Kentucky piles up another victory over a Top 15 opponent, John Calipari comes to Rupp next
By ADAM ZAGORIA
Another night, another victory over a Top 15 opponent for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats.
With their 78-73 victory at No. 8 Tennessee on Tuesday night, Kentucky (15-5, 4-3 SEC) now has six wins over Top 15 opponents during Pope’s first season: No. 6 Duke, No. 7 Gonzaga, No. 6 Florida, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 8 Tennessee.
Per On3.com, the six ranked wins ties the all-time program record set by the 2002-03 team, which did it over the course of a whole season.
Kentucky is currently slated to face five more Top opponents in the loaded SEC.
“From the beginning of the season, we believed that we would have resilience,” Pope told reporters after the Tennessee win. “That’s what we thought, we would have resilience…We’re a really good team.”
Coach Mark Pope was washed about the grit of this team and where this game ranks for him.
— Dylan Ballard (@DylanBallard_UK) January 29, 2025
Check out this great answer
Coach Pope says Coach Brooks used a term he had never heard in the team prayer. Check it out. pic.twitter.com/H2AowxfjhJ
Against Tennessee, Koby Brea scored 18 points and Jaxson Robinson added 17 points as the Wildcats snapped a two-game skid. Otega Oweh scored 14 and Amari Williams had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Igor Milicic led the Volunteers (17-4, 4-4) with 19 points and nine rebounds. Chaz Lanier scored 15 and Zakai Zeigler added 13.
Kentucky overcame injuries to ballhandlers Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa. The Wildcats committed eight turnovers in the first half but just five in the second.
Kentucky next hosts John Calipari when the former Wildcats coach comes to Rupp Arena for the first time as the head coach of Arkansas (12-8, 1-6). The game will air at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The Razorbacks have lost 6-of-7 and are playing without injured freshman point guard Boogie Fland (thumb), the team’s second-leading scorer.
(The AP contributed reporting / Photo via Kentucky Athletics)
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