Mark Pope believes Louisville will be the biggest game of the year for Kentucky -- because it's the next game

This offseason saw Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey nearly coming to blows outside a five-star recruit’s apartment in Atlanta. Then Louisville forward Kasean Pryor decided to make quite the headline by telling local media he looked forward to seeing them again at the Yum! Center on Tuesday “after a win,” only to add a nice “f*** them” on his way out, talking about Kentucky.

The UK players said they saw those quotes, “but we ain’t paying much mind,” as Brandon Garrison put it. “They just over there talking, doing what they do.”

“Honestly, no reaction,” Malachi Moreno added. “We don’t pay attention to outside noise.”

Maybe the biggest head-turner? Jaland Lowe, saying the Cards can talk all they want off the floor, it won’t change what happens on it.

“By all means, they can chirp, and I think we’ll save our chirping during the game and after the game — when we win,” he said. “We’ll just leave it at that.”

Was Pope ready to add fuel to the fire with his own fighting words, picking up right where he left off putting Kelsey in a headlock during last year’s matchup or giving him a few body blows outside a recruit’s apartment after midnight a few months back? He did say the Louisville game was Kentucky’s biggest, so that must mean something, right?

Actually, he just lumped in the rivalry battle with every game the team plays this season. Every opponent is the biggest opponent because that’s what Kentucky basketball deserves. There is a target on your back in Lexington suiting up for the Wildcats, so it’s impossible to take any team lightly.

That includes the Cardinals, no matter the number next to their name.

“Yeah, it’s the biggest game. The nice thing for us is that every game is the biggest game we’ve ever played,” Pope said after the 48-point win over Valpo. “In-state rivalry games are always fun and exciting.  We can’t wait to get through the autopsy of this game and take what we can learn and we will jump into that tomorrow. It’s just a beautiful thing.”

Then he started talking about the other matchups, including the Champions Classic battle at Madison Square Garden just a week later. Those will be the biggest games of their lives, too.

If Louisville is a Super Bowl for Kentucky, every opponent is a Super Bowl for Kentucky.

“Everything comes so fast. We are going to be in New York the week after next. Someone told me that yesterday and I was like, ‘Wow, it seemed like it was months away.’ So, it’s just great game after great game after great game, and this is certainly a big one — just like they all are.

“We will finish up this deal and then get to that and can’t wait to get out and play.”

He stuck to the same script with Tom Leach, saying that while UK vs. UofL will be an “all-out war,” they’ll have to go out and treat Eastern Illinois with the same respect a few days later.

“It’s awesome,” Pope said of the rivalry matchup. “In-state games are great. Rivalry games are great. It’s going to be an all-out war. The nice thing for us is, that’s every single game for us. It’s Kentucky.

“Every single game is life or death, and we talk about it as a team, we talked about in our huddle at shootaround today, today was the biggest, toughest, most important game that we’ve played in this short season so far, and the same is going to be true when we go on the road to play Louisville and that’s every game.

“It’s the blessed part of playing at Kentucky, that every game is the biggest game.”