Mark Pope expects Gonzaga to 'feel like a Final Four game' -- and 'that's what it's supposed to be'

This is a big week for Kentucky basketball with back-to-back road trips away from Rupp Arena. The Wildcats came up short in their first test at Clemson, falling 70-66 in a game that was a mixed bag of issues ranging from foul trouble to a crucial injury to poor execution to being outworked on the glass to bad luck. The contributing factors were all over the place, setting up Mark Pope‘s first loss as head coach.

Up next? A tougher challenge across the country in Seattle against Gonzaga, who sits at No. 2 in the NET and No. 7 in the latest AP Poll. The Bulldogs average 90.4 points and 41.4 rebounds per game with a plus-10.10 margin on the glass — all top-30 nationally. They also allow teams to shoot just 24.5 percent from three, good for No. 4 overall.

Sitting at 7-1 on the year and 3-1 in Quad 1 opportunities, Mark Few’s group is a title contender and will have the home-court advantage with the Wildcats in town — well, 280 miles away from Spokane compared to 2,400 from Lexington. No matter the distance or location, the test is clear and the stakes are even higher coming off a loss earlier in the week.

The good news? Stylistically, there are similarities between Gonzaga and both Georgia State and Clemson — Kentucky’s two most recent opponents. The bad news? They’re the best of the bunch, no matter how battle-tested the Wildcats are in the frontcourt.

“It’s been a nice build-up for us from Georgia State to Clemson to Gonzaga. Georgia State is No. 31 in post possessions in the country, Clemson is No. 6 and Gonzaga is No. 3,” Pope said during his call-in radio show Wednesday evening. “We got our first dose of heavy duck-ins against Georgia State where our guys got to get some reps with that. In terms of dealing with point-to-post and side-ballscreen duck-ins and high-low actions, our guys were actually spectacular (Tuesday).

“They held the team that’s normally over a 1.1 points per possession in the post to 0.75 points per possession. I was really proud of our guys’ effort and intensity in terms of managing Clemson’s No. 1 go-to. If we can continue that, that’ll bode well for us against Gonzaga.”

There are overlaps in playing styles and strengths, but the biggest will be the environment the Wildcats saw inside Littlejohn Coliseum in their first true road game of the season. That was hostile, just as this one will be inside Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena.

Blue and white will get in, as always, but Kentucky should prepare for plenty of boos, too.

The Clemson game had a postseason matchup feel to it, and so will Gonzaga — only bigger.

“They’re probably, over the last 10 years, the best in the country at working through the post in the way they do — maybe stylistically a little different than Purdue, but it’ll be a great challenge for us,” Pope said. “This will be a — if Clemson, at Clemson felt like a second-round game in the NCAA Tournament, this Gonzaga game will feel like a Final Four game. That’s what it’s supposed to be. We’re gonna go out there and we’re gonna really fight and perform.”

Kentucky will take on Gonzaga on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 10 p.m. ET, live on ESPN2. Can the Wildcats take care of business in the Final Four matchup?