This is new territory for Mark Pope, his Wildcats, and the Big Blue Nation. Kentucky lost its first home game of the Pope era despite Rupp Arena’s best effort from the stands. Pope was dejected after the defeat,

Mark Pope and Kentucky fell at home to Alabama 102-97 in quite the basketball game in the SEC. The No. 8 Wildcats brought a lot to the table but the No. 4 Crimson Tide were just a little bit better. Pope threw that word out during the postgame presser though. He felt Kentucky wasn’t even close to their potential.

More than that, Mark Pope deserves a lot of credit for what he’s done. He built a team entirely off of the transfer portal, and while they might not be as talented as other teams, they’ve still fared well.

Lamont Butler, in UK basketball's game vs Alabama at Rupp Arena, played with the toughness Mark Pope is trying to instill in his Kentucky Wildcats.

“Alabama right now is, of course, they’ve always been so potent, demanding shooting guards’ space, their pace is elite, ” Pope said. “I don’t know if the metrics change every but they are one of the fastest-playing teams in the country.”

For the first time under Mark Pope’s leadership, UK basketball lost at Rupp Arena. The Kentucky coach explains a home defeat to Alabama.

The gesture by the Kentucky coach drew praise from all circles, including Louisville men’s basketball coach Pat Kelsey, who typed the words, “Love your neighbor” on a retweet of the video of Pope talking with the fan in the wheelchair. “Great stuff,” Kelsey said.

Mark Pope is in his first year coaching the Kentucky basketball team, and he has a good squad on his hands. The Wildcats are 14-3 and 3-1 in the loaded SEC, and Buzz Williams believes that they have the tools to win it all.

Kentucky basketball has been through four conference games so far, and all of them have been all about what the SEC is, and that is physical and bruising. After

In past seasons, a lethargic first half may have spelled doom for Kentucky basketball, but it didn't rattle Mark Pope's Wildcats vs Texas A&M.

By Keith Taylor Kentucky Today Alabama was the first team to 100 points and it was just enough to hold off Kentucky Saturday in a showdown between the two top-scoring teams in the Southeastern Conference.