KENTUCKY HC MARK POPE Q&A:
* Pope says Auburn has played great basketball all year long, and the Tigerrs did so once again tonight.
* On Broome getting just 9 and Auburn still beating them badly... We really struggled with their perimeter guys. Got two 3s off the glass early in the game. Some stuff like that. But we were very poor today with that. We had been making strides. Took a step back.
* On the early turnovers in the second half... None of them were really forced. Kind of a manifestation of being sped up, trying to dig out of a hole. Inexplicable series of plays.
* On the lack of energy... Would love to make an excuse there, but ultimately it falls on my shoulders. And you have to give Auburn credit for putting us in a spot where we let frustration mount. I failed as a leader today.
* On continuing to struggle getting up 3-point shots... Didn't play at our pace, our flow. Kinda froze up at times. Auburn's defense. A combination of things.
* On Butler's shot... Best thing about tonight, he got through the game. Was beat up on some screens and still made it out alive. He was a positive. He's got two more games to keep working on getting more confident with his shot.
* Jaxson Robinson will have surgery on his wrist next week. He's done for the season. A 3-month recovery process.
* Auburn has proven they are the No. 1 team in the country. Really connected team, a lot of energy. Elite-level basketball,
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AUBURN HC BRUCE PEARL Q&A:
* Pearl says he came in prepared to win and prepared to lose today. Knew it could go either way in this building. He was all set to joke, if they lost, why his name keeps coming up in every UK coaching search. (laughs) Says he's come in here with good teams before and got spanked. Wanted to come in and play quality basketball because the fans in this state respect good basketball.
* Denver Jones got X-Rayed. Only has a bone bruise. Was scared there may have been a broken bone.
* UK's Williams is really good inside.
* Knew we had to make shots to win this game. And Miles Kelly made a couple of bad ones, too.
* Calls UK still a really "capable" team against Top 10 opponents.
* On his guys playing with confidence... Thinks that is a coach's responsibility. Have to coach that and energy. If I put them in a position to be successful, they're going to look good and play with more confidence.
* On whether he thought this team could be this good when he put it together... Did not. Just something they've learned along the journey.
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KENTUCKY PLAYERS Q&A:
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AUBURN PLAYERS Q&A:
