Mark Pope recaps #12 Kentucky's win over #8 Tennessee

Kentucky head basketball coach Mark Pope spoke with the media following the Wildcat's massive road win over another top ten team. This time it was rivals Tennessee who took the L to Pope's Cats!
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[@jessicathomson41]

I am so so proud of this team! Thank you Coach Pope for bringing back Kentucky basketball.

[@bobdabear8857]

God-fidence. Gosh man I love this team and these players and these coaches so much.

[@robertweatherford7620]

Great and difficult road win for the shorthanded Cats. Proud of our team and the coaches. Hope to have all of the Cats back healthy soon. Keep fighting and getter better, believe we have something pretty special.

[@ciarahoward6324]

Pope is truly a basketball genius and this coaching staff behind him just so much ahead of the curb! Watch what ab the 3rd does with are defense the next 3 years with longer and more talented players that are inevitably coming ! I love everything about what’s going on in Lexington KY

[@ehcatsfaneric2211]

Coach of the year

[@missiadams3305]

BBN is SO PROUD!!! THANK YOU MARK POPE!!

[@scottratliff9776]

What an amazing job by this uk team from coaches to players. AMAZING!

[@williamdavisson8541]

We definitely got the right coach

[@Okay0707]

You lost to Vanderbilt and Alabama at home 🤣

[@lhansel7584]

You salty brh​@@Okay0707

[@ehcatsfaneric2211]

​@@Okay0707look at calipari and his destruction in Arkansas

[@ajbdrewdown9149]

@@Okay0707and still have the most wins against top 15 teams in the country. Congrats on being semi relevant for first time in a decade. Go celebrate your wins over shitty ACC teams Vandy would crush. Vandy is top 25 kenpom and a tourney team. Sorry you’re still so butt hurt you can’t enjoy your own mediocre success and instead make fun of us after we beat a season-long top ten team that absolutely CRUSHED you and we beat WITHOUT our best player? Yea man, we suck. Lol

[@Gerbfrobe4444]

Love that man! Prayers up!

[@ChadHargis]

It was my birthday the day the lost to Vandy and I was wearing my UK blue in Memorial Gym cheering the team on as loudly as I could. Williams got a lot better birthday present than I did. We beat Duke and Tennessee. I love this team!

[@WestonMuse1]

don’t forget louisville, they’ve been down for awhile but they’re actually surprisingly good this year, pat kelcy is runner up COTY imo

[@Rev.jones22]

Excellent win on the road, these are the games that turn you into NCAA contenders.

[@michaelmcintoshatky]

I don't see them making it to the final four but I can see them winning a sweet 16 just because they're not very consistent honestly but if butler karr and Karissa can get back to play and healthy they could make it to sweet 16 maybe elite 8 if they get a little lucky lol I would love for UK to be in the championship game at the end of the season but I am just not able to it right now they have to many mistakes honestly now if their consistency gets better than they could definitely make it to the sweet 16 if their consistency and defense get better they could make it to elite 8 if their defense consistency and their rebounding gets better they could possibly make it to the final four potential but I can't see them making it to finals but you really never know when it comes to college basketball because it can change over night Kentucky could make it to the championship game if they get more consistent better on rebounding ball protection and rebound better I can see some stuff they can definitely improve on and if they improve on 2 or more then they can make it to the elite 8 if they can improve on 3+ they could make it to final four if they improve on 4+ they can make it to the national championship

[@Hooch_is_crzy]

@@michaelmcintoshatky LOL no... they are consistent, they aren't consistently healthy... and if you mean consistent on how many shots they make, the best players in the world miss shots. Our defense is fine, and overblown, no one that plays at our pace has an elite defense... because its too weighted towards PPG... and when you create 20 more possessions... i mean you do the math... Comments about their consistency and not pointing out how banged up we are, and have been since the Clemson game is crazy... and we have a TON of wins since then...

[@jt1765]

@@michaelmcintoshatkyblue isn’t your color

[@B-Eazy999]

@@jt1765man I was thinking the same thing reading his comment, We just beat 1# Defense in the country on their floor and he’s talking sweet 16 , I think we are play pretty damn good outside of Rupp and their isn’t a team in CBB that’s not beatable this year , when these guys play determined like tonight they can beat anyone.

