Kentucky's defense just pulled off something not seen by the Wildcats since 2014-15

Mark Pope has built a coaching identity centered around offensive firepower, but defense has been the early talking point surrounding his second Kentucky team.

According to UK statistician Corey Price, Kentucky has held its opponents to 59 points or fewer in the first two games of the season for just the first time since the 2014-15 Wildcats. In the season-opener earlier this week, Kentucky limited Nicholls to just 51 points. On Friday, Valparaiso only managed 59 points. Those two foes combined to shoot just 29.2 percent from the field and 20.7 percent from deep against the Wildcats’ stifling defense.

For those who need a quick refresher, that 2014-15 Kentucky team coached by John Calipari was pretty, pretty good, going undefeated all the way until the Final Four. That group of Wildcats actually held opponents to 59 or fewer points in three straight games to begin the season: 45 against Grand Canyon, 52 against Buffalo, and just 40 against the Kansas Jayhawks. In total, that UK team from over a decade ago kept opponents to 59 or fewer points an impressive 26 times.

.@KentuckyMBB has allowed 59 points or less in each of their first 2 games of a season for the first time since 2014-2015

— Corey Price (@coreyp08) November 8, 2025

The opposition will only get tougher for Kentucky, but the early returns on the defensive end of the floor have been promising, especially after last season’s team needed a few months to hit a groove in that area. The first halves, in particular, have been especially impressive on defense. Nicholls scored just 15 first-half points on Tuesday (the fewest by UK in a single half at home since 2014) before Valparaiso managed only 26 on Friday night.

Not only was this season’s Kentucky roster built with more defense in mind, but Pope has made it a point since the offseason to ensure this season’s team doesn’t have to play catch-up.

“I feel like this year we just took big steps in the defensive end, spending more time on that,” Junior center Brandon Garrison said after UK beat Valpo. “We didn’t do that much last year. But just doing the little things, and I feel like everybody is buying in on it and everybody loves defense. I feel like that’s helping us.”

“We are trying to live on the defensive end,” Pope added. “It’s hard to guard, it’s really challenging.”

The defense has been excellent, but Kentucky’s offense is still chugging along, too. The first half against Nicholls was anything but pretty offensively, but the second half was much better. UK then poured on 107 points against Valpo on 54.4 percent shooting. Mixing an elite offense with a top-end defense is usually a recipe for long-term success.

“I was really proud of the guys’ defensive effort,” Pope said. “We had some lapses, which I would like us to keep this standard every single possession for the rest of our lives. And that is our goal. But I was proud of the effort.”

The first real challenge will present itself on Tuesday when Kentucky takes on No. 11 Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals have scored 104 and 106 points, respectively, through their first two games this season. The 2014-15 Kentucky held a top-five Kansas team to just 40 points in game three of the season — will something similar be in store for the 2025-26 Wildcats?

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