Kentucky coach Mark Pope entered his third season guiding his alma mater with real job pressure as the face of the so-called hot seat list. Unfortunately for him, nothing that happened Tuesday improved the odds that he’ll get a Year 4.

Final score: Kansas 89, Kentucky 69.

That’s a big swing and a miss for Pope in his first real test of the season. His Wildcats were down 10 points at halftime and down 23 in the second half before losing by 20. High-priced transfer Milan Momcilovic only got seven shots up for UK while former Kentucky recruiting target, Tyran Stokes, put 23 points on the Wildcats.

Bad stuff, all around.

Kansas’ three-week trial thrashes Kentucky’s five-month build in eye-opening Champions Classic performance
Isaac Trotter
Kansas’ three-week trial thrashes Kentucky’s five-month build in eye-opening Champions Classic performance
And did you see that social media post from Kyle Tucker? The former Kentucky beat writer, who now works for 247Sports, noted that in 75 games as Kentucky’s coach, Pope has trailed by double-digits in 27 of them, by 15-plus points in 20 of them and by 20-plus points in 13 of them. That’s a lot of uncompetitive performances from one of the sport’s biggest brands. If things don’t improve, and quickly, the situation in Lexington will get even more uncomfortable.

Kentucky has been removed from Wednesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings with a 2-1 record. The Wildcats are down to 39th at KenPom.com, 39th at BartTorvik.com and 43rd at EvanMiya.com. And when you remove the preseason bias at Torvik, Kentucky drops all the way down to 103rd — one spot behind Florida Gulf Coast.

Next up for the Wildcats is Friday’s game against Northern Arizona. Their next high-profile test will come a week later when they play Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on CBS.

Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
3 Michigan St. 11 Illinois
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Teams

Chg
Rcrd
1
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Florida Thomas Haugh finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday’s 81-72 win at Florida State. The Gators’ next game is Friday against Merrimack. — 3-0
2
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UConn Silas Demary finished with 18 points and six steals in Monday’s 83-41 win over Wagner. The Huskies’ next game is Friday against Ohio State. 2 3-0
3
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Kansas Tre White finished with 30 points and six rebounds in Tuesday’s 89-69 win over Kentucky. The Jayhawks’ next gameis Tuesday vs. UNLV in the Players Era in Las Vegas. 2 3-0
4
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Michigan St. Jeremy Fears Jr. finished with 18 points and 11 assists in Tuesday’s 79-73 win over Duke. The Spartans’ next game is Friday against Northern Iowa. 3 3-0
5
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Duke John Blackwell missed 10 of the 16 shots he attempted in Tuesday’s 79-73 loss to Michigan State. The Blue Devils’ next game is Friday against SIUE. 3 2-1
6
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Texas Matas Vokietaitis finished with 26 points and nine rebounds in Monday’s 93-62 win over Grambling. The Longhorns’ next game is Sunday against Baylor. — 3-0
7
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Louisville Obinna Ekezie Jr. finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday’s 107-57 win over Morehead State. The Cardinals’ next game is Nov. 15 at Memphis. 1 2-0
8
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Virginia Chance Mallory finished with 16 points and six assists in Tuesday’s 95-61 win over Bucknell. The Cavaliers’ next game is Friday at Maryland. 1 4-0
9
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Gonzaga Davis Fogle finished with 22 points and six assists in Saturday’s 83-62 win over New Mexico State. The Zags’ next game is Saturday against LSU. 1 2-0
10
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St. John’s Tounde Yessoufou finished with 23 points and seven rebounds in Sunday’s 104-65 win over Iona. The Red Storm’s next game is Wednesday against Colgate. 1 3-0
11
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Houston Dedan Thomas Jr. finished with 20 points and eight assists in Sunday’s 86-68 win over Cal. The Cougars’ next game is Wednesday against Jacksonville State. 1 3-0
12
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UCLA Nikola Kusturica finished with 29 points and six rebounds in Friday’s 114-63 win over North Florida. The Bruins’ next game is Wednesday against Arkansas Pine Bluff. 1 3-0
13
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Texas Tech Cruz Davis finished with 20 points and five assists in Tuesday’s 84-78 win over Illinois. The Red Raiders’ next game is Saturday against Stonehill. 3 3-0
14
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Illinois Stefan Vaaks missed nine of the 12 shots he attempted in Tuesday’s 84-78 loss at Texas Tech. The Illini’s next game is Friday against Sam Houston State. 11 2-1
15
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Arizona Ivan Kharchenkov finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday’s 90-59 win over Northern Arizona. The Wildcats’ next game is Friday at Auburn. 1 2-1
16
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Tennessee Terrence Hill Jr. finished with 18 points and three assists in Monday’s 70-47 win over Radford. The Vols’ next game is Friday against Tennessee State. 1 2-0
17
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Miami Malik Reneau finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Monday’s 89-51 win over North Florida. The Hurricanes’ next game is Friday against North Alabama. — 2-1
18
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Arkansas Jordan Smith Jr. missed nine of the 17 shots he attempted in Sunday’s 91-72 loss to Virginia. The Razorbacks’ next game is Wednesday against Robert Morris. — 2-1
19
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Alabama London Jemison finished with 20 points and three assists in Monday’s 109-68 win over Oakland. The Crimson Tide’s next game is Friday against Seton Hall. 1 3-0
20
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Michigan Elliot Cadeau missed eight of the 11 shots he attempted in Friday’s 85-77 loss to UConn. The Wolverines’ next game is Wednesday against Marquette. 1 2-1
21
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USC Rodney Rice finished with 32 points and nine assists in Sunday’s 93-86 win over Wichita State. The Trojans’ next game is Wednesday against Cal. 1 3-0
22
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BYU Robert Wright III finished with 21 points and six assists in Tuesday’s 98-82 win over Queens. The Cougars’ next game is Thursday against Montana State. 1 3-0
23
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Vanderbilt Ace Glass finished with 23 points and two rebounds in Tuesday’s 105-81 win over Memphis. The Commodores’ next game is Friday against Prairie View A&M. 1 3-0
24
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Nebraska Pryce Sandfort finished with 25 points and four assists in Saturday’s 67-58 win over Providence. The Cornhuskers’ next game is Wednesday against Lindenwood. 1 3-0
25
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Saint Louis Trey Green finished with 22 points and two assists in Tuesday’s 125-63 win over Northern Kentucky. The Billikens’ next game is Sunday against High Point. NR 3-0
26
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N. Carolina Terrence Brown finished with 14 points and five rebounds in Tuesday’s 76-63 win over Wyoming. The Tar Heels’ next game is Friday against Georgia. NR 3-0
In: North Carolina, Saint Louis| Out: Kentucky, Memphis