Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats hosted a Selection Sunday watch party as the 2025 edition of the NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed.
They found out they’d be heading north to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to face the Troy Trojans in the round of 64.
Coach Pope gave a quick statement before the bracket show on Sunday evening, and there was one particular quote that stood out.
“We’re about to see the seeding and go win a bunch of games,” he said.
A big reason for that confidence is seeing just how hard this team has worked to get here and to make a deep postseason run, something that pretty much the entire roster, other than Lamont Butler, has been part of at previous schools.
“This team has been through it in an amazing way. Their resilience has been incredible,” said Pope. “When you look at the analytics with the whole season wrapped up, we were 355th in the country in minutes continuity this season. That’s an insane number.
“And to do it in this league, in the SEC, as a brand-new group that’s never functioned together? What these guys have accomplished already is really incredible. What I’m excited about is seeing how much we can take these lessons into the NCAA Tournament and what the dividends will be. It’s gonna be really exciting.”
Pope has been confident in this Kentucky team, whether they’re banged up or not. They’ll be looking to overcome an array of injuries and make a deep run in March.
Pope is also still searching for his first NCAA Tournament victory as a head coach. On Friday, they’ll look to beat the Trojans and capture his first victory in March Madness.
