Before Mark Pope performs the Sunday autopsy on the Alabama game, he and three of his players faced questions in their first losing press conference at Rupp Arena following the Wildcats’ 102-97 loss to Alabama. Pope spoke first at the podium, followed by conversations with Otega Oweh, Brandon Garrison, and Ansley Almonor.
“Congratulations to Alabama. It’s a great program, great team,” Pope said in his opening statement. “Played really hard coming off a tough loss. They responded really well on the road.
“I’m proud of our guys. We fought, didn’t execute as well as we would like to. And losing is the worst.”
From there, Pope was asked about Lamont Butler’s status, Alabama’s late scoring run, Kentucky’s low 3-point shooting volume, the week ahead, and more. Looking at the loss, he pointed to transition defense, rebounding, 3-point defense, and fouling as the problems defensively.
“We have to be better in those …