collapsed at the worst moment. For more than 10 minutes in the second half, the Wildcats missed 13 straight shots, their longest drought in eight years, per ESPN. No. 16 North Carolina seized the moment, edging out a 67-64 road win. This again is Mark Pope’s third loss to a ranked team, and the questions are now unavoidable.

“I don’t think that if you are the Kentucky head coach in your second season when you come in with the expectation of being a top five team and a $22 million payroll or whatever it is, being able to to stay with a North Carolina team like this that doesn’t have their starting point guard, that’s not that’s not a great sign for where you are right now. What do you make of this Kentucky team that can’t score one for 13 from three in this game?” asked Rob Dauster in the Field Of 68: After Dark.

Their reported spending of $22 million is the most in college basketball history. For comparison, Duke, one of the best teams in the country, has spent half of that amount, according to On3. The 5-3 record doesn’t reflect that investment at all. According to Norm Roberts, the fundamental problem is not the quality of the players but a lack of leadership. 

“The biggest problem they’re having right now is they really don’t have a clear leader. Like when they play, it just seems like they’ve got five talented guys out there playing the game, but no one’s leading them on the floor. And it’s hard for a coach to lead them on the floor. They’ve got to have some guys step up. Even Aberdeen tonight, he’s a terrific player, but he takes some bad shots. Some really bad shots at bad times,” answered the former Illinois head coach.

Kentucky had its second-worst shooting night of the season. Pope’s team shot 43.4% from the field, only better than their Michigan loss (35.1%). Denzel Aberdeen went 4-13 while scoring 10 points. With regards to their outside efficiency, it was the worst display. 7.7% from the three-point is bound to shake some feathers in the Kentucky camp. 

“There’s no safety net right now,” UK coach Mark Pope said. “We just have to get better. It’s uncommon for us to be 1 for 13 from 3; that’s not really who we are.”

All five of Mark Pope’s wins have come against teams ranked in Quad 4. The Carolina dropped the Cats to 0-3 against Quad 1 teams. You can win despite a poor 3-point shooting display, but they did not get their paint tactics right as well. 

“They weren’t able to get those bigs in foul trouble. North Carolina doesn’t have any depth in the front court. That game, you had to get those guys in foul trouble, and then it changes the whole course of the game,” Roberts further said. 

It circles back to the leadership of this team. Of course, Mark Pope has some responsibility regarding their offensive stance, but the situation on the court is fluid. The players understand it better than the coach, but no one is stepping up to solve the problem.

In the past, Roberts has raised the issue that this team doesn’t have a standout star who will dominate, and the rest of the team will follow him. Senior players like Otega Oweh and Denzel Aberdeen will need to find their voice in the locker room if Kentucky has to fulfill its preseason expectations. After this loss, Mark Pope expressed the need to look beyond his starting lineup and test his depth in the upcoming games. 

Mark Pope looks beyond his primary options 

Some bad luck has played a part in Mark Pope and Kentucky’s precarious situation. Jalaand Lowe is out with a shoulder injury, recently re-aggravating it. Jayden Quaintance is yet to return from his knee injury. Trent Noah faced some ankle issues but has returned to the squad.

They missed Mouhamed Dioubate against North Carolina, who is nursing an ankle injury. Amid the injury crisis, Mark Pope is looking to expand his horizons beyond his top options. 

“I’m gonna have to find a way to kind of dig deeper into this rotation, get some quality minutes. That’s gonna be something really important for us as we move forward. So, there’s a lot we have to learn.” Pope said after the game.

Short rotations forced four players to play over 30 minutes. Denzel Aberdeen (35), Collin Chandler (34), and Otega Oweh (33) are all playing the most minutes, a lot of down the stretch. When it comes to crunch situations in the final minutes, fatigue can swing games. 

We could see more minutes for Andrija Jelavic, Jasper Johnson, and Brandon Garrison, but there is no clear solution to their current problems. Pope can experiment with different combinations, but the path doesn’t get easier. Three of their next four games are against No. 11 Gonzaga on Friday in Nashville, No. 22 Indiana at home, and No. 23 St. John’s in Atlanta.