Mark Pope looking to accomplish what John Calipari failed to at end of Kentucky tenure 

After making four Final Four appearances and leading Kentucky to its eighth national championship in 2012, John Calipari officially announced he would be departing Lexington to become the head coach at Arkansas shortly after the 2023-24 season concluded.

While the accolades at Kentucky seemed endless, the latter years of his tenure with the Wildcats could not have worsened.

Following an Elite Eight loss to Auburn to close out the 2018-19 season, the Wildcats went 25-6 the following season. However, they were sent home from the SEC Tournament due to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

With the cancellation of some games and a shortened schedule that ended with a 9-16 record in 2020-21, Kentucky failed to make it out of the first weekend of each of Calipari's final three seasons at the helm. A second-round loss to Kansas State (2022-23) was sandwiched in between a pair of shocking first-round losses to 15-seed Saint Peter's (2021-22) and 14-seed Oakland (2023-24).

Kentucky's eight national titles rank second behind UCLA's 11 for the most in NCAA Division I history. Thus, the early NCAA Tournament exits of the last three years are unacceptable in the eyes of Kentucky fans who have come to expect success.

After Calipari's departure, the decision was made to hire Mark Pope, the former captain of the 1996 national championship team under Rick Pitino, as the team's next head coach.

Despite inheriting a team with zero returning scholarship players, Pope created a roster by utilizing the transfer portal in no time. Former Oklahoma guard Otega Oweh (16.2 PPG) has led the team in scoring all season. In comparison, San Diego State transfer Lamont Butler (11.5 PPG, 4.3 APG) has brought his toughness and court vision and Dayton transfer Koby Brea (11.5 PPG) has shot 43.9% from three-point range, good for ninth in the country.

Not to mention, senior Amari Williams, the Drexel transfer, has posted nine double-doubles and recorded a triple-double against Ole Miss on Feb. 4, putting his versatility on full display.

This team has battled injuries all season, including losing guards Kerr Kriisa (foot) and Jaxson Robinson (right wrist) for the rest of the season. Butler (left shoulder) has missed multiple games but is expected to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Kentucky enters the first round as the three-seed against 14-seed Troy. The Trojans — champions of the Sun Belt — rank 30th in rebounds (38.58 RPG), an area the Wildcats have struggled in all season. 

Kentucky has also had issues defending, but the fourth-highest-scoring offense in Division I (85.3 PPG), and the experience should be enough to get past the first round.

If Kentucky reaches the second round, it will face the six-seed Illinois or one of the 11-seeds matching up in Wednesday night's First Four — Texas or Xavier. The Fighting Illini have one of the youngest teams in the nation and have been inconsistent on defense all season. 

The Wildcats lost a nail-biter to Texas, 82-78, on Feb. 15, and Xavier struggles on the boards, which could bode well for Kentucky if that is the second-round matchup it gets.

As stacked as the SEC has been this season, with a record 14 teams making the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky brings an NCAA-record eight wins over the top 15 opponents.

If that type of performance translates to the Big Dance, Pope and the Wildcats could be able to go on a run, which is something Calipari's teams did not do at the end of his tenure as the team's head coach.