Kentucky coach Mark Pope says he “loves” a term coined by assistant Alvin Brooks during team prayer before clash against Tennessee

Kentucky coach Mark Pope expressed love for the new term assistant coach Alvin Brooks III used when they gathered for a prayer before the Wildcats faced Tennessee on Tuesday night.

Pope proudly professed this during the press conference following the No. 12-ranked Kentucky's 78-73 win over No. 8 Tennessee. The first-year Wildcats coach heard Brooks mention the word "Godfidence" in the team's pregame prayer, striking a chord in his heart afterward.

"We obviously had a team prayer before we come out to play,” Pope said per On3. “Coach Brooks – Alvin Brooks – gave the prayer. In his prayer, he prayed that we could have confidence, but even more importantly, that we could have ‘Godfidence.’ I had never heard ‘Godfidence’ before. But I love it."

The prayer and the new word added to the vocabulary of Kentucky coach Mark Pope worked wonders for the team, as the Wildcats (15-5, 4-3 in SEC) came home with a five-point upset over the Volunteers (17-4, 4-4).

Kentucky's victory generated shockwaves in the SEC considering the Wildcats' depleted lineup going into the game. They played without second-leading scorer and top assistman Lamont Butler (shoulder) and power forward Andrew Carr (back) had a two-minute stint before sitting out the rest of the encounter.

The undermanned Kentucky Wildcats survived the test by keeping their faith in God and marched on to another win in the tough SEC. Pope felt the win was a God-send and special that ranks at the top of his most memorable triumphs as a coach.

“When you see a game like this where, for us, ‘Godfidence’ was a real factor in this, it ranks pretty high. It’s pretty special. … Like I said, there’s no place I would’ve rather been tonight. It was easy to double down on that. Really blessed,” Pope said.

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Five Kentucky players combine for 71 points in stunning win over Tennessee

Five players scored in double figures for the Kentucky Wildcats in their win over Tennessee. They were led by Koby Brea, who scored 18 points, on 5-of-5 shooting (3-of-3 from 3-pointers).

Brea went 5-of-7 from the free-throw line and added three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in a 31-minute stint for Mark Pope-coached squad.

Jaxson Robinson and Otega Oweh added 17 and 14 points, respectively, while Ansley Almonor contributed 12 for the Wildcats, who shot 50% from the field. Amari Williams worked well in place of Andrew Carr, finishing with a double-double of 10 points and 15 rebounds in only 24 minutes of action.

Their defense limited Tennessee to 34.7% shooting, including 24.4% from the 3-point line.

The Wildcats will be home at the Rupp Arena on Saturday to face former bench tactician John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks.