Kentucky faced off against #4 Alabama in their fifth game of the season against an AP top 15 team, and their third-straight at home, which marked the first time

This is new territory for Mark Pope, his Wildcats, and the Big Blue Nation. Kentucky lost its first home game of the Pope era despite Rupp Arena’s best effort from the stands. Pope was dejected after the defeat,

One of the best games of the college basketball season took place on Saturday as Nate Oats and No. 4 Alabama went on the road to Rupp Arena to take on Mark Pope and No. 8 Kentucky in Lexington. The two teams battled back and forth in a high-scoring affair before Alabama eventually made a few more plays to come out on top 102-97.

No. 4 Alabama marched into Lexington and beat No. 8 Kentucky in a thrilling 102-97 showdown between SEC powerhouses. The Crimson Tide and Wildcats showed exactl

More than that, Mark Pope deserves a lot of credit for what he’s done. He built a team entirely off of the transfer portal, and while they might not be as talented as other teams, they’ve still fared well.

Lately, especially in SEC play, fouls have been an issue for this Kentucky team, and it reared it's ugly head against Alabama as the Crimson Tide got to the free-throw line 34 times, essentially at will.

Pope inherited a team that had zero returning players from the previous season’s rotation and was tasked with filling out an entire roster through the transfer portal as well as

“Alabama right now is, of course, they’ve always been so potent, demanding shooting guards’ space, their pace is elite, ” Pope said. “I don’t know if the metrics change every but they are one of the fastest-playing teams in the country.”