Mark Pope reacts to earning 200th career victory in Kentucky win vs. Mississippi State

Mark Pope won his 200th career game as a head coach when Kentucky defeated Mississippi State 95-90 in Starkville on Saturday. It improved his Wildcats to 13-3 overall and 2-1 in SEC play.

When asked about the emotions that occupany such a coaching milestone, Pope instead the opportunity to deflect the accomplishment toward the performance of his players and their gritty victory in a hostile environment.

“That’s great … that’s like 100th down the list,” Pope told KSR’s Jack Pilgrim postgame. “I’m just so happy for our guys. This is our first road win, and the only opportunities we have to win on the road are against ranked teams, so it’s hard. This is a great venue … it feels like the exact same building that I played in [years ago].”

That’s been Kentucky’s main issue this season — true road games. They tripped up on the road against Clemson during the non-conference slate and again during their first road SEC game against Georgia. Kentucky was held to under 70 points in both of those matchups — far below their 89.2 per game average.

“For our guys to come in here and fight and really answer some specific things that we’ve been struggling with, I’m really proud of them,” Pope said.

Six of Pope’s players scored in double figures during the contest. Jaxson Robinson, who followed Pope from BYU, led the way with a season-high 27 points on 7 of 10 shooting from 3-point range. He was aided by Ansley Almonor who came off the bench to provide 11 crucial points to Kentucky’s winning effort.

Almonor knocked down three 3-point baskets in short order, which came at a time typically reserved for Koby Brea, Kentucky’s best 3-point shooter. Brea wasn’t able to free himself from the Bulldogs defense and finished the game with three points in 17 minutes.

While Mark Pope isn’t making a big deal of win No. 200, his 201st might be hard to come by. Kentucky’s SEC gauntlet coming up includes No. 11 Texas A&M on Tuesday and No. 4 Alabama on Saturday. Both will be played in Lexington before the Wildcats get a slight break in their schedule.

They’ll have to end the month with consecutive road trips at both Vanderbilt and against Tennessee. That will bleed into the highly-anticipated return of John Calipari to Rupp Arena when Arkansas plays Kentucky on Feb. 1.