No. 15 Kentucky men’s basketball defeated the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers 75-64 on Tuesday night, sweeping the season series two games to none.
Head Coach Mark Pope was able to summit Rocky Top twice in his first year at the helm of the Cats, but the former Wildcat (1994-96) was able to do it four times as a player.
Pope has already been adopted by BBN, one of the craziest, loyal fanbases in the country, which has welcomed him with open arms… partially because he’s winning of course.
This season, in his first meeting against legendary head coach Rick Barnes and the No. 8 Vols as a head coach, back on Jan. 28, Pope and the Cats marched into Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville and won 78-73.
Guard Koby Brea shot a perfect 3-3 from deep and blistered the Volunteers with 18 points, thriving in the offensive style that Pope projects onto his team, shooting a lot of 3-pointers.
Most recently, on Tuesday night in Rupp Arena, Pope did it again, as the Cats were able to solidify a 75-64 victory over the No. 5 Volunteers, courtesy of an-all around team effort on the scoresheet.
Pope has had somewhat of a glamorous beginning with the Cats, beating seven top-15 teams (two against Tennessee), breaking a tie with the 2002-03 team, which had six.
When Pope was starring as a player for Kentucky, he defeated the Volunteers four times, twice in 1995 as a junior and twice in 1996 as a senior.
A junior transfer from Washington, Pope first wore the Kentucky threads back in 1995. On Feb. 8, 1995, Pope was able to partake in first ever game against the Volunteers, putting up three points, six rebounds and one assist.
The following game against Tennessee in that same 1995 season, Pope had eight points and eight rebounds as Kentucky won 69-50 on Jan. 25, 1995.
Pope and the Cats advanced as far as the Elite Eight that season as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, however, they got sent home by the No. 4-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels, losing 74-61.
The following season is where the magic was spelled. It was Pope’s senior year, he was the captain and Kentucky won its seventh national title.
On Jan. 13, 1996, Pope put up three points, three rebounds and one assist in UK’s 61-44 conference win over Tennessee and in the next, his final game against Tennessee as a player, on Feb. 17, 1996, Pope accumulated 10 points, three rebounds and seven assists, completing a four-game career sweep on the Volunteers.
The Cats and Vols already feuded twice this season, capping off their regular season tilts for now, but Pope, who is under a five-year contract, hopes to continue to repeat his aged success in future matchups with the Vols.