Blue Blood Nation knows the drill. In Kentucky, your legacy isn’t built in December. It isn’t built with flashy wins in January. It all comes down to three weeks in late March and early April. And for Mark Pope, his first season in Lexington had plenty of resume-building moments. Beating Duke with a wild comeback. Surviving an overtime slugfest against Gonzaga. Smacking Tennessee—twice. But, none of that would mean a thing if his team flopped in the NCAA Tournament. That’s the Kentucky standard. That’s the Blue Blood culture.

And if there’s one guy who understands what it means to be part of a strong sports culture, it’s Charles Barkley. Coming from Auburn—one of the most passionate fan bases in the country—he knows what it takes to build and maintain a powerhouse. 

Talking about how certain programs just have that built-in tradition, Kenny Smith pointed out on CBS how Duke hired Jon Scheyer and UNC brought in Hubert Davis as the head coach. In his words, “It’s not a prejudicial thing, it’s a cultural thing.”

Adding to the same, Barkley said, “There’s a lot of great colleges but when you think of UCLA, USC football, Ohio State football, UNC basketball, Auburn football.” And, obviously, he had to sneak in some Alabama slander, adding, “I hate to say it, but Alabama football too.” That Auburn-Bama rivalry never dies.

Then he highlighted how something is different about certain schools. “Kentucky is that school,” he said, as he knows the first thing you think of is Big Blue Nation. “It’s an honor and a privilege to play for any of those schools,” he added.

Blue Blood Nation is indeed a different breed entirely. And Barkley’s been beating this drum for a while now. Just last month, he said, “Kentucky is one of the top five programs in college basketball history; we need them to be relevant.” He’s right. Things have not gone well in March for the Wildcats since COVID-19.

And Pope & Co. are trying to answer that call. On Friday, Wildcats took its first big step, steamrolling 14-seed Troy, 76-57. That’s right, Pope’s squad is just one game away from the Sweet 16—a place they haven’t seen since 2019.

Otega Oweh was an absolute menace inside, bullying Troy in the paint. And when Kentucky plays their brand of basketball—composed, sharp, in control—it’s a sight to behold. Troy kept things interesting for a half, staying within eight at the break, but a couple of early threes in the second half cracked the game wide open. 

By the time the under-12 media timeout rolled around, Kentucky was up 50-39, led by Oweh’s 15 points and Andrew Carr’s 13. Then came the knockout punch: a 14-0 run that held Troy scoreless for over three minutes, stretching the lead to 20. Game over. Business handled.

Postgame, Coach Pope expressed his gratitude for his team while keeping it light with jokes.

Lamont Butler keeps Kentucky rolling with a ‘taped shoulder’

Lamont Butler, the man is holding it together (literally). Butler has been playing with a massive shoulder brace for nearly half the season, and Kentucky’s head coach couldn’t help but joke about it after the win. 

“I’m really proud of our guys. They’ve battled so much, like Lamont. Lamont’s arms are hanging on by a thread,” Pope said with a laugh. “They’re actually taped together, and he’s still out here competing.” Butler may not have scored a single point against Troy, but that didn’t stop him from doing what he does best: locking up on defense.

The former Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year caused havoc for Troy’s ball handlers, proving once again that Kentucky simply runs smoother when he’s on the floor. The man has played through pain all season, missed eight games, and still finds a way to make an impact.  

Because he know his team needs him bad, especially with Jaxson Robinson out. We saw that last weekend. The starter was sidelined again after picking up another injury in Kentucky’s SEC Tournament win over Oklahoma. And his absence was painfully obvious in that blowout loss to Alabama in the quarterfinals.

When asked about his health after the game, Butler didn’t give it a second thought. “I’m doing alright. We won, so I’m excited. We’ve got to play better on Sunday,” he said. 

And speaking of Sunday, Kentucky now awaits the winner of 6-seed Illinois vs. 11-seed Xavier. One more win, and Pope will have officially done what Kentucky fans have been waiting for—breaking the March Madness curse. Let’s see if he can pull it off.