During Kentucky's Winning Streak, Mark Pope Preaches 'Staying as Simple as We Possibly Can'

Sometimes, it’s better to keep things simple. If you ask Mark Pope, that’s exactly what he’s looking to do with this Kentucky team.

After starting the season 9-6, Kentucky has reeled off five straight wins, including a 72-63 win over Ole Miss on Saturday, bringing the Cats to 14-6 on the season and 5-2 in the SEC. What has changed for the Cats? If you ask Pope, there are a few things, but most of all, just keeping it simple.

“I think the guys are a little more comfortable with each other. We’re staying as simple as we possibly can,” Pope said. “Teams are built different ways. We’re trying to stay really, really simple, so our guys can go play.”

That’s a change from previous Pope teams. He’s now adapting to the personnel he has at Kentucky.

“Sometimes, you have guys that function a little differently, where you can trick up the game a million different ways, and they like the little nuance part of it,” Pope said. “Our team is actually (a) playmaking team. We managed to do it on offense and defense. It seems like we’re winning a lot of close games right now, which has been a lot of fun. Our players are just stepping up and making big plays.”

Kentucky Continues to Make Clutch Plays

Kentucky is getting experience in tight games of late. During their last four games, they have an average margin of victory of just 4.25 points. They’re finding a way to get it done late.

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“It’s fun. All of the cardiologists in BBN are going to be so happy because they’re going to have so much extra work from this season,” Pope said. “It’s really fun. The big plays are fun. The drama is fun.”

Pope noted Malachi Moreno‘s missed free throws late, before making two crucial ones just minutes later. He also mentioned Collin Chandler‘s “unbelievable” three-pointer in the game’s final minute, while also citing plays from Mo Diobuate and Denzel Aberdeen.

“It’s kind of fun to chart the last few minutes of every game because every single one of our guys is making a big play,” Pope said. “It makes it fun, man. I talked to our coaches after. These moments, actually, if you can just take yourself out of all the noise around it, this is really special. This is really special what these guys are doing.”