The men’s basketball team at the University of Kentucky entered this season with a great deal of uncertainty. Not only had much of last season’s team (such as Antonio Reeves and Rob Dillingham) left over the offseason, but Kentucky also made a change in the biggest position of all: head coach. Mark Pope, previously at Brigham Young University, replaced John Calipari this season. Because of these changes, fewer accomplishments were expected of the Wildcats than usual.
Fortunately, this expectation has proven to have been mistaken. On Tuesday, November 12th, 2024, Kentucky defeated one of their biggest rivals, the sixth-ranked Duke Blue Devils, 77-72. It was Pope’s first big win at Kentucky and the biggest victory for the Wildcats since last season’s 85-81 defeat of the then fourth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers.
Many Kentucky players had a big game. Leading the way were Andrew Carr who finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists, and Otega Oweh, who put up 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. Other players who had an especially notable game were Amari Williams (10 points) and Lamont Butler (9 points). Cooper Flagg led Duke with 26 points, but the Wildcats were able to come out on top Tuesday night.
In a season that many expected to be a rebuild, Kentucky has proven that they can do much more. However, past seasons have shown that the Wildcats have struggled to deliver tournament results. Despite victories against fourth-ranked Tennessee, eighth-ranked Miami, and ninth-ranked North Carolina, the Wildcats fell in the first round of the SEC tournament (87-97 to Texas A&M) and NCAA tournament (76-80 to fourteen-seed Oakland, in one of the Wildcats’ most embarrassing losses of the season). Last season’s squad also had trouble staying consistent, losing 73-80 to UNC Wilmington, a game that Knetucky clearly should have won. This season’s team has yet to lose a game, and must continue to both consistently outcompete teams it has a clear advantage against, and also to compete in games against more formidable opponents.
Clearly, this season’s team has a chance to be a contender in the SEC and NCAA. Mark Pope has truly done a great job turning this team around in a short amount of time, and the players are performing at the highest levels of basketball, despite many having only started at Kentucky this year. With higher expectations than before the season’s start, Kentucky is on track for a great 2024-2025 season.
