Kentucky’s coach Mark Pope came out a throwing t-shirts as the Blue and White team scrimmaged each other in Memorial Coliseum Friday night. Oct. 17, 2025 Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kentucky had two areas to improve this offseason and Mark Pope got the job done

Originally posted on Kentucky Wildcats on SI
By Andrew Stefaniak | Last updated Oct 26, 2025 12:14 PM ET

The Purdue exhibition has come and gone, and the Kentucky Wildcats dominated the #1 Boilermakers, which has Big Blue Nation fired up for the start of the season.

Kentucky was shorthanded in this game, so fans just wanted to see a few things to fully buy into the hype of this team, and the Wildcats exceeded expectations.

Last season, the offense was elite for Mark Pope in his first season at Kentucky, but the defense and rebounding struggled, and this ultimately led to the loss against Tennessee in the Sweet 16.

Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky fans wanted to see these two aspects of the game look better for the Wildcats, and they did on Friday night against Purdue. The Boilermakers came into this game ranked as the #1 offense in KenPom, so this was going to be an excellent test for the Wildcats' defense, and Kentucky held them to 65 points. The Boilermakers shot 38.6% from the field and 17.6% from three. Pope's defense was able to stifle this elite Purdue offense, proving the defense is going to be elite for Kentucky this season.

As a head coach, Mark Pope has never had a top 50 defense, but it seems safe to say that will change this season.

On the glass, the Wildcats were dominant, outrebounding the Boilermakers 42-30. The Wildcats had 10 offensive rebounds that turned into 14 points, while the Boilermakers only had seven offensive rebounds, turning into four second-chance points.

The three things that are certain in life are death, taxes, and Pope having an elite offense. Knowing this, if the defense and rebounding can be as good as they were against Purdue, this team is going to be very hard to beat.

Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky has a shot to be the most well-rounded team in the country, and they are so deep that legs will be fresh all game long. It is also scary to think how good the defense and rebounding were in this game, knowing Jayden Quaintance, who is the team's best defender and rebounder, wasn't on the floor.

Quaintance has a shot to average ten plus rebounds a game this season and is a top five defensive player in the nation. The Wildcats looked elite in these two aspects on Friday vs. #1 Purdue, but it is scary to think how good they will be at 100%. Coach Pope fixed the issues from last season, which is why the Wildcats could win it all this season.

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

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