Kentucky basketball: Mark Pope on Bluegrass natives making impact
Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope discusses how in-state players including Travis Perry and Trent Noah can make a huge impact on the team.
SEATTLE — Kentucky basketball keeps playing with fire. But for the second time this season, it got away with it.
Despite trailing 50-34 at halftime Saturday against Gonzaga, UK put together an epic comeback to force overtime with the teams knotted at 79 at the end of regulation. Then in overtime, UK won the extra period, 11-10, to pull off a 90-89 win at Climate Pledge Arena in the battle of top-10 teams.
The Wildcats outscored the Bulldogs 56-39 in the second half and overtime to punctuate the stunning victory.
The epic rally helped No. 6 Kentucky avoid its second setback in as many games. After starting 7-0 under first-year coach Mark Pope, it dropped its first contest of his tenure earlier this week at Clemson. But Saturday’s come-from-behind victory upped UK’s record to 8-1.
The No. 8 Bulldogs, on the other hand, fell to 7-2. Coincidentally, both of their losses this season have been overtime affairs; they fell to West Virginia, 86-78, in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
It was a balanced effort for the Wildcats offensively, as five players posted double-figure scoring performances, led by Andrew Carr’s 19. Jaxson Robinson was next in line with 18, followed by Otega Oweh (13), Amari Williams (12) and Brandon Garrison (10).
That overcame a stellar outing from Gonzaga star Graham Ike. The 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward had game highs in points (29) and rebounds (11) as he turned in a double-double.
Saturday marked the second time this season UK overcame a halftime deficit to topple a fellow high-profile program at a neutral site. Last month at the Champions Classic in Atlanta, UK went into the locker room down nine (46-37) to Duke before Pope’s squad surged back for a 77-72 win.
After its week away from home, Kentucky returns to Lexington for its next game, hosting Colgate on Wednesday.
The contest is slated to begin at 8 p.m. It will air nationally on ESPN2.
This story will be updated.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
