Mark Pope explains what gave his team offensive success against Gonzaga

The Wildcats made some big adjustments in the second half.

Nov 26, 2024; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope yells to his players during the second half against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky basketball had a bounce-back signature win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs late on Saturday night in an overtime thriller, 90-89. The Wildcats were getting torched in the first half, getting outworked in nearly every facet of the game. Adjustments then became the big story of the night for the Wildcats in their big comeback.

Their defense was a big issue, but so was there offense. Kentucky struggled shooting on the night, and Gonzaga wasn't allowing much in the first half. Then came the big second half adjustments, where Kentucky came back from as much as 18 points, fighting back to get back into the game. On defense, they switched it up throwing different zone looks at the Zags to throw them off rhythm. When you get stops, you also need some buckets, and that's exactly what Kentucky did. The Wildcats then got into a groove, but it wasn't from three-point range, it was from inside the paint.

A big part of that was cutting and screening, and that was a big focal point in their success of their adjustments after halftime. Mark Pope says Kentucky is emphasizing "cutting teams up" on the offensive side of the ball. He says that helps when you're facing really good defenses.

"We had a couple of really productive days of practice where we're starting to understand how to be us against the best defenses in the country. I was incredibly proud of our guys in the second half. We're gonna have a really nice film session of cutting teams up, because we did. We cut. We've been talking the last two days about cutting, cutting cutting. We had some guys make some unbelievable plays. Some late passes to each other that are really important, and that all comes from guys being willing to cut hard. I was massively encouraged (Saturday) by us learning how we can punish. Just seeing the fruit of some of these guys' work the last couple of days about learning how you can punish teams that really push out on you. It was actually terrific."

Pope on cutting hard on offense.

Seeing the resolve and adversity that this experienced Kentucky team went through against the Zags is a very encouraging sign for Kentucky fans.