[@GoatedAtNFS]

blue IS my color and i don’t see them as final four team simply because the field is too stacked right now. their won’t be any cinderellas but there’s alot of teams benefiting off their 2 year rebuild. yes, we can take on anyone in the country but say an underrated team like Michigan State or St Johns or Memphis is in our region, i’m not so confident in any of those matchups.

[@DeborahAnderson-d4v]

Love Coach Pope and this team ❤❤❤❤

[@mitzitravis5435]

Never been a UK fan but gosh I love this coach. I am now a fan for sure!

[@Darkbluedevil]

You mean last resort,three year head coach Pope! Kentucky has zero chance of winning a championship with pope as coach!

[@stevewilliams1176]

@@Darkbluedevil He outcoached your boy.

[@Darkbluedevil]

@stevewilliams1176 who? I'm a cats fan! Graduated from Kentucky earned a PhD from Duke! Pope is a two year coach, but he'll get 3!

[@Darkbluedevil]

@@mitzitravis5435 Tenn. Played the worst game by any team I've seen all year, and Kentucky barely won!

[@Darkbluedevil]

@stevewilliams1176 Tenn shot 35% field,24% from 3 and still almost won. Kentucky 50% from both ,got killed on the boards, but still almost lost! I'm not gonna give you a math class,but cats can't shoot much better than 50%

[@mickcarter3613]

1 day when Mark pope retirees he will go down as 1 of the greatest HC in Uk history in all of college a hall-of-fame career believe it what a great coach and man too teach these boy's how 2 B young men what a ambassador for BBN

[@joelspaulding5964]

What a gracious coach to start by giving props to the opponent, the way he did. Amazingly win.

[@xavierbrad]

Just incredible. Who would have guessed in his first year as head coach with a COMPLETE roster change, he would have wins over Duke, Gonzaga, Florida, and Tennessee in Knoxville in his first 3 months of play? No one. More top 15 wins than any program in the country - Given the expectations in BBN, he's already locked in the coach of the year from my perspective.

[@BigBang_BigCrunch]

Thanks for showing more fight in this game guys, including Coach Pope calling out a bad call, or two. A gutsy, but far from perfect (Brea going under screens, getting lost on defense a few times, as an example) team win. Happy Birthday Amari, much better effort tonight!

[@ehcatsfaneric2211]

COACH OF THE YEAR

[@ScottyCaudill-z2t]

Great win great coach and great team and I absolutely love the Kentucky wildcats

[@kelvisking6745]

Love ya coach pope

[@DianeKamenish]

Love BBN!💙

[@ARIN4UK]

Now let’s get ready for A HOG ROAST on Saturday night!!!!

[@georgejohnson280]

Hope they can beat the hogs

[@Nonameforcelord44]

Arkansas isn’t ranked so we will lose.

[@ARIN4UK]

Not on my watch! 💙

[@Nonameforcelord44]

@ they lose to Arkansas then go beat ole miss on the road

[@spinblackcircles]

@@Nonameforcelord44haven’t lost to a single unranked team at Rupp. Try your best to not be so miserable cupcake lol

[@china_sickness7005]

Double double for the birthday boy! There will probably never be a time when I’m not getting upset with Amari’s defense, but he is still a dang good player

[@michaelmcintoshatky]

Man Kentucky redeemed themselves admirably I'm big enough to say I was wrong after that vandy loss this Kentucky team is for real y'all I can see them making it to the sweet16 maybe if they get lucky to the elite 8 but I can see them making it to the sweet 16 if they keep this level of play up but I have them pegged to make the sweet 16 if they do it is considered a winning season in my opinion considering where UK program was after calapari left. So Kentucky is just savage if karr butler and Karissa can get healthy and back to play by the end of February then March is gonna be bananas for sure lol we could make it the sec title game lol and who knows I definitely feel like they can make it to the sweet 16 for sure Mark pope is Kentucky's coach I hope he finishes his career here honestly as long as he takes this UK program to sweet 16 this year I'm calling it a winning season for sure

[@Baloothepibble]

I’m 100% with you. I’m cautiously excited by this team! It really could break our way. Gotta shoot 45-50 percent and not foul out of contention.

