Mark Pope addresses Big Blue Nation after win over No. 6 Duke

Hello, Big Blue Nation.

Kentucky announced itself with authority on Tuesday night in the State Farm Champions Classic against No. 6 Duke. In a game that went down to the wire, it was Kentucky that looked the more veteran team.

Guard Otega Oweh ripped a ball away from Duke star Cooper Flagg with about 10 seconds to go, helping seal a massive win for first-year coach Mark Pope.

“Otega makes a huge play,” Pope said on ESPN after the game. “In fact we talked about it walking down the floor like, ‘It’s time for you to make a big-time defensive play.’ And he delivered like he normally does.”

Not only did Otego deliver, Pope did too. It’s been a whirlwind several months, a stretch that began with essentially an empty roster.

He went to work building the pieces of the roster, hoping to put something on the floor the Big Blue Nation could be proud of. So far, so good.

“Yeah, just I’m really proud of our guys. Our first half was pretty shaky,” Pope said. “We had a lot of things that felt a little weird tonight, but their just fighting spirit just continued to come through. And I know that sounds so cliche, but in these games when you have two great teams going against each other it comes down to the connective tissue of the team and it comes down to like all the little, extra stuff.

“Our guys just kept battling. I was most proud of their resilience with their emotion. Their emotion was incredibly resilient. Everybody on the roster contributed.”

In addition to Oweh’s 15 points in the game, Kentucky also got 17 out of Andrew Carr and 10 out of Amari Williams. The Wildcats finished with 17 assists on 25 made baskets, showing a real degree of unselfishness.

And Pope also reflected that himself after the game, turning his address to Big Blue Nation once more.

“Here’s the thing, is that I’ve learned in the last few years this is actually not about me at all,” Pope said. “If it’s about me it’s too much and it’s too big. It’s about these boys. It’s about BBN. It’s about these guys coming and competing, these guys dreaming of wearing a Kentucky jersey one day and never thinking they would and actually being here now and doing it and being in this game, that’s what makes it special. I just get to observe and watch, and that’s pretty great.”

Big Blue Nation will be riding high for a few days, then it’s back to business for a date with Lipscomb on Tuesday.