Kentucky scored 103 points in its 41-point victory over Wright State on Monday night. (Yes, Pope wore the No. 41 during his playing days as a Wildcat. Karma.) That’s the highest point total by a Kentucky team for a brand new coach since Tubby Smith’s first edition defeated Morehead State 88-49. Those Cats went on to hang a banner.

The Mark Pope era is officially off to a winning start for the Kentucky men’s basketball program. On Monday night, the Wildcats began the 2024-25 season with a dominant 103-62 home victory against Wright State of the Horizon League.

After a decade and a half with Kentucky, former Wildcats head coach John Calipari is no longer leading the program. Now the head coach at Arkansas, the longtime face of the team brought a few of his former players to a new school in the SEC. In his absence, former BYU head coach Mark Pope is now running the show for Kentucky.