"It's going to be a bloodbath": Kentucky HC Mark Pope fires up fans for Wildcats' "sensational" slate of games in SEC
The SEC is well-recognized as one of the top conferences in college sports, especially in football and basketball. For the latter, Mark Pope sees this to be the case as he leads the No. 4 Kentucky men's basketball team closer to conference play.
Pope gave his outlook on the upcoming games of league play in the SEC on the College Hoops Today podcast with Jon Rothstein. While he is confident in his team's chances, he anticipates that the conference will be competing at a very high level.
Mark Pope summed up the upcoming slate of conference games for No. 4 Kentucky with one word - "sensational"
"It is gonna be so sensational, and I'm really happy for our guys that they get to experience this. I'm happy for Big Blue Nation, I'm happy for the SEC, and we can't wait to get started. That's actually gonna be the real Christmas present, is that we get to jump in this league, because it's going to be a bloodbath," Mark Pope said.
Mark Pope compares SEC this season to Big 12 last year
Prior to joining Kentucky, Mark Pope was coaching the BYU Cougars in the Big 12 Conference. Having faced elite competition in that league for five years, he drew similarities between them and this year's version of the SEC.
"We're gonna have like six teams in the top 8 or 9 in the AP Top 25, give or take. ...Last year, the Big 12 was the best conference in the country, and every single game was the biggest game of your life. It was just a brawl every game," Pope said.
"This year, that's the SEC, but times 10. This league is just insanity right now, and as an athlete and as a coach, I think you'd be sad if you were playing in any other league. This is what you dream of. There's not going to be a lot of time trying to get our guys hyped up to compete in a game."
Kentucky is off to a hot start with a 10-1 record, currently rolling with three straight wins. They boast an offense averaging 91.3 points per game on 49.5% shooting from the field and 36.7% from beyond the arc. On defense, they give up 71.6 points on shooting splits of 39.4% overall and 27.5% from downtown. They are also aggressive in crashing the glass and creating shots for teammates, grabbing 44.5 rebouns and dishing 19.5 assists per contest.
Six players score in double-digits for the Wildcats, with two having more than 15 points per game. Otega Oweh leads the way with 15.7 points, four rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 steals on 52.5% shooting from the field while Lamont Butler puts up 15.1 points, 3.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals on 60.8% shooting overall.
Mark Pope and the No. 4 Wildcats prepare for their matchup against Ohio State at Madison Square Garden in New York on Dec. 21 at 5:30 p.m. ET.