Mark Pope left BYU 10 months ago to return to his alma mater Kentucky, where he plied his craft at the direction of legendary coach Rick Pitino. Now, as head coach roaming the sidelines of Rupp Arena, that leap of faith is paying off big time.

Kentucky basketball fans are ball-knowers. We can be honest with one another about our Wildcats without getting out the torches and pitchforks, so please, keep your lighters far away from your torches when I state the following.

Kentucky point guard Lamont Butler dribbled stealthily along the baseline before turning on a dime back toward the basket, attempting to muster a decent look late in the shot clock. With the No. 9 Wildcats nursing a four-point lead at Vanderbilt and under eight minutes remaining,

After Kentucky's 74-69 upset loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday, Mark Pope found a silver lining for the Wildcats.

After defeating No. 14 Mississippi State and losing at No. 1 Auburn last week, the Volunteers are taxed this week with home games against No. 12 Kentucky and No. 5 Florida. Tennessee is No. 8 in the latest Associated Press poll, dropping two spots after Saturday night's 53-51 setback against Bruce Pearl's Tigers.

Unlike Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr was unable to take the floor against the Commodores on Saturday afternoon. A back injury prevented the fifth year senior from practicing for multiple weeks, and on Saturday, Pope made the decision to keep him out for the game.

When speaking to the media on Thursday ahead of the matchup at Vanderbilt on Saturday, Mark Pope talked about a lot of the things the Wildcats have been working on. Ball-screen de

Kentucky has been taking advantage of their week off in-between games, but that means they have had even more time to prepare for the Vanderbilt Commodores on S

Kentucky men's basketball suffered a 74-69 loss on the road to Vanderbilt. In their first year since 2008 without John Calipari coaching, the No. 9 Wildcats have kicked off their conference schedule with a 3-3 record against SEC opponents.

On Saturday afternoon — and fresh from a week off from games — No. 9 UK fell 74-69 at Vanderbilt. The Wildcats battled back from a 14-point halftime deficit to take a seven-point lead with 8:39 to play, but head coach Mark Pope’s team faltered down the stretch.

The Kentucky Wildcats succumbed to the Vanderbilt Commodores, 74-69, on Saturday, Jan. 25, as they see their SEC record fall to .500, 3-3.