Kentucky basketball bested Louisville in field goal and 3-point percentage, rebounds and points in the paint, but it still suffered a 96-88 road loss to its in-state rival. Actually, the Wildcats (2-1) trailed by 20 points with less than 12 minutes remaining in the game. Despite their obvious talent, they could not figure out stellar freshman Mikel Brown Jr. in this Battle of the Bluegrass .

Many head coaches may choose to look on the bright side, especially given the team's determination, but Mark Pope is not letting his players off the hook for what was a missed opportunity to grab a signature win early in the season.

“They did exactly what we didn't do,” he told the media, per Wyatt Huff of Kentucky Wildcats on SI. “They were great in their gap help. …They were elite and we did

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