Kentucky's mentality that Mark Pope just described should terrify the rest of the SEC

Sports can teach its best lessons when things don't go as planned. All week a team could have prepared for something and in the moment, that game plan can be rendered useless for a number of reasons. That's a big reason why many coaches talk about 'the response'. How does the team handle itself when things aren't going their way.

Kentucky basketball has been challenged a lot this season, in nearly every game, and Mark Pope sees the Wildcats continuing to learn how to respond and how to overcome challenges as new roadblocks emerge. As they start to pile on the wins, Pope is learning more about his team, and they are learning more about themselves.  

The Wildcats are playing their best basketball at the right time

It hasn't been easy for this Kentucky team. The Wildcats have won eight of nine, but five of those victories were within five points and the loss was a humbling 80-55 thrashing on the road against Vanderbilt. They are far from a perfect group, but they continue to find ways to make those small improvements that Pope believes could be the difference once tournament season rolls around.

“There’s probably not a lot that can happen to us in a game that hasn’t happened before. We’re not really scared of it," Pope said in a story written by Nick Roush at On3 Sports. 'There’s probably a lot of things people can say about us that they didn’t say about us the week before or two weeks ago, so we know we can handle it. Let’s go. When you come out the other side of those difficult moments, you come out different.”

Kentucky no longer worries about what might happen. Instead, they embrace the challenge and think about ways they can overcome adversity. The Wildcats will continue to be challenged and face a mammoth test at Florida this Saturday, but they will have the experience they've gone through this season to lean on in those tough times.