Mark Pope wants the BBN to join him in Rupp Arena for tonight's TBT game

Mark Pope is going to Rupp Arena tonight. Are you?

The new head coach of Kentucky men’s basketball has called on the Big Blue Nation to show up and support La Familia (Kentucky’s alumni team) in tonight’s The Basketball Tournament showdown against Herd That (Marshall’s alumni team) in the Sweet 16. Tipoff is set for 9:00 p.m. EST inside Rupp where the winner will move on to the Elite 8 and the possibility of facing The Ville (Louisville’s alumni team) in the next game.

“Tonight at 9:00, our TBT team, La Familia, takes on — I don’t even know who,” Pope said. “But we’re about to get a win in the Sweet 16 and go onto the Elite 8. 9:00 p.m., join me in Rupp Arena. Let’s go celebrate our guys.”

If Pope is making the trip downtown, then you should too. You might just get a picture or autograph from the man himself.

I can’t wait to see #BBN tonight as we #PackRupp to support our Kentucky legends! Let’s help send @LaFamiliaTBT to the quarterfinals of @thetournament! pic.twitter.com/H9GhuX4QY2

— Mark Pope (@CoachMarkPope) July 23, 2024

La Familia won its first two games of TBT’s Lexington Regional, taking down (7-seed) 305 Ballers by a score of 82-56 on Friday and then (6-seed) The Nawf 81-64 on Sunday night. Led by Kerem Kanter, the younger brother of Enes who is averaging 23.5 points and 11 rebounds per game on 76.2 percent overall shooting, this group of Wildcats have been rolling so far. Can they keep it up against top-seeded Herd That?

Tickets for tonight’s matchup are still available and are starting at just $7 a pop. Click here to grab yours now if you haven’t already done so. A portion of ticket sales will go towards Kentucky’s NIL efforts. Games will also be livestreamed on TBT’s website and on FS1.

Since this is a winner-takes-all, $1 million grand prize tournament, it’s win-or-go-home for both teams. For a full preview of tonight’s showdown, click the link here.