The Kentucky Wildcats entered the 2024-25 with deep uncertainty. They may be a blue blood, but even college basketball royalty isn't guaranteed success under a new head coach with a roster rebuilt from scratch. Mark Pope was up for the challenge.
On Sunday, Kentucky made it out of the second round of the NCAA Tournament with an 84-75 victory over Illinois. Kobe Brea, who was plying his trade at Dayton last year, delivered a standout performance with a career-high 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting and six rebounds.
All things considered, the Wildcats have had a relatively drama-free time in March Madness. They led by as many as 16 against the Illini and handled No. 14 seed Troy by 19 points. The next matchup is certain to give them a bigger test.
Who do the Kentucky Wildcats play in the Sweet 16?
On Friday, Mar. 21 the Wildcats will take on No. 2 seed Tennesseee.
The Volunteers have walked a similarly simple road thus far. They had no trouble with No. 15 seed Wofford in the first round. Next came No. 7 seed UCLA, who never really threatened the upset.
Rick Barnes took the Vols to the Elite Eight last year, his best finish in 10 years in Knoxville. The Wildcats will have to find a way to deny him another trip.
What is Kentucky's record against Tennessee?
Those in orange undoubtedly wanted a different Sweet 16 match up. Kentucky beat Tennessee in both meetings during the SEC campaign. They won 78-73 in Knoxville and 75-64 in Lexington.
In fact, the Volunteers have only beaten the Wildcats once in the last six matchups. That was in 2024 when Tennessee was ranked No. 5 and Kentucky was No. 10. Revenge came later in the season for UK.
This is the first time the SEC rivals will meet in the NCAA Tournament.
When was the last time Kentucky made the Elite Eight?
John Calipari was the last head coach to lead Kentucky to the Elite Eight. The Wildcats made that run in 2019 as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest. First they beat No. 15 seed Abilene Christian, then made it through No. 7 seed Wofford. The Sweet 16 matchup was against No. 3 seed Houston.
Kentucky met their demise at the hands of No. 5 seed Auburn in the Elite Eight. The Tigers hit a game-tying layup with 38 seconds remaining to force overtime. There, the Wildcats quickly fell behind by four and never managed to dig out of that hole.
What is Mark Pope's record in March Madness?
Mark Pope has never made it beyond the Round of 64, so this is entirely new territory for the Kentucky head coach.
Pope made it to the semifinals and quarterfinals of the CBI while at Utah Valley. His BYU team was primed to cause problems in the 2020 NCAA Tournament before that was cancelled. Both of the Cougars' next two trips to the Big Dance ended in Round 1. In 2022, BYU made a quarterfinal run in the NIT.