Mark Pope feels his team is 'poised' for a big March run

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope is confident in his team as the postseason nears.

Feb 28, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) reacts towards a referee after a play against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

We've made it to March, folks. The Kentucky Wildcats are 0-1 in the big month so far, but they have a massive opportunity ahead of them and it starts with No. 5 Florida on Saturday in Rupp Arena. It's been nothing short of a rollercoaster season for the Wildcats, but Mark Pope is confident in his team to be able to make some noise this month.

With one regular season game left, it's almost postseason time as the SEC Tournament begins next week, with the big one to follow it. Despite all of the ups-and-downs, Mark Pope beleives his team is 'poised' to make a big run in March, using all of their experiences as an advantage.

"I like where we are. I like this group," Pope said on Thursday of his team. "I like the fact that we just got punched and pummeled and beat up and got up and experienced and we're a veteran, warrior of a team that I think is poised to have a chance to make a real run here because of everything we've experienced this season."

Mar 3, 2026; College Station, Texas, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope looks on during the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

It is crunch time now, or as Pope calls it, 'winning time', and with fatigue continuing to come up as an issue this team faces, the head coach is searching for ways to stop that and give the guys that need it more time to rest, without sacrificing for the greater good of the game like we saw against Texas A&M. After his eye-opening comments on fatigue after Tuesday's loss, the head coach really is trying to figure out ways to rest players efficiently.

"It just depends on so many things and it's what presents itself in the moment," Pope said on ways to rest certain guys more efficiently. "Can you steal the last possession before a media timeout and get them out? Can you sit them one extra possession just to make the time out a little bit longer? Can you find a matchup that you like, even if it's just for 45 seconds to go? We're gonna do our best to take that off the table as much as we can. It's winning time right now. And so we'll get a little deeper into rotational minutes and do the best we can there, and just piece it together."

One thing is for sure and that is the fact that Kentucky really needs the bench to step up as well as figuring out ways to fix the rotation so that one big decision doesn't cost you. Plenty to think about with that, but the Wildcats need to figure things out quickly at this time of year.