The honeymoon is over for Mark Pope & Kentucky: Can the first-year coach handle BBN?

Being inside the bubble that is Kentucky basketball can be exhausting. A team that has gotten off to a great start with new head coach Mark Pope is now starting to hit a wall.

Last Saturday, the Wildcats lost to John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks in a game that everyone in Big Blue Nation desperately wanted to win.

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However, it was how the team responded in their blowout loss to Ole Miss this past Tuesday night that really has some in the fanbase worried.

The Wildcats were dominated from the opening tip, as the Rebels held a 54-31 lead at halftime. It wasn't the response that Kentucky fans had hoped for from their team that had just suffered a major loss at home.

So, where does the program go from here? This season has been full of highs like wins over Duke, Florida, and Tennessee.

However, this season has also been plagued by injuries, as point guards Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa have been out for extended periods.

Injuries cannot be an excuse when the effort was so lackadaisical in their loss at Oxford. The BBN isn't known as a patient fanbase; however, losing faith in Pope now would be downright insane.

The Wildcats have hit a wall this season. Now, it is time for Pope to prove why he is the right man for one of the most high-pressured jobs in all of sports.

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