Mark Pope talked injuries, Trent Noah talked big shots vs. Tennessee on Field of 68

The stars were out last night at Rupp Arena. Several national media members took in No. 15 Kentucky’s thrilling win over No. 5 Tennessee, including the Field of 68 crew, which did its show live from the upper deck. It marked Jeff Goodman’s first game back in Rupp in several years, just one sign of how much things have changed around the program.

Goodman interviewed both Mark Pope and Trent Noah following the 75-64 win. Let’s start with his sitdown with Pope, during which Kentucky’s coach talked about how the team is trying to deal with all the injuries, a situation that got even more complicated last night when Lamont Butler re-aggravated his shoulder injury with 8:40 to go in the second half. Pope did not give specifics on the injury nor a timeline but said the Cats will have to continue to be “super creative” as Butler and Jaxson Robinson (wrist) work their way back to the court.

“We’ve actually been dealing with this for the last month, right?” Pope said of the backcourt situation. “Hopefully, we’ll still have enough guys left to actually step up. But come on, man. This is a journey. This gym tonight was special. Playing against a great Tennessee team, and coach Rick [Barnes] is just an unbelievable coach, man. In this environment, it doesn’t get any better. So we’re grateful for this. And you know, we’re gonna have to patchwork it together on Saturday, and that’s what we’ll do, and we’ll find a way.”

Pope is clearly having a ball in his first season in Lexington, last night being just the latest example. Goodman tried to get him to share one thing that pisses him off. Pope mostly shied away from the bait, but did complain about officiating in the mildest of ways and came close to calling out some of the “noise” his players are having to deal with, presumably on social media.

“Sometimes, I feel that my guys aren’t being dealt fairly with on the court. It’s never intentional. But there’s sometimes where the game just goes that way, that can be, you know. And then, the other thing that can get me mad is when — ah, I shouldn’t go there.”

After some encouragement from Goodman, he continued.

“I don’t pay a lot of attention. Like, I don’t have time to pay a lot of attention to a lot of stuff that’s happening around us, all the noise, because there’s so much but I feel really protective of my guys too, because I know what these guys are giving, man. I know how much they care and we are not perfect, and we’re not going to be perfect, but my guys are putting their heart and soul out there, and we all are enjoying it. We’re getting inspired by it. And so I feel really protective of my guys because I know what they’re investing in this deal.”

Trent Noah on his big Rupp Arena moment

During his sitdown with Goodman, Trent Noah talked about what it was like to play such a significant role in a big win over Tennessee in Rupp Arena, the “Mecca” of college basketball. For a kid from Harlan, games against the Vols just mean more.

“It was awesome. Growing up a Kentucky kid in Kentucky, I’ve been bleeding blue all my life. I’ve been to Kentucky vs. Tennesse games and now that I’m in it, it’s super cool. Being able to hit a three in Rupp Arena, it feels like the roof was off. You’ve got to take a second and make sure you can still hear when the crowd erupts. It’s special and it’s really cool.”

Noah discussed his roundabout journey to Kentucky and how he planned to celebrate his big night. Thankfully, his first class today isn’t until 11 a.m.

Want more from the Field of 68 crew? Goodman and Rob Dauster shared their takes on the big win from the upper deck at Rupp Arena, with Randolph Childress providing commentary from afar. Childress speculated on Butler’s injury and how Kentucky can manage it for the rest of the season. Last night was proof of Butler’s impact on this squad on both ends of the floor; Kentucky was able to manage without him and Robinson for almost nine minutes, but what about the remaining seven games?

At this point, it feels like you just need to get them both healthy for the postseason and hope for the best until then.

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