Kentucky snaps a two-game losing streak by beating No. 8 Tennessee in Knoxville on Tuesday night.
Kentucky head coach Mark Pope knows this is a really good Wildcats team. That’s been evident since the start of the regular season, and a win over Duke in just the third game of the season proved how good this Wildcats team could be this season.
In addition to this Wildcats team being really good is Pope’s belief that they are resilient. That resiliency was on full display Tuesday night in the Wildcats 78-73 win at No. 8 Tennessee, Kentucky’s fourth win against an AP Top-10 team this season.
“This is a team that we believed from the first few months, we believed that we would have resilience,” Pope said. “We will have resilience because these guys are loving each other enough that we’re a really good team. We do feel like we can withstand punches and withstand rough stretches.”
The rough stretch Tuesday night came at the end of the first half when Tennessee closed the first 20 minutes on an 11-0 to turn a 30-22 deficit into a 33-30 lead. Kentucky didn’t score for the last 3:15, and all the momentum was with Tennessee going into halftime.
Except it could have been worse. With the Volunteers leading 33-30, Tennessee’s Jahmai Mashack stole the ball from Kentucky’s Koby Brea with just six seconds left. As Mashack was leading the fast break, it looked like he was going to go right to the rim and extend the Volunteers’ lead to five points.
But the Wildcats got back on defense to contest not only Mashack’s layup attempt but also Felix Okpara’s layup attempt off an offensive rebound. When Kentucky’s Ansley Almonor secured the defensive rebound, it was still only 33-30 Tennessee.
“Coach Pope’s been saying it all season, even before the season started, ‘Ansley Almonor is going to win us a couple of games this year,’” Wildcats graduate guard Jaxson Robinson said. “Really proud of him.”
It was Almonor and Robinson who stepped up in a big way Tuesday night, with the two players combining for eight three-pointers and 29 points. With the Wildcats playing without LaMont Butler, guys like Robinson were tasked with stepping up and running the Wildcats offense.
Facing a Volunteers that had allowed just 58.4 points per game coming into Tuesday night, the Wildcats shot 50% from the floor overall and from three-point range for the game. More specifically, and more importantly, the Wildcats shot 14/23 from the field in the second half while shooting 5/8 from 3-point range and 15/22 from the free-throw line in the final 20 minutes.
“[My coaches and teammates] just told me to be myself,” Robinson said. “I just had to make sure I went out there and stayed aggressive.”
This Wildcats team has stayed aggressive all season. They’ve stayed resilient all season through 20 games now.
Down seven at halftime against Duke? Kentucky won that game 77-72.
Down 16 at the half against Gonzaga without Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa? The Wildcats won that game in overtime 90-89.
Down 11 in the first half against Florida? Cue a 16-0 run and seven 3-pointers from Koby Brea en route to a 106-100 win.
A road game at No. 8 Tennessee without Butler and Kriisa while Andrew Carr played just two minutes? This Wildcats team just continues to find ways to win.
It’s extremely impressive to watch the Wildcats win games they’re not supposed to win. In just his first season as the Wildcats head coach, Mark Pope has established a toughness and mettle within this team. That toughness and mettle will be vital as the calendar turns to February, and those two attributes are vital to have in March.
With the toughness and mettle that Kentucky has shown this season, the Final Four is absolutely a possible destination for this Wildcats team.
Another top 10 win for the Cats and Mark Pope celebrates with his players pic.twitter.com/UQIxrISL7t
— Dylan Ballard (@DylanBallard_UK) January 29, 2025
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