[@Syrin23]

Sweet Sixteen? This is a FF team, and a title contender. NO TEAM has more wins against top 15 opponents than UK. NONE. And your conclusion is Sweet 16?

[@codyrockarano5220]

​@@Syrin23 uhm, we lost 5 games still. We can beat anyone but we can lose in March too. Can they make a final four? Hell yeah. Can they get bounced in the round of 32? Yeah probably. But either way I love the way they play and the way they fight. It's my team, my coach, and I love them again. Win or lose. Because they actually finally care about winning. That's all I ever wanted.

[@Syrin23]

@@codyrockarano5220 Your second sentence is literally true for EVERY team in the country. It's one of those statements people like to throw out there that is absolutely worthless. Michael Jordan's Bulls teams lost games. So what? This team has been its BEST against the BEST competition. The fouls have gone down, the rebounding has gone up, the shooting improved. This is a FF team

[@codyrockarano5220]

@Syrin23 ok 👍 sounds good. And no it's not true of every team. But whatever you say. I'd love them to make a FF. Plenty of "FF teams" never sniff a FF. The tourney is about playing 6 of your best games in a row. If this team has inspired that confidence in you then great. But I've yet to see them put 4 games back to back against good opponents. They definitely can. Not every team has that potential. Maybe 10 teams in the country and half are in the SEC.

[@woody2875]

great game, coach💙

[@DeborahAnderson-d4v]

Awesome win ❤❤❤❤

[@BrandonGavin_EDC]

Love Pope! Go Cats!

[@waltermattingly6169]

Pope always responds

[@boscothunder]

With all the negativity in this world, it is so refreshing to hear Pope talk. I bet these guys feel his influence the rest of their lives.

[@cathyhall1584]

Ansley Almonor!!!!! He's my favorite player this year, I love this whole team, and coaches too!

[@B-Eazy999]

Have u ever noticed every team in SEC that beats us on their floor rushes the floor but we never rush the floor at Rupp crazy work right 😂, Great win UK let’s keep this momentum going !

[@Jamesdean999]

I cringe at the thought of BBN rushing the floor after beating any team. We don't do that. We expect to win.

[@jeffthiem2532]

That's what makes UK different. I don't believe Kansas or Duke rush the floor either, but I'm not 100% on that. When winning isn't a surprise, you act like you've been there before

[@B-Eazy999]

I’m gonna have to start using that as an insult vs other SEC teams 😂 “Ur team rushes the floor if they beat UK , Wildcats move on to next game ! “ jk jk but real talk ive just noticed that any conference team that beats us does it .

[@harrypote5710]

If you rush the court or field then you're not a blue blood in that sport, goes for Football or basketball

[@devildog6107]

you are correct because I have seen our fans rush onto the football field.

[@BBN-MJ]

Mark Pope 😼💪🏾

[@BennieBrewer]

That's the way UK means, Blue Blood Coach Rupp would be proud

[@LorrieC23]

Most impressive win so far IMHO! GO BIG BLUE!!!

[@truck_it_23]

Better than the Duke win?

[@LorrieC23]

@ We needed this one more!

[@truck_it_23]

@LorrieC23 For sure. So happy we won it.

[@Syrin23]

Duke. 100% Duke

[@dannycollins7353]

​@truck_it_23 yes because it was a true road game

[@chrishillard5913]

Awesome job!

[@troym2784]

Pope seriously loves these guys. He is really going to struggle Sr day.

[@ThatFaceMelter94]

I generally think invoking religion in sports is beyond nonsensical, but despite that, I love Mark Pope so much.

[@ciarahoward6324]

The world finally got positionless basketball after all those years cal said it was coming ! Amari is the biggest pg in America and jax is the second biggest ! DEEP AS EMPTY POCKETS!! Go big blue !!!!❤

[@livingadreamlife1428]

I’m not a KY fan but recognize that few teams needed a win this badly. Cats season was on the brink after several tough losses. The win should calm BBN concerns a little going into next game vs Ark.

