Mark Pope did not publicly criticize the officiating following Kentucky‘s loss at Auburn, cautious with his words at the podium when asked about some of the costly swing calls that saw the Wildcats’ three-point lead with 18 seconds on the clock turn into a 75-74 defeat. Nothing he said was deserving of a fine from the league office.
Once he left his brief press conference, standing out in the hallway with the door closing, though — well within earshot of media members, intentionally? The second-year coach let ‘er rip, saying UK was ‘cheated’ by the referees inside Neville Arena, his private comments directed toward Mitch Barnhart.
“Mitch, if those MF-ers try to fine me, screw ’em.” Pope loudly told Barnhart. “I didn’t say a word about how they cheated us.”…