When the Kentucky Wildcats took down Oklahoma on Wednesday, it was an important win. But they don’t have time to celebrate. Up next, they’re facing No. 1 Auburn, with just three games left in the regular season. And as the season winds down, Mark Pope is doubling down on something he’s been saying for a while now: 31 games just aren’t enough.

“So, the season flies by every year. It’s, like, it’s just not long enough,” Pope said in his press conference. “The season has gone by really, really fast.” And he’s got a fix in mind. Pope is making a serious push to expand the college basketball season to 40 games. Yes, 40!! That means adding NINE more games. 

He insists that with all the changes in the sport—constant roster turnover, revenue-sharing, the sheer grind of building team chemistry—sticking to a 31-game season just doesn’t make sense anymore. “I’m a massive advocate—maybe the only one in the world. But we need to expand the season to 40 games,” he asserted. He argued that more games would also help players who are eyeing the pros. They’d get more opportunities to develop and adjust to the competition.

And in theory, that makes sense. But in reality, 40 games is a LOT. That’s about how many games teams play if they make a deep tournament run. But Pope believes every stage of the season—preseason, non-conference, conference play—could benefit from a few extra games.

However, this isn’t a new stance for him. Back in December, he said, “Let us get to 40 games, guys, let’s just get to 40 games. And you know what? It’s fine if you want to make four or six of those preseason games, like, in the league, great. Make more exhibition games, I’m all in.” He sees it as a way for teams to get their footing before the real games count and for non-conference play to bring in bigger, better matchups (and more revenue for programs).

But not everyone is on board. In fact, a lot of people want the sport to shrink and say that the last thing we need is nine more regular-season games. Even Reags from Barstool laid it out clearly. He suggested that if the extra nine games are just random buy-in games, it’s a big no! But if they’re marquee matchups? That’s a different story. He suggested bringing back Bracket Busters for mid-majors, making big-name programs face off, and adding must-watch rivalry games. And we totally agree. That’s the only way this idea even has a chance.

But while expanding the season feels like a long shot, Pope does have a shot at making some history—right now. And by the way, so do Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers.

Mark Pope’s Wildcats or Pearl’s Tigers: Who breaks through?

It’s a battle for history! Mark Pope and Bruce Pearl are both staring down a shot at history today, but only one of them is walking away with it. For Auburn, this is about breaking a 37-year curse. The Tigers have never won at Rupp Arena in the 21st century. Their last victory there was in 1988.

It’s their longest active road losing streak against a conference opponent, and they’re more than ready to erase it. And this time, they might actually pull it off! Pearl’s squad is stacked with 15 Quad 1 wins and a National Player of the Year candidate in Johni Broome.

But, then, Kentucky is not far behind. The Wildcats have owned this matchup historically. They lead the all-time series 98-23, and even though Auburn has been much more competitive under Pearl, Kentucky still has the upper hand.

And today, Mark Pope has the chance to do something no other Kentucky head coach has done before: win his first regular-season game against the No. 1 team in the country. But, in this case, the history is not exactly on Kentucky’s side. The Wildcats have faced the No. 1 team 24 times since the Associated Press poll started in 1949. Their record is 8-16. Not exactly reassuring. 

Even legendary coaches have struggled in this spot—Adolph Rupp went 0-2. Eddie Sutton lost his only shot. Tubby Smith was 1-3. And while John Calipari had the most opportunities (six games), he split them evenly at 3-3, winning his first but losing his first regular-season matchup.

As for Pope, he’s coached against the nation’s No. 1 team four times before, but his teams weren’t exactly stacked with talent back then. And unfortunately, he’s facing another disadvantage this time around.

Against Oklahoma, the game Wildcats barely survived, Kentucky got Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson back in the lineup. But Robinson couldn’t finish the game, and now he’s officially out for Auburn. His wrist injury still isn’t fully healed, which means the Wildcats will have to lean more on Koby Brea, Collin Chandler, and Trent Noah. The good news is Butler is good to go. And Kentucky will need every bit of help they can get if they want to pull off the upset.

So, can Kentucky actually make this happen? Will Mark Pope create history in his first year at Lexington? Or will the Tigers finally break their Rupp Arena curse?

Either way, history is getting a rewrite!