[@Kim-vq2iq]

💙💙💙

[@jayabbey5141]

So proud of the players and coaches for this game! GO CATS!!! But I am finding it difficult to watch ANY SEC games this year because the officiating is the worst I have ever seen! Repeatedly allowing 2-3 fouls to happen and then call a foul when it has gotten so physical that there is a risk of injury to one of the student athletes on the play, and then have to go to the monitor 10 times because they carelessly did not make a call on the initial obvious foul. Just ridiculous!

[@charlieray4289]

Playing for the audience of one. Oh Wow! I couldn't stop crying after that.

[@DonaldBaker-l8f]

It’s really hard hearing the questions that are being asked. Please resolve this small issue so everyone can hear. Thanks, GO CATS!!!!!!’

[@ElzBentley]

We win on the road!!! LFG!!!

[@ky42]

💙

[@Syrin23]

We had no business winning that as bad as we played down the stretch. They just played worse. In those last five minutes we missed ALL our shots, missed half of our FT', and turned the ball over. We'll take a road win over a ranked team every day of the week, but that was UGLY. On the bright side, two games in a row we held teams under 95 points.

[@captainmarvel9610]

What about Almore? He was on fire

[@spinblackcircles]

He talked about Almanor

[@CarlPerry-k7h]

Clearly coach of the year even Ronnie Milsap can see that.

[@Nsgbro1]

💙💙💙💙💙💙

[@roberthall1818]

The last 5 minutes of each half need to be cleaned up all and all good good

[@Syrin23]

It's SO strange. We couldn't play at all the first ten minutes of the game most of the season, and now we can't play the last five.

[@kyphillies]

Go big blue

[@jimmynewsome859]

I love this team to Brandon garrison come back he'll be a force to reckon with next yr

[@BryanNew-x3g]

I actually know the players by name. In Cal’s tenure it was a revolving door every year and it was hard to get to know and care about the players. You just couldn’t make a connection with them.

[@dalehobbs2454]

TELL ME WHOS IN THE HOUSE TONIGHT?!?

[@martinnorton7713]

UK!

[@scottfleckenstein7948]

My fear is which KY team will show up at tourney time. UK vs. Duke Gonzaga TN Florida or UK vs. OSU Georgia and Vandy. The tournament is all about matchups. Who knows???? But it is exciting for sure. Better than Cal.

[@ARIN4UK]

In all fairness Georgia and Vandy in ANY other conference are top 3-4! This SEC conference is brutal!

[@Hooch_is_crzy]

Vandy is a top 25 team on the road... 6 unforced turnovers changed that game... yall overblow that loss.

[@scottfleckenstein7948]

Great point. Toughest league since big east of the 80s

[@scottfleckenstein7948]

True……just felt flat and uninspired. Vandy is a good team. What a great 1 year turnaround

[@jt1765]

Nothing to fear but fear itself. GO CATS!!!

[@bobbybastin6461]

ISO or a roast,wish this ol timer understood more about the lingo! I know that I certainly like the results 😅

[@purplelove7088]

4 Starters are 5 year players. And Ky paying like the NBA. Just saying.

[@NickSaylor-j6o]

We were without 2 starters tonight and still best them just saying

[@claywhisman9721]

And? Playing under the same rules as all the other teams. People complained when UK had one and dones, now complaining they don't. Make up your mind. 😊

[@NickSaylor-j6o]

@@purplelove7088 exactly 💯

[@ryanphillips3533]

Focus on your Arkansas situation more than us right now purple love! They need your support more than uk and bbn needs your sarcasm and trolling, lol!! You've also suggested ky fans and some arky fans previously to find God because of all the trolling and negative comments.. May I suggest you consider taking your own advice and lay low until Saturday night? Just saying...

[@spinblackcircles]

Just saying what? Everyone pays their players and most top 25 teams have 5th year players. You literally didn’t say anything lol

[@BlueWorldOrder1]

It was NOT a foul!😋

[@davidjessee7701]

Great win!! And without Karr and Butler????

