Mark Pope knows all about the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry. The UK head coach played against the Cardinals twice in his career, so he has seen these games from the trenches.

Pope will be the only person on the UK bench with any experience in the rivalry as the Cats and the Cards meet on Saturday at Rupp Arena (5:15 ET, ESPN).

Pope’s Cats beat the Cards once during his playing career. In 1995, Kentucky used a big second half, and 30 points from Tony Delk, to beat Louisville 89-66 at Rupp Arena. Pope had two points and three rebounds for UK.

The other time Pope played against Louisville, it was the Cards coming up with an 88-86 win at Freedom Hall. Pope had nine points and 10 rebounds in that game.

Pope knows that rivalries, especially within the borders of a particular stats, are special.

“In state games are always great,” Pope said. “The rules go out the window and the stats and the analytics go out the window and it’s just different. It’s just a brawl. The games are so fun and they’re so intense and it means so much. It’s really special that way. It’s a great thing. We’re really blessed to be part of it. And it matters. It matters. And so we’re excited.”

Louisville is also under the direction of a new head coach, Pat Kelsey. The Cards are 6-4 this season, with impressive wins over West Virginia and Indiana. Pope knows that Louisville can be very dangerous.

“Terrific team. They’ve had some huge wins,” Pope said. “They can be really disruptive. They are really aggressive. Chucky (Hepburn) is playing at an elite level. They’re a terrific team with a massive upside.”

Kentucky has won five of the last six meetings against Louisville and the Cats lead the all-time series with the Cards 39-17. Louisville has not won in Lexington since 2008. Last year, Kentucky jumped early, building a 20-point lead on its way to a 95-76 victory in the Derby City. Antonio Reeves led all scorers with 30 points, while Tre Mitchell had 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Five Score in Double Figures as No. 5 Kentucky Tops Colgate

Kentucky jumped out to a huge lead, then fell behind early in the second half, only to rally late and beat Colgate 78-67 on Wednesday night at Rupp Arena.

All five UK starters scored in double figures in the contest, led by Koby Brea, who had 17. Otega Oweh and Amari Williams each had 15, and Andrew Carr added 10 rebounds. Carr and Jaxson Robinson finished with 11 points apiece.

“Our guys rang the bell the way that they do,” said UK head coach Mark Pope. “We got contributions from a bunch of guys, we protected the ball, which was a point of emphasis for us. We got some guys some minutes in different situations they haven’t had. It was a good night.”

Some additional notes from the win:

• It’s the sixth time in 10 games that at least five Cats have hit double digits in scoring
• Kentucky won the rebounding, 46-35. UK has won or tied the rebounding in all but one game this season
• Kentucky sent Colgate to the free-throw line for three attempts, fewest for a Wildcat opponent since North Florida shot only two on Nov. 26, 2021

Just Call Him “Fuego”

After finishing as the nation’s leading 3-point shooter a year ago, Koby Brea has picked up right where he left off in 2024-25. Brea is averaging 12.4 points per contest and shooting an incredible .561 percent from 3-point range.

• Brea has 32 3s through UK’s first 10 games, that ranks tied for 24th in the nation as of Dec. 11 and tied for the eighth most makes from deep among players in the five major college basketball conferences
• Brea is averaging 3.20 made 3s per contest. He is on pace to make 99 3-pointers by the end of the regular season. The UK record for most made 3s made in a single season is 117 by Jodie Meeks in 2009
• Brea’s 56.1 percent make rate from beyond the arc ranks second in Division I as of Dec. 11
• Brea’s 3.20 makes per game ranks third in the SEC and 34th in the country
• Brea has made multiple 3-pointers in eight games this season, and has drained four or more in four games
• The most made 3-point field goals per game by a UK player in a single season is 3.54 by Derrick Miller in the 1989-1990 season, Brea is logging 3.20
• Inside Rupp Arena, Brea is 28-45 (.622) from beyond the arc this season and has made three or more 3s in six of seven games
• Brea ranks 10th overall in offensive rating per KenPom