No. 3 Kentucky men’s basketball got a major monkey off its back when it took care of business and defeated Troy 76-57 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
While a notable win for a program that had lost in the first round in two of the last three years, the win was extra special for UK’s new head coach, Mark Pope.
Despite helping lead Kentucky to the 1996 National Championship as a player, Pope’s coaching record in the big dance when he took the UK job was just 0-2.
Pope never made the NCAA Tournament at Utah Valley and was bested in the first round twice with BYU, including an upset loss to Duquesne last season.
Now in his first season at Kentucky, Pope led his Cats to a comfortable victory over the Trojans.
True to his nature, however, Pope refused to truly celebrate the personal accolade, speaking more on the result from the perspective of his players and the team’s journey.
“I spend a lot of time thinking about our guys, where this is their one shot to do this,” he said. “Most of our guys wearing a Kentucky jersey. When you understand how much it means to our fans and this community, that’s the stuff that’s really important to us. We just are blessed to have a chance to be here and do everything we can to help it work.”
As for what the win meant to him personally, Pope just joked that it meant UK Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart “won’t fire him until Saturday or Sunday.” He also joked that he was just happy UK’s Brandon Garrison could no longer call him “The Big Zero.”
The win wasn’t just special for Pope for it being his first, however, as it also came in Milwaukee, a city in which Pope played professionally for the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA two seasons (2000-2002).
“ I love this city,” Pope said. “Lee Ann and I, really in a lot of ways, began our life here. My oldest daughter, Ella, was born here. I got to play for George Karl on one of the best Bucks’ teams in the last 30, 40 years with incredible teammates I love so much. I was a terrible player so I was a guest on the team, but it was special. And I think about, if you’ll let me, I think about this Milwaukee tradition that I got to be part of. Super important to me.”
While Pope himself didn’t indulge much in his personal accolade of getting his first NCAA Tournament victory, his players were happy to do so, saying that getting Pope his first win was a major motivating factor for the squad.
“It felt really good, especially to get coach’s first tournament win,” starting point guard Lamont Butler said. “It was definitely special. We’re excited to get some more wins.”
Freshman Trent Noah was also happy to speak on the significance of the victory and what it meant to help his coach get his first victory in March Madness.
“Coach Pope, I’m so happy for him and just happy for this fan base,” Noah said. “He’s an X’s and O’s wizard, he’s an experimental coach, but what really makes him special is he’s an incredible human being, too. Love Coach Pope to death, he’s a great human.”
Overall, a win as a No. 3 seed over Troy may not seem like a major accomplishment — it was the expected outcome, after all — but for a Kentucky fan base that entered the game with something akin to PTSD from recent tournament failings, the win felt much larger.
The Cats have a much tougher test on Sunday against Illinois, a Big Ten team very capable of making the second weekend, just hours away from the Illini’s campus, but BBN is sure to feel a sense of confidence in its coach and squad after taking care of business against the Trojans.
Tipoff against the Fighting Illini is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. ET and will air live on CBS from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
