Kentucky nearly suffered a historic collapse Friday night, needing a last-second 3-pointer from guard Alex Wilkins to escape Northern Arizona with a nail-biting 78-77 win after trailing by four points in the final minute as a staggering 34.5-point favorite.
What Even Happened In Rupp?
This game was anything but “fun” for Wildcats fans. Kentucky actually led by as many as 13 points in the first half. But somehow, against a Northern Arizona team that has ranked near the bottom of KenPom’s rankings for years, they let it all slip away. NAU mounted a comeback to take the lead in the final minutes, and it took them missing the front end of a one-and-one free throw for Kentucky to even get a chance. Then, Wilkins stepped up, draining that go-ahead three with just 2.2 seconds left to seal the win. When asked what his message would be to fans after avoiding what would’ve been one of the worst home losses in program history, coach Mark Pope just said he hoped everybody in Rupp “had fun.” He called it “pretty exciting game… It’s pretty entertaining if not well executed. It’s really entertaining. I think this will be a fun team to follow. With one exception, they’re finding ways to win games. We will continue down that path as we try to settle the ship and execute better.”
Three Straight Struggles: The Pressure Is Mounting
But let’s be real, this near-disaster against NAU isn’t some isolated incident. This marks the third time in the last three games that Pope’s Kentucky team has visibly struggled. Last week, they were on the ropes at home against James Madison before finally pulling away late. And in their first real test of the season at the Champions Classic, the Wildcats got straight-up outclassed by Kansas. This is a team with one of the highest-priced rosters in college basketball, a squad that opened the season ranked No. 23 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. They already dropped a spot this week after the James Madison result. After that performance against Kansas coupled with nearly losing to Northern Arizona, the Wildcats will almost certainly drop out of next week’s poll despite improving to 3-1. That’s a brutal reality check.
The pressure on Mark Pope at his alma mater isn’t going anywhere soon. With tough games coming up against Indiana, Virginia, and Louisville during the next month, it’s going to be sink-or-swim for a Kentucky team that has looked surprisingly beatable in the early part of the season. They’ve got to find a way to execute better and settle the ship, or things could get really ugly, really fast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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