Big Blue Preview: Kentucky vs. St. John's
Kentucky head coach Mark Pope will see a familiar face on the opposing sidelines on Saturday as the Cats face St. John’s in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta (12:30 p.m. ET, CBS).
St. John’s, of course, is coached by Rick Pitino, who was the head coach at Kentucky from 1989-97. Pitino took UK to three Final Fours (1993, 1996 and 1997), won the NCAA Championship in ’96 and was runner-up in 1997.
Pope was on Pitino’s 1994-95 team and was a member of the national championship team in 1995-96. He remembers that he knew how to work hard, but didn’t understand how that translated into the bigger picture.
“I think I came here having a good understanding of how to work really, really, really hard, and I left here with having a better understanding of how to translate that work into competitive nature,” Pope said.
Pitino praised the UK administration when the university hired Pope to be the Kentucky head coach. Pope said they had only had one recent conversation.
“He called me after the Michigan State game and told me to get my act together,” Pope said. “That’s the last time I spoke to him”.
As far as this year’s Kentucky and St. John’s teams, Pope knows that both teams should have Final Four aspirations.
“I think we probably have two teams that have really, really high ceilings, that haven’t totally found them yet,” Pope said. “I think you have two teams that, at any given moment, could be incredibly explosive. But I think at the heart of it there’s going to be a lot of physicality in the game.”
On the Kentucky side, one of the storylines is the potential return of big man Jayden Quaintence, who has not played in a game this season. Pope would not commit to Quaintence playing on Saturday, but he also didn’t rule it out.
“It’s kind of a day-by-day thing and you know, once he’s confident and healthy and cleared, we’ll roll,” Pope said. “He’s been out of basketball for nine months and crossed half court for the first time in a drill two days ago. So, we’ll see.”
In the meantime, a matchup between a head coach and one of his former captains, plus seeing two teams with Final Four potential square off should be plenty to keep fans engaged in this contest.
The Mentor Meets the Pupil
Kentucky will take on St. John’s in the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday and face former coach Rick Pitino on the sideline. He served as UK’s head coach from 1990-97, leading the Cats to the national title in 1996.
The captain of that 1996 team was current UK head coach
Mark Pope. The duo will face off for the second time in their careers as coaches. Pope fell 98-68 to Pitino and Louisville while coach of Utah Valley on Dec. 23, 2015. It was Pope’s debut season as a head coach.
• This marks the 12th edition of the CBS Sports Classic, with UK owning a 5-6 record. It is the first time UK will face St. John’s in the event
• Kentucky is 11-5 all-time against St. John’s
• The last meeting took place on Dec. 1, 2011 — an 81-59 win for the Cats inside of Rupp Arena
• Terrence Jones scored 26 points in that 2011 win
• Kentucky is 72-33 all-time in the Atlanta metro area, including earning a 77-72 win over Duke inside of State Farm Arena a season ago — the first under Pope
• The last time UK played in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta, Kentucky earned an 87-83 win over North Carolina
• St. John’s leading scorer, Bryce Hopkins, spent his freshman season in the Blue and White. Hopkins made 28 appearances for the Cats in 2021-22 where he averaged 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. He had a season-best 13-point performance in a win over LSU. This marks the second time Hopkins has faced Kentucky. UK downed Hopkins and Providence in 2022-23 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament by a 61-53 score.
Last Time Out
Kentucky earned a 72-60, come-from-behind win over Indiana on Saturday.
• Kentucky limited Indiana to 60 points. UK is 15-0 under Coach Mark Pope, including 6-0 this season, when keeping the opponent to 66 or fewer points
• Indiana shot 34.1 percent. UK is 6-0 this season when the opponent shoots 40 percent of less
• Kentucky had a season-low four turnovers and Indiana had 18, leading to a 23-6 advantage in points off turnovers
• UK had a season-high 13 steals, leading to Indiana’s 18 miscues, most by a UK opponent this season
• With UK’s two leading scorers came off the bench as UK won bench points 42-13
• Kentucky claimed 14 offensive rebounds, leading to an 18-6 edge in second-chance points
• After a five-game absence because of injury, Mo Dioubate collected 14 points and a season-high 12 rebounds – his second double-double of the season and eighth of his career
• He had seven offensive rebounds, most by a Wildcat this season
• His five steals are the most since Reed Sheppard had five against LSU on Feb. 21, 2024