[@jessicamckinney7508]

Great win. Plz teach them pick n roll defense.

[@fhs2013cb]

What a great game tonight by the Cats 💙🤍🏀 and we handed Tennessee their first loss at home

[@WilliamBeamon-dm2tv]

Tennessee played awful. Couldn’t hit the bright side of any barn. Still counts as a big dub! Go Cats!

[@JCHALK]

Godfidence baby! Jesus is lord!

[@alexborders5515]

Lets go cats get them razorbacks

[@BIG-BlueNation8569]

Kobe is a Jamal Murray type. Murray got bit more however with experience and maturity he's gonna be tough..clayT type shooter with his height. We are loaded with sleepers..

[@Alan-mz3tr]

👍👍

[@jt1765]

MARCH POPE

[@issac-j3m]

Dude hasnet won anything yet bozo

[@jt1765]

@ MARCH POPE

[@issac-j3m]

@@jt1765 still haven’t won anything

[@jt1765]

@@issac-j3m beat your team I guess, else you wouldn’t be here talking smack . MARCH POPE! CATS!!!

[@issac-j3m]

@ nope my team has won it back to back . I see something that looks dumb I’m gonna call it out

[@patricknickoson1580]

I'm tired of being gas lit about how great Amari is. He's mid. The dude can only rebound if the ball comes directly to him and don't even get me started on defensive rebounding. His anticipation is always too early or too late, and he has stone hands.

[@spinblackcircles]

He had 10 points and 15 rebounds. Why are you people so MISERABLE we WON THE GAME. Jesus Christ

[@Christena-s4w]

Check out Johnny bishops comments out last night on locked on my 76 to 73 ky. Great knowledge of the game jb

[@Darkbluedevil]

This game was ugggly cats were fortunate Tenn. Couldn't hit a shot,and not because of Kentucky stifling defense! Just a lid on the basket!

[@spinblackcircles]

I bet you said the same thing after UK beat Duke lmao. Enjoy that loss

[@Darkbluedevil]

@spinblackcircles Arkansas gonna beat Kentucky, bigger, stronger, better coached!

[@popcornjoe3752]

BBN has to give Perry and Noah a break. This is their true freshman season. These other guys have 4 and some have 5 years college experience. They are playing against 4-5 year grad players who have more playing time in 2 games then they have all year. These kids can play, I've watched them personally. They are good, outstanding young men and they'll get it together, if y'all don't beat them down and destroy their will. Just chill and you'll watch them grow, 2 KY boys who's dream it was to wear that uniform, and you won't be sorry

[@tylermiller9273]

This guy sounds so unsure about every single thing he says

[@spinblackcircles]

Is he unsure about beating 5 teams in the top 10 this season? 🤔

[@bradcooley4924]

I wanna say this Willam’s is trash and doesn’t need to bring up the ball. He turns the ball over every time he touches the ball. He isn’t a point guard at all

[@BarbYork-w2h]

Great win coach, but don't understand, no point gaurd, on roster????? Whats travis Perry???? GO BIG BLUE!!!!!!

[@Hooch_is_crzy]

a walking turnover in that game.

[@WilliamBeamon-dm2tv]

TP just ain’t ready yet…he is a walking turnover. Love the KY kids but Noah is the better of the 2. At least so far.

[@TheTpg789]

@@WilliamBeamon-dm2tvI agree. I loovveee Trent Noah. He’s a lowkey sleeper that’ll be SPECIAL Next Year on KY.

[@CoachTolleyCarter]

He's still developing. He'll be good for the cats by the time he's a Jr.

[@TheTpg789]

@@CoachTolleyCarter Chandler or Noah???

[@Polygraph_test]

Without Butler and Carr, I really thought TN would kill us. Not because we aren’t good, because they are really good. Proud of the team.

[@stevenpoore7365]

POPE IS HOPE

[@TheTpg789]

“”Pope Is Our Hope.””

[@jt1765]

Don’t need hope, we got Pope!

[@DeborahAnderson-d4v]

Awesome win ❤❤❤❤