Mark Pope joins Adolph Rupp in rarefied air with win vs. Gonzaga
At halftime, it looked like Kentucky was going to lose this game. The Cats trailed Gonzaga by 50-34, their largest halftime deficit since November 20, 2022, when they trailed…you guessed it, Gonzaga by 16.
The Kentucky team would go on to lose to the Bulldogs 88-72. This Kentucky team? They clawed back to force overtime and won 90-89, all without starting point guard Lamont Butler and even without Kerr Kriisa for most of the second half. According to Corey Price, Kentucky’s 16-point halftime deficit matches the largest in a win in program history. The others? The 16-point halftime gap vs. Louisville on December 18, 2004, and the 16-point deficit at LSU on Feb. 15, 1994, otherwise known as the Mardi Gras Miracle.
With 19:19 to go in the second half, ESPN gave Gonzaga a 97% chance of winning.
With tonight’s win over No. 7 Gonzaga and last month’s win over No. 6 Duke, this Kentucky team is now the fastest to two wins against AP Top 10 teams (nine games) since the 2014-15 season (eight games). Even more, Mark Pope joins Adolph Rupp as the only coaches in Kentucky Basketball history to win their first two games against AP Top 10 foes.
Not bad company to keep.
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