In his growingly viral appearance on The Field of 68, Mark Pope took a moment to reinforce Kentucky's championship expectations this season. We got to win every game, and we got to win the last game.” Kentucky Wouldn't Have to Come Back if They Weren't Constantly DownNow, it's fair to give credit where credit is due. It's become common for a Coach Pope-led Kentucky team to fall behind early and try and crawl back into the contest from there. Fingers crossed that comebacks are more scarce in the 2026-27 season, though only because Kentucky finds their footing right from the tip more often than not.