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Wildcat NCAA Champion Mark Pope listed as a Coach on the Rise in Men’s College Basketball

Don’t be surprised to see Mark Pope continue to rise through the ranks of men’s college basketball

played his junior and senior seasons at (1994-96).  He helped Kentucky to an SEC title and Elite Eight run while earning Academic All-SEC honors in 1995.  He is perhaps most remembered for helping Kentucky to an NCAA National Championship as a team captain in 1996. 

On April 10, 2019, Pope was hired as 's 19th head men's basketball coach.  His team received an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years under his leadership.

Now, Sports Illustrated lists him as one of ten coaches on the rise:

“Just nine teams have finished in the top 20 of KenPom each of the last two years. The fact that one of those nine is BYU, in Pope's first two years as coach, speaks volumes about how elite at the job he is. That stat becomes even more impressive when you consider that BYU lost its top three scorers from the 2019–20 team heading into 2020–21. Pope is a skilled tactician (especially on offense) and a savvy recruiter who has brought in some highly regarded talent to Provo. After getting a look for the Arizona job this spring, expect some of the bigger brands in the sport to have Pope on their wish list should their jobs open … though Pope's Mormon faith might keep him in Provo for the long haul.”

Read full article here.

On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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