While Kentucky’s road win over their 14th-ranked conference counterpart Mississippi State hoisted a number of good signs for the team going forward, the biggest standout without a doubt was the breakout performance from Jaxson Robinson.

Robinson, who went into the game averaging 11 points per, led the charge against the Bulldogs with a career-high 27 points on a scorching hot 7/10 mark from long range. Every time the Wildcats needed an answer they looked his way, and time and time again, they got one.

From early triples that held off Bulldog runs to a late pull-up jumper that helped push Kentucky’s lead out of the question, he unquestionably became “the guy” in a crucial SEC road game following the tough loss to Georgia.

Just Go Compete

In the press conference following the win, Mark Pope had a lot to say about his small forward, who transferred from BYU last season to follow his coach to Kentucky, “It’s the best part of coaching.”

“You just see guys grow, and do things that they didn’t know if they could do in times when they didn’t know if they could do them,” he said.

“He told me this morning, he’s like, ‘I’ve been worried about making shots, missing shots, worried about my future, worried about all the things,’ and he’s like, ‘I know I just want to go compete…’ When you get a guy, a young guy, who can get himself to that place, then you see performances like tonight.”

Just two games ago, after the Florida win in Rupp Arena, Robinson stayed well after the buzzer sounded to put up some extra shots in what was then an empty building. Eventually, Pope joined him on the floor. The two shared a moment, and then a hug.

A Special Squad

Some things are bigger than basketball; all the best players, and coaches, understand that. Kentucky’s resilience off the floor is just as impressive as their exhibition of that quality on it. Whether it be Robinson, Pope, or any one of the members of this Kentucky staff and team, you’ve got singular personalities and unstoppable hearts across the board.

And if Robinson, Brea, Almonor and others are on the brink of a breakthrough every night like they’ve each been as of late, Kentucky will be an unstoppable basketball team, too.

In the chaotic aftermath of Kentucky’s thrilling, 95-90 road win over Mississippi State, Mark Pope found the time to work his way up to the higher seating of the Bulldogs’ stadium and sit with a Kentucky fan in a wheelchair. Naturally, the world took notice.

The clip, which surfaced on X (Twitter) shortly after the game, went viral over night. Just two days later, it’s bordering on two million views.

Numerous names around the college basketball and wider sports world commended Coach Pope for the moving act of kindness, including King Arthur himself, Rick Pitino.

Coach P reposted the footage, simply noting, “We are all so proud of our Captain.” Pitino’s post alone has amassed nearly six thousand likes on the platform.

King Arthur Comes Home

His comment is, of course, in reference to his time coaching Pope, who was a captain on the Kentucky team that took home the national title in 1996. Pitino’s big blue reclamation comes off the heels of his triumphant appearance at the most recent Big Blue Madness, joined on the court by Pope and an array of former players.

After his controversial stint at Louisville, it was unclear if Kentucky fans would ever welcome Coach P back into Rupp with a cheer again. Turns out, all it took was a likable new coach and a boatload of nostalgia to hit the reset button.

With that event, the post in tow, and the team’s current surging success under a former Coach P pupil, Lexington is starting to feel a whole lot like Camelot again.

In the wake of Kentucky’s road loss to the Georgia Bulldogs, the latest in a recent flurry of questionable officiating extravaganzas, Mark Pope has announced that he and his staff are doing an in-depth study of the whistle in Kentucky’s first two SEC games.

“Based on our whistle in our first two SEC games, we’re doing an in-depth study right now,” Pope said on his weekly call-in show.

During both bouts, the former of which was at home against Florida, Kentucky is -30 in total free throw attempts compared to their opponents. In the Georgia game specifically, they were -19. These aren’t normal metrics, and Mark Pope knows it.

A Learning Process

In addition to studying the footage, the staff have been in correspondence with the SEC in order to, according to Pope, “learn about the whistle.”

“We’re not interested in what the rules are, we’re interested in the rules that are being called,” he said. “We want to push the envelope as far as we can toward the rules that are being called more than just following the rules that are written.”

While there is sure to be much debate about the former statement regarding the officials’ ability to impact the outcome of a game, disgruntled fans and watchers alike have a new reason to hope for improvement with the whistle going forward.

Not only can officiating such as that in the Kentucky-Georgia game negatively affect a team, but it damages the experience for onlookers as well.

The aforementioned match tipped off at 7:00 p.m., set to end by 9:00 and usher in LSU-Missouri, which was slated to jump right as the buzzer sounded on the former. But due to the prolonged nature of a game that is constantly stopped by whistles and monitor reviews, Kentucky-Georgia didn’t end until just after 9:30; a half-hour beyond the allotted time.

Even the broadcast team for LSU-Missouri recognized the madness, chanting “Foul on Kentucky!” when the channel finally switched over to their game. A true anomaly.

If that’s what it took for the issue to potentially be fixed in the long run, then so be it. The wait will not be long to see the aftermath of the situation either way, as Kentucky remains on the road against the Mississippi State Bulldogs this Saturday, Jan. 11.

Either way, Pope will never point to the officiating as a reason for a loss, rather citing that if Kentucky can control the variables they can control, they will win.

“When we’re good, the whistle won’t determine wins or losses,” he said. “We will determine wins or losses. I always want my players to know that. At the end of the day, this game will never be taken out of our hands. We can find a way to win this game, regardless of how the whistle sounds.”