Justice Served Kentucky Wildcats Referee Currently Facing Investigation
Like everyone else, Mark Pope has witnessed the shift in game officiating from the non-conference season to SEC play. Prior to 2025, Kentucky averaged 16.1 fouls per game, while opponents averaged 17.1. However, through five conference games, their averages have risen to 22.0 and 20.0.
Before league play, we were actually very good. And league play has become more difficult for us,” Pope said after his team’s defeat at the hands of No. 4 Alabama, in which the Crimson Tide made 34 free throws, 24 of which came after halftime. In all, the Wildcats only managed to take 20.
“The calls are incredibly challenging,” Pope said of the lessons he has getting from visiting referee symposiums, which he attended to begin the year in an attempt to gain a better grasp of how officials call games.
After receiving a “huge education on the whistle” during the Georgia loss, he then discussed his desire to “study the whistle.” Pope effectively stated that his team could not alter the way referees officiated games and that they preferred to adjust to the officiating. He stated that he was “interested in the rules that are being called” and “not concerned in what the rules are.”
That remains a work in progress now five games into the SEC schedule with foul trouble continuing to be a thorn in Kentucky’s side. It’s also a top priority internally. “We’re spending an insane amount of time right now on fouls, so we’ve gone back and kind of categorized every foul that has been called on us over the last five games,” Pope said during his call-in show Monday evening.
