Mark Pope is prepared for a physical challenge from St. John's on Saturday

Pope says Rick Pitino's teams always play "smash mouth basketball."

Dec 13, 2025; Queens, New York, USA; St. John's Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino talks with an official in the second half against the Iona Gaels at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Kentucky fans will finally get to see the highly-anticipated matchup on Saturday between Mark Pope and Rick Pitino, the student vs. teacher matchup that has been talked about since Pope was hired as the head coach of Kentucky basketball. The Wildcats will be taking on St. John's in Atlanta on Saturday, and Pope, being a former player under Pitino, knows exactly the style of play to expect from his old coach's team.

Pope says it's going to be 'smash mouth basketball,' and Kentucky needs to be ready for all of the physicality that's going to come their way from Pitino's Johnnies squad.

"They play with great pace. They're really, really physical. It's interesting, we played some teams where their leading scorers are the four and five that kind of lead the way for them. And certainly, St John's is in that space. They're going to take every opportunity they can to pressure and hack, foul, grab, scratch and claw. The game will be a 94-foot game, for sure."

As Pope alluded to, it starts with their big men. Bryce Hopkins, former Wildcat, and Zuby Ejiofor set the tone for them, not only as St. John's leading scorers, but it's the reason why this Rick Pitino squad is so physical. He talked more about the challenge that their bigs present. "So much of them is their fours and fives. It's really their fours and fives that are just getting busy. Their starting fours and fives, and their backup fours and fives are really good on the glass, and they're pretty relentless. It starts with Zuby (Ejiofor). He's so physical, he just takes you and discards you out of the way and causes havoc on the glass."

On the offensive end, they'll be challenged with physicality there, too, and Pope says they do a great job keeping team's out of the paint. "They make it really hard for you to get downhill. You know, they're pretty you know, they kind of build a wall, five guys across, and it's hard for you to get into into the paint. So they make that challenging." Kentucky must get their three-point shooting going, because it's been a struggle and that's exactly what Pitino is going to force the Wildcats to do.

A former player under Pitino at Kentucky, Mark Pope knows the coach inside and out, and he knows just how well he is able to drive his team's to always compete at a high level. “I think I came here having a good understanding of how to work really, really, really hard, and I left here with having a better understanding of how to translate that work into competitive nature.”

Now, the student will get his ultimate opportunity to take down his teacher 30 years later, as the Wildcats meet the St. John's Red Storm in Atlanta as part of the CBS Sports Classic. All eyes will be on this one on Saturday.