Kentucky’s Early Shooting Woes Take Backseat as Mark Pope’s Relentless Drills Pay Off in Texas Victory

The Texas A&M Aggies thought they were ready to take on the No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats in Rupp Arena, but the Wildcats had other plans. Coming off a tight start, Kentucky flipped the script in the second half with a red-hot 11-2 run that left the Aggies scrambling to catch up. The game turned around and the Cats might have Mark Pope’s coaching drills to thank alongside their resilience.

By the time the final buzzer hit, Texas A&M was staring down a 14-point loss—marking their second straight L and third in a row with a double-digit deficit. But it wasn’t a complete smooth ride for the Wildcats either. The Pope-led team opened with 1-of-11 or 8% from beyond the arc. It sure is not a pretty sight, but the Cats did not stop. Pope emphasizes their everyday practice as he shrugs off the blip for a better end result.

“That’s not very fun. But you know, we practice this every day. We have talked about this bucks drill, this shooting drill we do every day where we have to get to a 140,” the HC reveals. “A lot of days it’s 2 minutes drills. A lot of days it’s continuous. A lot of days you are looking up at the shot clock… The guys just keep going. They know they are gonna start making shots.”  

That did show in the game tonight as the Wildcats kept up with the shooting. By the end of the evening, they had shot 9 of their 27 attempts, finishing with 33%. Mark Pope commends that. “To finish up a solid 33% is pretty great, especially against an unbelievable defensive team like this,” he said, proud of his players’ relentless preparation.

Jaxson Robinson was the star of the night, shooting 5-of-13 from beyond the arc to finish with game-high 22 points. He had showcased a similar attitude in the game against Mississippi, making 7 of his 10 attempts, despite missing the first three. Andrew Carr followed with 13 points, and Otega Oweh with 11, as the team limited the Aggies to just 23.3% from beyond the arc.

If that wasn’t enough to showcase the Cats’ translating efforts on the court, the game answered more than one of Pope’s concerns.

Mark Pope & Co. had more than one win

The Kentucky Wildcats are living one of their better runs this season, leading offensively and securing a 3rd spot in the SEC standings, 4 games in. But their defensive struggles and losing to the pace of the game have been a hiccup in the path. But looks like the weaknesses aren’t to be classified ‘unbeatable’ just yet.

“Mark Pope says when a game slows down, “it takes away our energy,”” Wildcats writer, Wyatt Huff had reported hours before the game, adding that the team has been working on it at practice. Evidently, the Cats did not let their 5-minute scoreless draught hold them back. The Aggies would rally from 6-11 to 18-11 before Kentucky scored its next point. But by half time, they turned things around, taking a 35-32 lead. That was the last they ever looked back.

In securing an 81-69 win, Pope’s team had not only out shot the Aggies, but they had also out-rebounded the best offensive rebound team. 40-30 and 11-12, respectively. “That’s an epic effort by our guys and I’m really proud,” Pope had expressed. “They are incredible on the glass… They offensive rebound 44 percent of the opportunities, that’s an insane number.” Rebounding has been a long-time concern of the Cats, but the game proves there is almost nothing they can’t overcome.