Mark Pope embraces wife Lee Anne, celebrates with fans after Duke win

When Mark Pope took over as Kentucky head coach, he had to build the roster from scratch. After he did, the Wildcats became one of the most interesting teams in college basketball, and an early matchup against Duke looked like a good test.

It’s safe to say the ‘Cats passed with flying colors. UK came back to get the 77-72 victory in the Champions Classic and give Pope a signature victory. Afterward, he took a well-deserved victory lap, embracing his wife Lee Anne and celebrating with Big Blue Nation, which took over State Farm Arena.

Kentucky improved to 3-0 with the victory, which marked the program’s first win over Duke since 2015. It was quite the effort in the final minutes, capped by an Otega Oweh rebound off a missed free throw, which set up the game-winning foul shots to seal the victory.

If there's one thing Mark Pope loves, it's his Cats 💙@KentuckyMBB pic.twitter.com/tFXNVBG50s

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 13, 2024

Kentucky struggled in the first half of Tuesday’s game, shooting 36.7% from the field, including 43.8% from three-point distance. But the Wildcats kicked things into gear after the break, going 43.8% from the field while holding Duke to 29.4% to orchestrate the comeback and stay unbeaten to start Pope’s tenure.

Andrew Carr led the way for Kentucky with a team-high 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point distance. Oweh wasn’t far behind with 15 points to go with six rebounds, while Amari Williams dropped 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

On the Duke side, Cooper Flagg put together a huge night. He had 26 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks, but had three costly turnovers in the final minutes as Kentucky’s defense ramped up the pressure to help seal the victory.

Since taking over the program, Mark Pope has brought energy to Kentucky as he returned to his alma mater. That energy appears to be making its way to the fan base, as well, and was evident as he looked around State Farm Arena.

Pope didn’t take credit, though. Instead, he gave that to his players. As for the coach, he’s just along for the ride.

“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.”