An underrated measure of any given head coach's success is their ability to give their school an edge in rivalry matchups. Kentucky, as you well know, has a laundry list of rivals - some arguable, some indisputable - and Mark Pope has had the chance to play just about every one. This coming season, however, he'll face two huge deciding games that will split a tie either way.
Against both Louisville and Arkansas, Pope is at an even 1-1 split. He's fared well against Tennessee, at 4-1, and notoriously toppled top-ranked Duke in his first Champion's Classic, but Pat Kelsey and John Calipari have both made things a little harder on the Cats' leading man.
I don't have to explain the importance of the Louisville rivalry, at least not inherently, but the Razorbacks have only really become rivals due to Coach Calipari spurning Kentucky to coach there. The vitriol is new, but it's about as hot as any other traditional hatred throughout Wildcats hoops history.
So with the pots boiling over in both scenarios, Kentucky will have a chance to defend their home court and improve to 2-1 in either series. With all eyes boring down on Pope's third year, winning both would likely grant him a panful of extra brownie points.
The Possibility of Kentucky Going 2-0 in Rivalry Rematches This Season
Even at home, though, both duels are likely to be nail-biters. Just as this Wildcats team appears to be Pope's best effort yet in Lexington, Pat Kelsey's Cardinals are entering the year projected right around the same arena; it'll likely be a top 15 matchup when the two teams meet in December.
Arkansas has also been placed consistently in a similar arena, although round three of the Pope vs. Calipari saga won't come until late February as SEC play winds down to an end.
How Kentucky ends up faring in either of these matchups, though especially the former, should give the BBN a pretty good indicator as to how high this team's ceiling is. Come out and beat the top transfer class, in Louisville, and you're off to a good start.
Follow that up with a revenge win over Arkansas at home right before March? I'd like to think that would mean Kentucky is having the year everyone have been waiting on from Coach Pope.
The Sort of Year Kentucky Fans Want
Those are two good indicators of a year with single-digit losses; a year, perhaps, in which Kentucky is actively contending for an SEC title and, we'd all hope, a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament than last campaign.
Both of these games are so far out, and neither will define the Cats' season alone. But it sure feels like to me that, if Coach Pope manages to win the edge in either rivalry, this program will be heading fully in the right direction for the first time since his hiring.
Pope needs that kind of year to return Kentucky to national greatness, and it starts between the lines against opponents that want nothing more than to beat you, and beat you bad. Those opponents also have fanbases waiting impatiently to talk trash, but that's just a bit beside the point.
Add us as a preferred source on Google