Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope dropped a bold benchmark on his radio show, telling Tom Leach, people will know his team is at its best when they are "earning" 30 three point shots per game. With the Wildcats at 18-9 (7-7 SEC) and four games left, can they hit the Mark Pope has in mind (pun intended). Wildcatbluenation.com crunches the season’s three-point stats to see how close they are and what opponents have done from deep against them.
Pope’s philosophy—rooted in his BYU tenure where his 2023-24 squad averaged 32.0 three-point attempts per game (second nationally, TeamRankings.com)—prioritizes volume and precision. For Kentucky in 2024-25, through 27 games, they’ve averaged 27.8 three-point attempts per game, making 10.2 for a 36.7% clip, per TeamRankings.com. That’s 279 makes on 759 tries, ranking them 12th nationally in attempts and 8th in makes (ESPN). Against Alabama, they took 26 threes, hitting 9 (34.6%), falling short of Pope’s 30-shot goal. Something that has happened almost all season long.
Opponents have feasted from range against Kentucky, averaging 28.4 attempts per game and making 9.9 (34.8%), totaling 267 makes on 766 shots . Alabama’s 11-of-31 (35.5%) outing pushed Kentucky’s season defensive trend—foes attempt more threes (766 vs. 759) and nearly match UK’s output (267 vs. 279). The Wildcats’ defensive efficiency has climbed to 69th in KenPom (101.6 points/100 possessions), but their 34.8% opponent three-point defense ranks mid-pack in the SEC—Pope’s squad isn’t deterring the long ball as much as they’re launching it.
Kentucky’s 27.8 attempts lag Pope’s 30-shot mark by 2.2 per game. That doesn't sound like much, but that is 59 more attempts over 27 games so far. Last season’s BYU team hit 36.3% on those 32 attempts, suggesting Kentucky’s 36.7% efficiency is on par, just shy of volume. With Oklahoma, Auburn, LSU and Missiouri ahead, hitting 30+ threes could spark a surge—Pope’s “earning” hints at smarter shots, not just more. He wants his team to work and in doing so make the defense work, and still get a great 3 point shot. For BBN it’s a tantalizing gap: bridge it, and BBN might see Kentucky basketball at its peak.