Big Blue Preview: Kentucky vs. Arkansas
Mark Pope is not just the head coach of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team, he’s also an alumnus of UK. So, when asked about how he feels about former UK head man John Calipari, who brings his Arkansas team to Rupp Arena on Saturday night, Pope had nothing but high praise.
“On a personal level, I love competing against people that I admire and look up to and love, and Cal is certainly one of those people,” Pope said. “He’s a Hall of Fame coach, he’s a legend in the sport and he’s one of the best that ever was. He also has an unbelievable legacy here at the University of Kentucky. It’s like an in-state game, just in the sense that there’s no one you love to compete against more than your brother, somebody in the family or somebody tied to you. And you’re searching for bragging rights.”
Less than a year after leaving Lexington for Fayetteville, Calipari returns to Rupp Arena on Saturday night as his Razorbacks take on Pope’s Cats in one of the season’s most anticipated college basketball games. Pope knows it’s a big game, but it’s not the reason that most of the Big Blue Nation would cite.
“One of the really calming things for us is, we’re going to get to a first-round game in the SEC Tournament and it’s going to be the biggest game we’ve played in all season long, and it’s going to feel really familiar,” Pope said. “When we were playing Colgate, that was the biggest game and we prepared that way. It was the biggest game, the most important game, the highest-energy game that we’ve played in all year long. Saturday is the biggest game of our entire season. In that sense, it’s really familiar.”
Saturday night’s contest in Rupp Arena might be the best atmosphere in college basketball this season. Pope is embracing the hype and most things that go with it.
“I love the drama. It’s Kentucky. It follows us in everything we do,” Pope said. “People feel how much we can so they care to be interested. I love that people are interested in what’s happening here. These moments in time are fun for fans and fun to capture and they can be super dramatic. I think it’s great.”
Kentucky is coming off an impressive 78-73 win at No. 8 Tennessee on Tuesday. The Cats played without starting point guard Lamont Butler and essentially without starting forward Andrew Carr (who played less than two minutes). Still, the Cats placed five players in double figures and UK hit 12 of 24 from beyond the arc. While that win was important and impressive, Pope knows that he and his team still have plenty of work ahead of them and that anything can happen every time the Cats take the court.
“At the end of the day, we have serious work to do,” Pope said. “This league is brilliant and wonderful and incredibly competitive and every single team can win every single night. That’s what consumes most of our time.”
While Saturday may be the biggest game of the regular season for fans, because of the return of Calipari, it’s the biggest game in Pope’s mind because it’s the next game on the schedule.
Wildcats Topple Vols on Rocky Top
No. 12 Kentucky placed five players in double figures and the Cats upset eighth-ranked Tennessee 78-73 on Tuesday night inside Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.
Koby Brea led the Cats with 18 points, making all three of his three-point attempts. Jaxson Robinson, who started at point guard, had 17 points and made four threes. Otega Oweh had 14 points and six rebounds, while Ansley Almonor made four threes on his way to 12 points. Amari Williams had a double-double with 10 points and a season-high 15 rebounds. Williams also had a team-high four assists.
The Cats, who played without starter Lamont Butler and saw another starter, Andrew Carr, play just two minutes, made half of their three-point shots in the game, connecting on 12 of 24. Meanwhile, Tennessee made 11 threes on 45 attempts.
Some additional notes from the game:
• The Cats improved to 4-1 against AP Top-10 opponents
• Kentucky’s 78 points are the most Tennessee has yielded this season.
• UK scored 1.24 points per possession, an excellent mark against one of the nation’s best defensive teams.
• Kentucky shot 50 percent from the field, 25 of 50, and the Wildcats are 10-0 this season when hitting at least half their shots.
• Kentucky made 12 of 24 on 3-pointers. The Wildcats are 11-1 this season when making at least 10 long balls in a game.
• UK is 3-0 this season when shooting at least 50 percent on 3-pointers.
• The Wildcats did not have a great night at the foul line, but with the verdict in the balance, made 7 of their last 8 free throws.
• All five starters scored in double figures. UK is 10-1 this season when at least five players hit double digits.
• Kentucky limited Tennessee to 34.7 percent from the field (25 of 72). It is UK’s third-best defensive percentage of the season, best vs. an SEC opponent.
• Kentucky limited Tennessee to 24.4 percent on 3-pointers (11 of 45). UK is 9-0 this season when keeping the opponent under 25 percent from long range.
• Kentucky played, basically, without two starters as Lamont Butler did not play and Andrew Carr managed only 1:29 of action.
Coaches vs. Cancer
The Kentucky coaching staff will take part in a special way in partnership with Coaches vs. Cancer and a campus initiative.
The staff will take part in suits and sneakers, but will be wearing a special set of sneakers vs. Arkansas: ones painted by local pediatric cancer patients.
The painting party was held in November in conjunction with the women’s basketball staff and DanceBlue. Pediatric cancer patients and their families painted the shoes.
The game-worn shoes will be signed by the staff member who wore them and auctioned off around the DanceBlue marathon March 29-30.
DanceBlue is an entirely student-run organization that fund raises year-round for the DanceBlue Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic at UK Children’s Hospital. Their annual efforts culminate in a 24-hour no sitting, no sleeping dance marathon to raise funds for the Clinic and families of patients.
