NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — No. 18 overall Kentucky The Wildcats have lost straight games and three of their last five. Even worse, they struggle to shoot.
Panic is growing in the Bluegrass State.
Fans booed the Wildcats off the court at halftime Friday night and headed for the exits ahead of a miserable and ugly game at Kentucky. 94-59 loss to No. 11 Gonzaga. as a result, the Wildcats' score dropped to 5–4.
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Former Kentucky star DeMarcus Cousins has not backed down from his opinion on the matter. social media: “I can't lie… this British team has no heart! It's hard to watch.”
Kentucky coach Mark Pope did not challenge Cousins' opinion and took the blame himself.
“As a former player, I’m angry at the manager too, and deservedly so,” Pope said. “There’s nothing inappropriate about what he said at all.”
The Wildcats missed their first 10 shots and their first seven from beyond the arc. The Wildcats shot so poorly that Gonzaga's Graham Ike made more baskets inside the arc (10) than Kentucky (nine). Kentucky shot 16 of 60 (26.7%) and 7 of 34 (20.6%) from 3-point range.
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Asked if the Wildcats were trying to do too much to help, Pope said it was more of a hesitancy: “It all comes from me. It's on me.”
The fans tried to energize Kentucky and roared when Denzel Aberdeen knocked down the first three players of the game. It didn't help as Kentucky finished 5-for-31 overall and 3-for-20 from 3-point range, drawing more boos, trailing 43-20 at halftime.
“All the boos we heard tonight were incredibly deserved, mostly for me, and we have to make it right,” Pope said.
This is the second straight game in which Kentucky has struggled to shoot from beyond the arc. The Wildcats made just 1 of 13 attempts in Tuesday night's 3 loss to No. 16 North Carolina 67-64. Against Gonzaga, they hit shots from almost all sides of the rim with at least a couple of air balls, but they kept hitting.
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This wasn't the only problem. Kentucky was outshot 43-31, scored 46-18 in the paint and 32-19 off the bench.
Expectations are always high for a program with eight national championships. Pope led the Wildcats to the Sweet 16 and posted a 24-12 record in his debut season. The Wildcats then beat top-ranked Purdue by 13 in the October exhibition, adding to the usual buzz.
Injuries have sidelined starting point guard Jaland Lowe for the last five games with a right shoulder injury, although Lowe came off the bench against Gonzaga with a brace. Mohamed Dioubate missed his fourth Friday night.
Another tough non-conference schedule didn't help. Each defeat was from a ranked opponent, starting with in-state rival Louisville November 11 and Michigan November 18. Pope said it's a bad place right now.
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“We have to get out of this,” Pope said.
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