Jeff Goodman says it's 'Final Four or bust' for Kentucky this season -- and that's how Mark Pope wants it

Mark Pope made history in year one at Kentucky, checking just about every box from the moment he took the podium at Rupp Arena for his sold-out introductory press conference. He led the Wildcats to name-brand wins and ranked wins, then let Big Blue Nation enjoy extended stays in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. However long most honeymoon periods last for first-year coaches, he did nothing to cut it short.

Will it last through year two in Lexington? It depends on whether Pope gets his alma mater back to the Final Four for the first time since 2015, says Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68.

He joined Kentucky Sports Radio on Tuesday alongside co-host Rob Dauster to talk about expectations for Pope coming off the Wildcats’ run to the Sweet 16. That led to understandable excitement and a real investment from boosters to help fund arguably the most expensive roster in college basketball in 2025-26. And if they’re going to spend big, they now have to win big.

The conversation started with some rivalry talk with the FO68 crew coming off a visit to Louisville to hang out with Pat Kelsey and the Cardinals. They’re convinced both teams have legitimate championship dreams in year two for the pair of new coaches.

“We just came from Louisville. They’re loaded, guys. I love that the rivalry is back,” Goodman told KSR. “It’s officially back this year with both teams being preseason top 10, both having a chance to go to a Final Four, both maybe having a chance to cut down the nets in Indy this year.”

With Kentucky specifically, it’s what the Wildcats paid for. Now it’s on Pope to get them there, using that “20-ish million dollars,” as Goodman calls it, to get back to Indianapolis after falling in the Sweet 16 in the same building back in March.

“It’s just the depth and talent, the way this roster was put together. Again, they had more money than everybody else,” he continued. “To be honest, Rob (Dauster) said it when we were at Purdue, ‘It’s national title or bust for Purdue.’ If you agree with that, I think you have to agree that it’s Final Four or bust for Kentucky — because they have 20-ish million dollars. That is probably 30 percent more than any other team in the country for an NIL payroll. 25 or 30 percent, somewhere in there. Something like that.”

The good news? Pope isn’t ducking the smoke. It’s exactly what he signed up for, part of understanding the assignment from day one.

He joked about having a $200 million NIL budget back in the spring, but it was a part of a bigger point he was making: Kentucky deserves the best everything.

“We would like to win at everything. We really would,” Pope said at the time. “This is the flagship program in the country, so I’m fully on board with all of it. We want to play the hardest schedule, we want to play the best teams, we want to win the most games, we want to have the best players, we want to have the highest NIL, we want to have the coolest uniforms, we want to have the most media attention. This is Kentucky. …

“Put NIL, put the transfer portal on the list. Our job is to go be the best at everything. We’re not shying away from that.”

The donors took care of the money, Pope and his staff took care of the roster building. It all looks good on paper, to their credit, as a preseason top 10 team.

Now it’s on the Wildcats to actually get there in April.

“To me, you’ve got pressure with that. And I talked to Mark Pope about that a couple weeks ago in Charlotte. He knows it and he embraces it,” Goodman said. “That’s the best part of Mark Pope. He’s not saying what the number is, but he’s saying, ‘Yeah, we’ve got money! I’m glad we’ve got money, I want that. I want the resources and I want the pressure.'”

Just the way we like it in Lexington. Bring it on.

Jeff Goodman from @TheFieldOf68 said on KSR this morning that the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry is back and that it's "Final Four or bust" for Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/CmBzaNKfOa

— KSR (@KSRonX) September 16, 2025