The No. 18-ranked Kentucky Wildcats endured a brutal defeat in Week 5 of the 2025–26 NCAA season, falling 59–94 to the No. 11-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs. The loss wasn’t just lopsided; it was straight-up embarrassing. It was a statement game for Gonzaga and a nightmare scenario for Kentucky fans, who are now openly questioning head coach Mark Pope’s leadership.

If you watched the game, Gonzaga didn’t just beat the Wildcats; they controlled every possession. The Wildcats were outmuscled and outmaneuvered from the jump, struggling to defend the paint or generate any resistance whatsoever against the Bulldogs’ frontcourt.

The Bulldogs’ star big man Graham Ike tore through Kentucky’s defence like it was nothing, posting 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Braden Huff added another 20 as Gonzaga built a 23-point lead by halftime. Kentucky never found the answers to their offense, and the Bulldogs’ pick-and-roll became their kryptonite. Loose rotations, late help, and mismatched switches let Gonzaga dictate the tempo, control the boards, and punish every defensive breakdown, and winning the game by a 35-point difference should tell you that they did punish them.

But if you are thinking their defense was bad, how about their offense? Well, it was way worse! To give you a gist of how they were performing offensively, they didn’t even score a single point seven minutes into the game, which set the tone for the entire night.

The Wildcats finished the game shooting under 27% from the field and 7–34 from three. But if you have been following their games for a while now, you would know that this offensive stagnation isn’t new. Outside of matchups against lower-tier opponents, Kentucky hasn’t established a rhythm, spacing, or any type of identity. Their struggles against ranked teams show a pattern that’s become impossible to ignore by the fans.

“We feel the responsibility that we have to this university and this fan base, and all the boos that we heard tonight were incredibly well deserved, mostly for me,” Mark Pope said during a postgame interview.

However, with their fourth loss of the season, fans have taken to social media to express frustration and question the team’s performance under coach Pope.

Fans turn on Mark Pope after an ugly loss

According to ESPN Analytics, before the game even began, the match was in favor of the Bulldogs with 53.2%. However, this prediction, with just four minutes into the game, jumped to 73.7%. And before even the first half of the game was over, it surged to 99.3%. The game was so disappointing that even an NBA star and a former Wildcats player, DeMarcus Cousins, took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to post, “Can’t lie…this (Kentucky) team has no heart! This is hard to watch smh.” While another fan wrote, “If Mark Pope cares about this program as much as he says he does, he’ll do the right thing and step down.”

Kentucky has played nine matches so far in the ongoing season, out of which they have won 5 games. But the problem lies not in how many matchups they have won or lost. Out of all the games that they have won with an average difference of 42.4 points, they all were against an unranked team. Being in the Top-20 ranked teams, the Wildcats have played four matches against opponents who are also ranked in the Top-20 and they have lost all of them.

• Against the No. 6-ranked Louisville Cardinals (96-88 Loss)
• Against the No. 7-ranked Michigan State Spartans (83-66 Loss)
• Against the No. 16-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels (67-64 Loss)
• Against the No. 11-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs (94-59 Loss)

Prompting one fan to write, “Mark Pope is a fraud…5-4 Only wins against quad 4 teams Time to make some changes or big blue nation will #kentuckymbb”

Whereas another wrote, “Mark Pope should step down and #Kentucky should bring in Bruce Pearl.” Pearl, the longtime Auburn head coach, has built a reputation as one of the most successful and energetic leaders in modern college basketball. Since taking over the Tigers in 2014, Pearl has delivered multiple NCAA Tournament runs, including Auburn’s first-ever Final Four appearance in 2019, an SEC Tournament title, and consistent Top-25 relevance, which is at this point something the Wildcats need desperately.

“Not Mark Pope’s super team getting 30 pieced 👀,” one fan wrote, highlighting Kentucky handed Mark Pope a $22 million NIL arsenal. And with a war chest like that, the expectation couldn’t have been clearer: this team was supposed to be the better. Last season, Kentucky couldn’t stay in front of anybody, the perimeter defense leaked like a sieve, rotations were late, and opponents got to the rim whenever they wanted. Pope himself made it clear that those problems wouldn’t carry over, and loading up on defensive-minded players like Aberdeen and Dioubate would give the Wildcats a new identity, but with the way things are going, Pope is far from delivering his promise.

Another fan wrote while having doubts yet still hopeful, wrote, “I’m skeptical that Mark Pope can fix this. Hope I’m wrong. Go Cats!”

Despite the growing frustration, it’s also true that Kentucky hasn’t been at full strength. The Wildcats are still without Jayden Quaintance, who continues to recover from his March knee surgery. Meanwhile, Mo. Dioubate, one of the defensive anchors Pope recruited to reshape the team’s identity, has now missed four straight games with an ankle sprain.

But even with injuries, the margin of defeat and the recurring patterns behind it have left Kentucky fans demanding accountability, and rightfully so. The pressure on Mark Pope has never been heavier, and unless the Wildcats show dramatic improvement soon, especially against ranked opponents, this pressure is only going to increase.

Do you believe that Mark Pope can still turn this season around, or has Kentucky already shown you enough to say it’s time for a change? Tell us in the comments!