Kentucky scratched and clawed their way to the big win over No. 6 Duke in the Champions Classic after making some really important adjustments at halftime. One

Pope played two seasons at Kentucky, winning a national championship with the program in 1996 under legendary coach Rick Pitino. Following five seasons piloting BYU, Pope accepted the head job for the Wildcats this past April to succeed John Calipari.

Kentucky basketball has its first signature win of the Mark Pope coaching era. The No. 19-ranked Wildcats toppled No. 6 Duke 77-72 in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night at State Farm Arena. Despite trailing by as many as 10 points late in the first half,

Mark Pope delivered an early signature win as Kentucky's head coach, but he's putting the attention on his players.

No. 19 Kentucky got its first look at a big dog Tuesday with its game against No. 6 Duke, and by walking away from the Champions Classic clash with the 77-72 win, the Wildcats proved themselves to still be big dogs too.

Otega Oweh knocked down four free throws in the final 10.3 seconds and No. 19 Kentucky claimed the first big win of Mark Pope’s coaching tenure, knocking off No. 6 Duke 77-72 at the Champions Classic in Atlanta.

It didn't take long for new University of Kentucky head coach Mark Pope to endear himself to Big Blue Nation. When you respect your players and the game itself, you're bound to win over the admiration of the fans,