Watch Kentucky's video recap from the EPIC win in Starkville before tonight's game vs. Texas A&M

Mississippi State gave newspapers to its student section with the following headline: “Extra! Extra! Beat Kentucky!”

Mark Pope‘s response: “THAT AIN’T HAPPENING!”

Those were the UK head coach’s final words before war — the water war of celebration, not the on-court war he had already won against MSU. We get the behind-the-scenes look at that locker room party in the latest masterpiece from the UK Sports Video team, one showing the lead-up in Starkville and pregame speech from Pope before the team came out firing on all cylinders at The Hump.

“I want to focus. When we step across those lines for a game, that is our safe place. That’s our safe place, just us,” Pope told the team before tip-off. “We have to worry every second of our lives about what happened before or what happens next, but when we step on that court for 40 minutes, we don’t have to worry about anything that happens tomorrow or anything that happened yesterday. We don’t have to worry about anything that happened this morning or anything that might happen later tonight. We just get to be 100 percent on that court together. You got it? That is our safe place, man. That is our place of work and artistry.”

That led to a gutsy effort that saw the Wildcats take a 14-point second-half lead, followed by a late response and clutch finish after the Bulldogs stormed back to retake the lead.

“We just have to keep applying the pressure. Keep applying the pressure,” Pope told the team when adversity hit.

That’s all it took, Kentucky holding on for the 95-90 victory to earn its first true road win of the season.

Take a look at the recap from the UK Sports Video team:

Enjoyed the battle. pic.twitter.com/wgJyNbnGRy

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 14, 2025

And then while you’re at it, watch KSR’s Road Trip video following three days in Starkville — I promise that one is worth your time, too.

More Kentucky News and Views on the KSR YouTube Channel

Kentucky Sports Radio has expanded its coverage of the Wildcats in the most ridiculous manner possible on our YouTube Channel. Here you will be able to find interviews with coaches and players, as well as commentary from the KSR crew. From Rapid Reactions following big events to our lengthy lineup of live shows, subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel to stay up to date on everything happening around the Big Blue Nation.