Mark Pope Postgame Press Conference from the Bucknell Win

You watched the Kentucky Wildcats win. Now here from the head coach.

Following the victory over Bucknell, Mark Pope spent time with local media discussing Saturday’s victory, his second at his alma mater.

The Kentucky head coach was happy to see his team pick up the message he preached all week. He wanted them to attack the glass and they did just that, securing 22 offensive rebounds.

“I like how our guys are responding,” Pope said in his postgame presser.

“This is the thing, we’ve been sitting on this rebounding issue for 10 days now. And what an epic response, right? And just a commitment.

The guys as a group said, ‘Okay, we’re gonna go fix this.’ It’s been really impressive to see when we point our guys in a specific direction, about their willingness to commit to it and that bodes well for us being able to grow throughout the course of the season.”

In addition to recapping today’s game, he also provided a little preview of what’s to come on Tuesday against Duke in the Champions Classic. Take a look.

The Cats are HOT, but their first test is coming. Kentucky steamrolled through the exhibition schedule and knocked out blowout victories vs. Wright State and Bucknell to open the regular season. Up next? The Duke Blue Devils on college basketball’s biggest and brightest stage, the Champions Classic in Atlanta at State Farm Arena.

What did we learn from Kentucky’s 28-point win over Bucknell — another 100-point night for Mark Pope’s offense? What are the main concerns as we find out if this team has what it takes to be a real contender?