NASHVILLE — It all comes down to this for Kentucky basketball. And principally, Mark Pope.
With UK shown the door at the SEC Tournament on Friday night, clobbered by Alabama’s unrelenting offensive onslaught, the only thing left in front of Pope and the Wildcats is the event that captivates the nation each year at this time.
Call it what you want.
The NCAA Tournament. The Big Dance. March Madness.
For Pope, it’s akin to judgment day.
How his first season guiding his alma mater always will be viewed through the prism of how Kentucky fares in the NCAA Tournament.
Of course, he’ll always have the come-from-behind victory over Duke. The overtime win versus Gonzaga in the (so-called) neutral setting of Seattle. The sweep of Tennessee. And drawing first blood against fellow first-year coach Pat Kelsey in the Battle of the Bluegrass.
Eight wins over foes ranked in the top 15 of the AP poll at the time of the matchup is nothing to scoff at; in fact, it’s something to commend. A record, actually, equaling the tally of top-15 conquests set by Duke (in 1978-79) and Indiana (1992-93) for most in a season.
But bow out in the opening weekend of the Big Dance?
Only fans wearing the bluest tint of glasses possible will care about regular-season accomplishments.
And it would remind the most pessimistic of those in the fan base of the man he replaced.
For all he achieved in 15 years at the helm, the March foibles of John Calipari’s final five seasons is what made him such a divisive figure among UK supporters. And what compelled him to disembark for another SEC outpost: Fayetteville, Arkansas.
UK hasn’t reached the Sweet 16 since 2019, a span which includes a canceled tournament in 2020 and the worst season in the program’s modern history (9-16 in 2020-21). The three years the Wildcats were part of March Madness? Forgettable. (UK fans would use far more colorful words.) Two shocking first-round upsets at the hands of double-digit seeds — to schools in Oakland (located in Michigan) and Saint Peter’s (located in — most people couldn’t correctly place on a map. The other setback came to a higher-seeded foe (Kansas State was a 3-seed to Kentucky’s 6-seed) but was a contest many still expected Calipari’s club to win, given the presence of the reigning unanimous Player of the Year in Oscar Tshiebwe.
Instead: more March Sadness for the Cats.
Pope, full of vim and vigor, was brought in to save that.
From Day 1, he’s told everyone who’s lent their ear he “understands the assignment” to return Kentucky to the throne room of college hoops and hang National Title Banner No. 9.
Now, he must execute the assignment.
This story will be updated.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball: Mark Pope needs NCAA success to be 1st-year success
