Mark Pope compared Valparaiso's style of play to Gonzaga

The Beacons love to play fast, aggressive and physical, similar to Gonzaga's teams.

Nov 4, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope calls out a play during the first half against the Nicholls Colonels at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky basketball is gearing up for their second game of the regular season on Friday against the Valparaiso Beacons, who are coming off of a thrilling 66-63 win over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday, now looking to bring their fast but aggressive style into Rupp Arena and test the Wildcats.

Valparaiso opened up their season in a 3-point win where they forced 20 turnovers, including 13 steals, the most by a Beacon D-1 opponent since 2020. So far, they're looking like they feed off turnovers, so Kentucky will have their hands full in that regard, as the Beacons rank 15th in the country in defensive turnover percentage, as well as 10th in steals percentage. They're also known to put up a lot of shots offensively, and take away threes on defense. Mark Pope knows all about the challenges Valparaiso will look to present on Friday, comparing their style of play to Gonzaga.

"Good team. Includes a ton of pace, they really try and hurt you in transition. They're so aggressive on the offensive glass. I think they had 16 offensive rebounds in their opener. Their offense rebound rate was close to 35%. They're, they're really great in transition. They really go with the glass. They have some physicality to them, bigs that can make plays. They're kind of a little bit of a Gonzaga vibe in the way they play, the pace they play with, some of the basic actions that they run, their transition continuity is very similar. And so it'll be a great game. It should be a really fun game. It's going to be a physical, competitive game."

Dec 17, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Valparaiso Beacons head coach Roger Powell Jr. calls a play during the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

The Beacons are agressive, play fast, and are very good at taking away shots. On Tuesday, Eastern Illinois shot 18-46 from the field, but only shot 2-9 from three. Speaking of their defensive ability, one of their catalysts in Tuesday's game on that end of the floor was freshman guard Rakim Chaney, who was responsible for 5 of their 13 steals on the night. He is only the fourth Beacon in the last 15 years to record 5 steals in a game. Then, on the offensive end, you can tell how fast they play based off of their shooting numbers. Valparaiso shot 19-55 from the floor overall and 7-31 from three, putting up a lot of shots from deep.

Kentucky will certainly have their hands full against Valpo's defense, and with welcoming Jaland Lowe back into the fold at point guard, it will be a good test to see if the offense is back in good flow before Tuesday's clash with #11 Louisville.