Feb 8, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope smiles as he watches the action during the second half against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Are opposing teams and fan bases no longer scared of Kentucky basketball?

Originally posted on Kentucky Wildcats on SI
By Andrew Stefaniak | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 10:48 AM ET

The argument can be made that Kentucky is the greatest college basketball program of all time, but it has been over a decade since the Wildcats last won a National Title. Now Mark Pope has taken over as the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, and he has a lot of tradition to bring back to this program.

One thing that seems to have been lost over the last five years is the fear that comes with playing Kentucky basketball. There was a time when fan bases and opposing teams were terrified when they were set to take on the Wildcats, and since the pandemic, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Part of this is due to the Wildcats' struggles, but also part of this is due to college basketball seeing more parity thanks to NIL and the transfer portal.

While Kentucky might not be putting as much fear into opponents as they were early into the John Calipari era, a high level of respect is still there. This is shown when the opposing team gives out t-shirts or some other big promotion when the Wildcats are in town. Fan bases really want to beat the Kentucky Wildcats because they are a blue-blood program.

Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Teams used to never come into Rupp Arena and leave with a win, and now it is happening more and more. Protecting home court is very important, so Pope needs to make sure teams walk into one of the most historic buildings in college basketball and never leave happy.

Coach Pope needs to find a way to put fear into opposing teams and fan bases when the Wildcats come to town, or when these teams come to Rupp Arena. The way to do this is to prove over a multi-season span that the Wildcats are elite on the floor.

Coach Pope has a team that looks like it could be the beginning of putting fear back into the rest of college basketball, and if this is the case, it won't stop anytime soon.

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Calipari was more of a villain than Coach Pope is, based on the way he spoke and the whole, "You're gonna hate me because I'm going to come to your town and beat your team."

There is no need for Pope to take on the villain personality. The way he should go about this is winning a lot of basketball games, so when opposing teams prepare to take on the Wildcats, they are terrified knowing their chance of winning is next to zero.

This article first appeared on Kentucky Wildcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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