When Mark Pope was first hired as the head coach at Kentucky, a big emphasis he had when finding players to fill the roster were players who understand the assignment, what it means to play at Kentucky,

Mark Pope delivered an early signature win as Kentucky's head coach, but he's putting the attention on his players.

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats made the trip to Atlanta, or as it is better known in Lexington, 'Catlanta,' to take on the #6 Duke Blue Devils, and the Wil

Pope played two seasons at Kentucky, winning a national championship with the program in 1996 under legendary coach Rick Pitino. Following five seasons piloting BYU, Pope accepted the head job for the Wildcats this past April to succeed John Calipari.

Kentucky basketball has its first signature win of the Mark Pope coaching era. The No. 19-ranked Wildcats toppled No. 6 Duke 77-72 in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night at State Farm Arena. Despite trailing by as many as 10 points late in the first half,

No. 19 Kentucky got its first look at a big dog Tuesday with its game against No. 6 Duke, and by walking away from the Champions Classic clash with the 77-72 win, the Wildcats proved themselves to still be big dogs too.

Otega Oweh knocked down four free throws in the final 10.3 seconds and No. 19 Kentucky claimed the first big win of Mark Pope’s coaching tenure, knocking off No. 6 Duke 77-72 at the Champions Classic in Atlanta.

It wasn't an easy decision, but when Mark Pope decided to return to coach his alma mater, he took on all the pressure of UK fandom.

His level of success was a big part of why Kentucky basketball poached him from BYU. He led Utah Valley to a 77-56 within four seasons, and BYU to a 110-52 record with four tournament appearances. Also,