Mark Pope reveals the message to his Kentucky team before Tennessee game

Mark Pope did not allow his team to distract their focus from the game despite all of the noise surrounding it.

Feb 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Mouhamed Dioubate (23) and forward Brandon Garrison (10) celebrate with fans after winning against the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

There was a lot of nostalgia within Kentucky basketball entering Saturday night's game against Tennessee, but Mark Pope was absolutely not doing to let his team get caught up in all of the noise surrounding the day. Kentucky was set to honor its 1996 National Championship team before the game, including by wearing their iconic denim uniforms.

Despite all of that, they did not lose focus. Yes, the first half would say differently, but their resiliency speaks to the fact that they never let the noise from Saturday get to them, as they pulled off yet another comeback win. In the second half, Kentucky held Tennessee to no threes after going 8-15 from there in the first half. After the game, Mark Pope talked about the message he shared to his team before Denim Day began in Rupp Arena.

"I talked to our guys before we went out in the locker room, because it's Kentucky. There's so much noise surrounding everything these guys do and then honoring the denim and bringing back denim was such a big deal and such a big story. I said, guys, I know all this is going on, but this is not about 30 years ago. This is not about denim. This is not about anything except for the story that you guys are writing right now, because the story that these guys are writing right now is awesome. It's their story. If you're not on this ride with us, I feel bad for you."

Feb 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats center Malachi Moreno (24), guard Jasper Johnson (2) and forward Braydon Hawthorne (right) celebrate from the bench during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky showed resiliency in a big way once again. It is something that this team is known to never really lack, as they have had mutliple comeback wins this season. On Saturday, they did it again playing a team that they already successfully came back from down 17 points against on the road just three weeks ago. They allowed Tennessee to not only have no threes in the second half after having different first-half results, but to go 6-30 overall with just two assists. It was a brilliant turnaround for the Wildcats and by now, fans know they never should count out their team. It was an ugly first half, but the resiliency showed in a big way once again.

It is nice to know that Mark Pope, a member of that iconic championship team himself, knew that there was a chance his team would be overwhelmed by the pressure that comes with wearing those denim jerseys and honoring such a great team. Even though the first half may have said differently, Pope's squad came through in a big way, never quitting, which is something that the '96 team could say they never did.