Kentucky head coach Mark Pope watches the closing moments of the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arkansas in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. Many years ago, I interviewed Mark Pope shortly after he was hired as the new head basketball coach at BYU. Well, he went on to win many games and, in April 2024, Pope cashed in on his success to win the head coaching job at Kentucky, his alma mater. The Wildcats have played eight games this season against nationally-ranked opponents and won only two of them (No. “We still have some things we’re trying to figure out, you know, with a shortened bench and how we can make those things fit but we’re really optimistic,” Pope told Sports Illustrated.