The last time Kentucky played Vanderbilt, it was an absolute nightmare from the get go.
The Commodores completely bullied the Wildcats. And worse? They openly bragged about it. Following that humiliating 80-55 loss in Nashville back in late January, Vanderbilt players admitted they knew they could out-physical Mark Pope's squad after doing just that.
It was a blatant sign of disrespect. And you better believe the Kentucky locker room heard it.
Now, the Cats get their shot at redemption. But when asked if his team is carrying an extra chip on their shoulder into this rematch, Pope immediately tried to downplay the emotion.
"I know it's boring, but guys, it's every game," Pope told reporters. "You're trying to get yourself ready to go against every single team in this league. Every single team is really, really physical. Every single team is really good. So every single game is the biggest game that we've ever played. It just is."
'That was not a happy night for us'
While Pope won't publicly offer up any bulletin board material, he fully acknowledges exactly what went wrong in Nashville. Vanderbilt was tougher.
He praised Vanderbilt's electric point guard, Duke Miles. He pointed out their undersized but incredibly tough front line, specifically noting how difficult it is to match up with their physical isolation scorers.
But more importantly, Pope believes his team is vastly different than the one that got pushed around a month ago.
"We're talking on it, working on it every day," Pope said regarding the team's physicality. "I think we've grown a lot in that area. Elite-level college basketball right now is just really, really physical. Going into South Carolina, they have a great physicality. At Florida, it's just a slugfest. It's something that's ever-present, and we're growing. I think we're making strides."
But the physical growth is only half the battle. The mental toughness required to win late in the SEC schedule is exactly what Pope is looking for on Saturday.
"I think our focus has grown. We changed a lot of the ways we're just approaching practice," Pope explained. "Our ability to channel our emotions is better. Our understanding of what it takes to compete in this league every single night is a little bit better. I think we're able to unleash our competitive spirit a little bit better."
Then, Pope offered one final, massive understatement regarding that first matchup.
"That was not a happy night for us."
Saturday gives Kentucky the perfect chance to get a little bit of revenge, but they have to go out on the court and do it.