Friday nearly resulted in disaster for Kentucky after trailing by four points in the final minute at home against Northern Arizona as a 34.5-point favorite. After NAU missed the front end of a one-and-one at the free-throw line, Kentucky guard Alex Wilkins knocked down a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining to seal a 78-77 win for the Wildcats.
When asked what his message would be to fans after avoiding what would've been one of the worst home losses in Kentucky basketball history, Wildcats coach Mark Pope said he hoped everybody had "fun" in the arena.
"Well, I hope everybody in Rupp had fun," Pope said. "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."
The result, for Kentucky, was anything but fun. More like a sigh of relief. Kentucky led by as many as 13 in the first half before Northern Arizona mounted a comeback to take a lead in the final minutes. It took a few missed free throws by Northern Arizona and a clutch last-second three-pointer by Wilkins for the Wildcats to beat a team that has ranked near the bottom of KenPom's rankings the last several years.
It also marked the third time in the last three games that Pope's Kentucky team struggled. Kentucky was on the ropes against James Madison last week at home before pulling away late. In UK's first real test of the season against Kansas at the Champions Classic, Pope's squad got outclassed by the Jayhawks.
Kentucky entered this season with one of the highest-priced rosters in the sport. The Wildcats opened the season ranked No. 23 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll and dropped a spot this week after the result against James Madison. With the performance against Kansas coupled with the near-loss against Northern Arizona, the Wildcats will almost certainly drop out of next week's poll despite improving to 3-1.
The pressure Pope is facing at his alma mater isn't going to come down anytime soon. With games coming up against Indiana, Virginia and Louisville during the next month, it will be sink-or-swim for a Kentucky team that has looked beatable during the early portion of the season.
