In April, Mark Pope was appointed as Kentucky’s new head men’s basketball coach. He quickly took on the challenge of building a completely new roster from the ground up, utilizing the transfer portal in a careful and strategic manner. Within just over a month, Pope assembled a roster that set an intriguing expectation from fans for his first year: to win a game in the NCAA Tournament.
He has successfully accomplished that, leading the Wildcats not just to the Round of 32, but all the way to the Sweet 16, a milestone Kentucky hasn’t reached since 2019. The team was eager for a victory as they entered the NCAA Tournament, aiming for their second first-round win in five years. They achieved that and now find themselves in the Sweet 16 after a win against 6-seed Illinois on Sunday. This victory is noteworthy, as reported by CBS Sports, since Kentucky is the only team in the last two decades to reach the Sweet 16 without any returning scoring from the previous season
Kentucky beats Illinois, which means 25% of the Sweet 16 will be occupied by first-year coaches at schools that didn't win an NCAAT game and/or missed March Madness altogether a year ago:
John Calipari (Arkansas)
Dusty May (Michigan)
Mark Pope (Kentucky)
Kevin Young (BYU)— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 23, 2025
This statistic is impressive for Mark Pope and his Wildcats, highlighting the exceptional job he has done in his first year in Lexington. Notably, only four other teams in the NCAA Tournament had no returning minutes, but Kentucky is the sole team left in the Sweet 16 after all the others were eliminated in the first round.
Now, Kentucky is on the brink of making more history as they prepare to face the Tennessee Volunteers on Friday in the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis. This matchup will be significant as it marks the first time these two rivals have met in the NCAA Tournament. Throughout history, they have faced each other a total of 241 times, but Friday will be their inaugural clash in the tournament.
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