It was an interesting 2025 for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats, to say the least. The back half of his debut season featured some massive SEC wins and a return to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019. The front half of his second season in Lexington? Well, it started off about as horribly as imaginable with four straight name-brand losses — including a 35-point beatdown in Nashville.
Then they responded with back-to-back double-digit victories vs. Indiana and St. John’s to flip the momentum entering 2026 with the start of SEC play coming in January.