Watch Mark Pope's press conference after Kentucky's win over Eastern Illinois

Kentucky Basketball beat Eastern Illinois 99-53 on Friday night, and afterward, Mark Pope met with the media to break down the win, the growth he still wants to see, and a few storylines that have already taken on a life of their own this week.

Pope called it a “functional game” for his team and said the Cats are still in the painful-but-beautiful part of the early-season learning curve. He talked about balanced scoring against Eastern Illinois (10 players in the scoring column, five in double figures), and why that impressed him as the group figures itself out.

He also addressed several of the topics floating around the program the last few days, like the “out of character experience” he teased from the Louisville game, the latest on Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance, and the individual development he’s trying to unlock in some of his players.

You can watch his full postgame press conference below to hear Pope speak on those topics and more.

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