It was supposed to be Kentucky vs. UCLA in Atlanta. The Bruins found a way out of the contract, and St. John’s wasted zero time sliding in. That swap turned a good neutral-site game into pure chaos theater.
You’ve got Mark Pope on one bench and Rick Pitino on the other, the former Kentucky legend facing the coach most associated with reviving the program in the 90s. You’ve got St. John’s (6–3), once ranked No. 5, tumbling down to No. 22. You’ve got Kentucky (7–4) on the outside of the rankings, trying to prove it’s more than a tough, ugly, grind-it-out team that can’t quite find its offensive rhythm.
Pope vs. Pitino, with Bruce Pearl stirring the pot
And right in the middle of it, on the call for CBS: Bruce Pearl.
Pearl stepped away from Auburn before the season, handing the program to his son Steven and jumping full-time into broadcasting. His first big assignment? A desperate Kentucky team against Pitino in a building full of storylines.
In typical Bruce fashion, he’s already previewing it with a wink:
Looking forward to this one, my first game as an analyst for CBS on Saturday. Going from the Orange Blazer to the Blue. Great CBS Atlanta Classic Doubleheader with UNC vs Ohio State to follow. Pointguard play will be the difference in both contests! @CBSSports https://t.co/eKw6ampyy3
— Bruce Pearl (@coachbrucepearl) December 18, 2025
“Looking forward to this one, my first game as an analyst for CBS on Saturday. Going from the Orange Blazer to the Blue. Great CBS Atlanta Classic Doubleheader with UNC vs Ohio State to follow. Pointguard play will be the difference in both contests!”
Some Kentucky fans are going to love it. They’ll eat up the energy, the SEC perspective, the emotion only Bruce can bring when the game gets tight. Others will absolutely hit mute, sync up the radio call, and refuse to give him the satisfaction of being the voice over a game that already feels tense enough.
Either way, nobody is neutral.
Pope badly needs a signature win to stabilize the season and prove this roster can do more than just beat up on the bad teams they play. Pitino would love nothing more than to beat Kentucky on a national stage and prove St. John's is better than its sluggish start. And now Bruce Pearl is right there in the middle, talking point guards, effort, and body language while Blue and Red both try to remember what it feels like to play like a ranked team.
You may love the call or hate it, but you’re not changing the channel.