Saturday will be a homecoming of sorts for Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope. Fourth-ranked Kentucky visits Seattle on Saturday to face No. 7 Gonzaga. Pope played high school basketball in Bellevue, Washington, which is about 10 miles outside the city.

The UK head coach expects to see a large number of family and friends for the contest on Saturday.

“I don’t get to go back to Seattle that much, so I’m excited to go back. I’ll see a bunch of high school teammates and I’ll get the chance to sit with (high school) Coach (Rich) Belcher, who I love so much. Excited to see him. My parents don’t live in Seattle anymore, but a bunch of my siblings do, I’ll get to see them at the game. Seattle is a great city that I have a ton of love for.”

Kentucky suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday, falling at Clemson 70-66. Despite its first setback, Pope liked how his team responded to adversity, both during and after the game.

“I liked it in the game. I actually have more confidence in this team after the game than I did before (the loss),” Pope said. “I liked how our guys were willing to sell out and address the most important thing. At halftime, the most glaring problem was that we were down 10 on the glass. I was really impressed with our guys and they remedied it and got back to even, which is hard to do. I felt good about that.”

Pope knows that there will be ebbs and flows in every season, and he believes this UK team is equipped to handle it all.

“Seasons are hard and that’s why they’re great,” Pope said. “What really is special is when you answer, when you ring the bell. I think we have a locker room full of guys who can take on some adversity. Wins or losses, I think they go into the locker room the same way, hungry to get better. I think that bodes well for us throughout this season.”

Now, the Cats face a tough “road” test (it’s technically a neutral site game) against Gonzaga. Pope is very familiar with the Bulldogs and head coach Mark Few.

“I got to know coach pretty well. He’s been a great friend,” Pope said. “He’s one of the best people in the business. He’s really special. What he’s done in basketball is almost unfathomable. He puts together incredible teams every single year. He’s got a really distinctive style.”

Pope is hoping for a triumphant return to Seattle and he’s hoping his team can build from the adversity they have already experienced this week.

Clemson Outlasts Kentucky in Back and Forth Game

Otega Oweh had 17 points and seven rebounds, but No. 4 Kentucky suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday, falling at Clemson 70-66.

Lamont Butler had 16 points and five assists for the Cats, while Jaxson Robinson had 12 points for UK.

Kentucky (7-1) scored first on a Robinson three. After Clemson got a pair of free throws, Butler drove the lane, scored and was fouled. He made the free throw to make it 6-2 early.

With Kentucky leading 7-5, the Cats scored four in a row to lead 11-5. However, Clemson scored the next seven to lead for the first time, 12-11. However, a Koby Brea three would give UK the lead back, 14-12, with 13:11 left in the first half. Andrew Carr hit a three to make it 17-12, but Clemson quickly answered with a three of its own, and it was 17-15.

A pair of Oweh free throws gave UK a 19-15 lead but Clemson scored the next eight points to lead 23-19, but UK answered with a run of its own. A Robinson three, a Butler layup, an Oweh steal and dunk and an Oweh jumper comprised a 9-0 Kentucky run that gave the Cats a 28-23 lead with 5:45 to play in the half.

Clemson (8-1) would respond by scoring the next 10 points to lead 33-28 before UK got a layup from Ansley Almonor. However, Clemson scored the last four points of the half and the Tigers led 37-30 at the half.

In the second half, Kentucky got the scoring started on an Oweh three. After a Clemson basket, UK got an Amari Williams layup, followed by a fast break layup from Oweh, making it 39-37. After a Clemson three, the Cats got a Brandon Garrison layup on a lob from Butler, cutting the deficit to 42-39.

Another Oweh basket got UK within one and a Williams basket gave the Cats a 43-42 advantage. After a pair of Tigers’ free throws, Robinson hit a basket to give Kentucky a 45-44 lead. But again, Clemson came right back with a score to lead 46-45.

The back-and-forth continued as Butler scored at the basket to give UK a 47-46 lead. Clemson would get a banked-in three to lead 49-47. Carr tied the game with pair of free throws but the Tigers answered with a basket to lead 51-49. However, Butler hit a three and UK took the lead back, 52-51 with 10:57 remaining.

Clemson scored the next five points to lead 56-52 before Oweh hit a pair of free throws to make it 56-54 with 8:13 remaining. However, Clemson scored the next five to take a 61-54 advantage. Williams converted in the post to get the Cats within five, then Robinson scored on a putback to cut the deficit to 61-58 with 5:25 to play.

The Tigers would respond again, netting the next five points to lead 66-58. A Robinson layup cut the UK deficit to 66-60. A Williams basket at the rim got the Cats within four, 66-62. Clemson hit a pair of free throws to make it 68-62. A Butler free throw, and later a three, made it 68-66 with two seconds remaining. The Tigers hit two free throws to provide the final margin of victory.

Some additional notes from the game:

• UK held Clemson to 24-65 shooting (32%). Kentucky has held seven of its eight opponents under 40 percent shooting from the field this season
• The contest featured four ties and 13 lead changes
• The rebounding matchup finished dead even with each
squad grabbing 44 total rebounds – 29 on the defensive end and 15 offensive boards
• UK had a 13-10 edge in second chance points and won the points in the paint battle, 30-26

Share the Rock

In the win over Jackson State, the Wildcats had four players (Kerr Kriisa, Brandon Garrison, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr) tally five or more assists in a game for only the third time in program history. UK also achieved the feat in 2012-13 against LIU Brooklyn, as well as in the first round of the NCAA Tournament vs. San Jose State during its run to the 1996 National Championship game. In that first-round game, the Wildcats also set a single-game record with 35 assists, a record that still stands.

Through eight games, Kentucky is averaging 19.9 assists per game and dishing out an assist with a rate of 59.8% on made baskets. The Wildcats assists per game average ranks eighth in the nation as of Dec. 3.

There’s been seven Kentucky teams with an assist rate of at least 62 percent which combined for 212 wins and only 35 losses, winning 85.8 percent of their games.

A list of seasons in which the Wildcats had an assist rate of at least 62 percent:

• 1995-96 – 65.4%
• 1994-95 – 63.7%
• 1992-93 – 63.5%
• 1993-94 – 63.1%
• 1996-97 – 62.7%
• 1983-84 – 62.4%
• 1991-92 – 62.2%