Mark Pope on Round 3 vs. Tennessee: “It’s Mostly a Free-Standing Game”

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard “it’s hard to beat a team three times” this week, I could afford NCAA Tournament tickets for you and me in Indianapolis, maybe even in the lower bowl. The third meeting between the Cats and Vols has been a big talking point since the matchup was set last Sunday, as fans and talking heads question if Kentucky can beat Tennessee as an underdog for a third time.

In Kentucky’s pregame press conference in Indianapolis, Mark Pope was asked about playing Tennessee a third time and the advantages of facing a team Kentucky swept in the regular season. Pope noted the “emotional advantage” of knowing it’s a team Kentucky can beat, but the confidence from the regular-season meetings is only a tiny part of the preparation and planning for the region’s No. 2 seed.

“There’s the strategic side of coming to know to consider you might have a better idea of, if you’re going to make changes, a better idea of how and why,” Pope replied. “But I think that’s like the .1 percent. I think this is mostly a free-standing game. This is a great Tennessee team. It’s one of the top teams in the country. It’s the best defensive team in the country. They have one of the best offensive teams in the country.”

Pope further downplayed any significant advantages in Round 3, saying, “I don’t know what advantage comes from it. I just know it’s two great teams playing together in the Sweet 16, trying to get to the Elite Eight. And that’s exactly what you would expect at this point in the tournament. We can’t wait to get to it.”

Pope really, really admires Rick Barnes

Pope also spoke highly of Tennessee’s head coach, Rick Barnes, who had a winning record against Kentucky until recently, losing five of the last six, including a 0-2 record versus Pope. Barnes was 10-7 in the series until 2023, when Kentucky began its 5-0 run as an underdog to Barnes’ Vols. Though Pope has gotten Barnes twice, he admires his 70-year-old rival on and off the court.

“Rick Barnes is, if not the best, one of the best coaches in all of college basketball right now,” Pope said on Thursday. “He’s one of the people that I really, really admire. I admire him because he puts together great teams every year. And I admire him because, everything I know about him, he’s a way better man than he is a basketball coach. When you’re one of the best basketball coaches that’s saying a lot about him.”

Pope added that he believes Barnes sets an example for all college basketball coaches. “I think he lives his life by a moral code and a moral compass. And I think he sets an incredible example for the rest of us in the profession. I think he sets a great example for everybody.”

Hear all of Pope’s comments about Tennessee and the Sweet 16 in Kentucky’s Thursday press conference from Indianapolis.