Stones of the Yarra Valley

Mark Pope says UK was ‘cheated’ in rant to Mitch Barnhart: “If those MFers try to fine me, screw ’em”

· Yahoo Sports

Feb 21, 2026; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts after his team was called for a foul during the second half against the Auburn Tigers at Neville Arena. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-Imagn Images | John Reed-Imagn Images

The Kentucky Wildcats dropped their third game in a row on the road against the Auburn Tigers by a final score of 75-74. In a slugfest of a game where the Wildcats had a chance to win it late, the officiating got questionable.

Early into the matchup, Tigers’ big man Flip Jovic backed Malachi Moreno into the paint, and with physical contact, Jovic pushed off and powered his way in for a dunk with 13:41 to go in the first half.

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Early on, the Wildcats were called for four fouls before the Tigers picked up their first one at the 10:58 mark when Blake Muschalek was called for his first of the night.

And what sealed the Wildcats’ fate was a called push-off on Collin Chandler with 14.3 seconds remaining, as the Wildcats led by 1 point. In a tight SEC matchup where physical contact was on just about every play, Chandler was on the wrong end of a potential flop call as the Wildcats prepared to inbound the ball. Just brutal.

Head coach Mark Pope was very frustrated with the officiating on Saturday night at Neville Arena. He expressed that to Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart following the postgame press conference.

“Mitch, if those MFers try to fine me, screw ’em. I didn’t say a word about how they cheated us,” Pope yelled to Barnhart about the league office potentially fining him.

Just a rough way to end it, as the Wildcats were desperately looking to snap their two-game skid.

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