The Journey brilliantly recaps Kentucky's win over Florida to open SEC play

The start of SEC play needed no introduction. It’s an all-time gauntlet with the league at its absolute best — maybe the best college basketball has ever seen. It will compete for the NCAA Tournament record of 11 teams making the Big Dance and may just beat it by a wide margin. The non-conference was a success for Kentucky, but Saturday marked the start of what really matters in Mark Pope’s first season in Lexington.

It was a top-10 battle between the Wildcats and Florida Gators, two teams seen as contenders to win the league and make a Final Four run in March. Only one could survive inside Rupp Arena. That’s an opportunity people dream of growing up in this sport, and Pope made sure to relay that message to his group ahead of the 11 AM tip-off.

“We’ve all got each other, we’ve got each other’s back. That’s how this is for the next 18 games, guys,” he said. “It’s the best time you will ever have in your life of college basketball, competing in these 18 games.”

That begins this edition of The Journey — one of the best parts of Kentucky basketball wins put together by UK Sports Video, the latest release coming in the hours leading up to the Wildcats’ road matchup at Georgia. It’s the perfect appetizer for tonight’s entree.

You get the behind-the-scenes on-court look, then the halftime speech, followed by in-game huddles and the postgame celebration.

“In front of 20,500 people in the stands — and it’s probably like 22,000 — then all of BBN, all basketball fans around the world, every parent that raises a child, they thank you guys,” Pope told the team afterward. “That was super fun to watch, man. It was super inspiring. That was awesome.”

Watch The Journey in its entirety below:

Indeed it was, Coach. BBN thanks you for that performance — and all of the others to come.

Let’s keep it rolling tonight in Athens. Another chance to stay undefeated in this monster of an SEC schedule.