Mark Pope on Kentucky's season: "I hope people aren't missing it"

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope does not want people to miss what his team is going through.

Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope after winning a NCAA basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Kentucky Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on Jan. 17, 2026. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kentucky basketball has had a true roller-coaster of a season, including a lot of bad moments, and now, they have three-straight wins in the SEC as the momentum looks to be building with the outlook of their season. The Wildcats have not had the best tournament resume, but after their recent wins, that surely is going to help them a lot as they try to get firmly into the NCAA Tournament. There is still a long way to go, but this is a great momentum-builder.

This is now three-straight wins for Kentucky that all have involved huge comebacks thanks to second-half surges where the team plays totally different than the previous half. As the Wildcats go through this wild ride of a season, their confidence is starting to really show in their ability to come back from these huge deficits. Even in the hard times, head coach Mark Pope does not want people to miss what this team is going through.

"I think the gift we have, and I will treasure this with this group, is that we really feel it. We actually talked about it our team meeting last night. It's like, we come in at halftime down 20--we've done it, you know, multiple times now--and we come back and win every single time. So it gives you so much confidence as a group that you can walk in the locker room and nobody's sideways, it's like, yep, this is what we do, and we'll come out and win the second half. And these guys have proved to do it, man. What it says about these guys resilience and toughness, I hope people aren't missing it. I hope they're not missing what this group is going through, what this group is trying to endure, what this group is trying to become, and what this group is actually doing on the court for three-straight SEC games now, coming to halftime, down heavy and things looking bad, and everybody being discouraged, except for the players in our locker room. ...This has not been an easy road and if we do this right then at the end of the day, we're going to be so grateful that it wasn't an easy road, because it gives them a chance to show what's inside of them"

This Kentucky team's resiliency is second-to-none. To go down big and never losing confidence is a huge character quality that this team possesses, and the actual difference from the two halves continues to be staggering. Against Tennessee, Kentucky was killed on the glass in the first half, with just one rebound, and they finished with 14 offensive rebounds. Not just that though, because 8 of their 9 turnovers came in the first half. The Wildcats turned things around in all areas.

Even though it continues to be mind-boggling as to why Kentucky continues these slow starts, it's hard not to be extremely encouraged about their ability to get back into the game and give them a good chance to win. Now, they have three-straight and will be looking for four on Wednesday back in Rupp Arena.