Mark Pope says Mo Dioubate continues to make the winning plays

Kentucky forward Dioubate comes up big for Kentucky whenever they need him.

Feb 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Mouhamed Dioubate (23) celebrates after dunking the ball against the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

The Kentucky Wildcats picked up a massive comeback win over Tennessee on Saturday and it came down to the wire. Following Collin Chandler's go-ahead three to put Kentucky in the lead with 32 seconds left, they then had to cap it off with free throws in the final seconds, but one play is not as talked about that is as important as the others. That play is Mo Dioubate's offensive rebound in the final seconds.

Kentucky had a one-point lead in the final seconds, but Dioubate grabbed the offensive rebound off of a missed free throw by Collin Chandler with five seconds remaining. Dioubate then passed it to Denzel Aberdeen who capped things off with two free throws to go up 74-71 with three seconds remaining, where Kentucky would then successfully pull off the comeback victory.

But that wasn't the only time Dioubate has came up big on the boards, because against Arkansas, he came up with multiple huge offensive rebounds throughout the game, most notably when he gave Kentucky a second chance with a rebound at the 3:17 mark of the second-half. The Wildcats were up seven at that point and went on to help grow their lead soon after his rebound. Then, in the win at Tennessee a few weeks ago, he had two huge rebounds there in the final minutes, one of those as it was a one-point game with just seconds left.

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

Following the win over Tennessee on Saturday, Mark Pope raved about the way Dioubate just continues to make big plays for his team, even if it doesn't pop off on the stat sheet.

"Mo Dioubate maybe did not have his best game, but, like, I don’t understand how every clutch offensive rebound at the free-throw line, he comes up with one big one down the stretch of every single game," Pope said of Dioubate. "The plays he’s making are not the stuff that you see on SportsCenter’s Top 10, but they are the plays that win. His offensive rebounds down the stretch in the last three minutes at Tennessee are what won us the game. His offensive rebound at the free-throw line is the play that sealed the game for us today." 

“You just can’t overstate the value of that," Pope continued on Dioubate's play. "Sometimes it’s hard to love that as a player when that’s who you are, which is unfortunate, because everybody else in the league would kill to have that guy that is going to make that play.”

Dioubate continues to be a difference-maker when it matters for this Kentucky team and he may have actually had the most important play of all against Tennessee on Saturday.