Everything Mark Pope said after Kentucky destroyed Brown in their last game of 2024

Kentucky coach Mark Pope spoke about Tuesday's bounce-back win over Brown in a postgame conference.

In the first part of the press briefing, Pope spoke highly of the Bears' talent and how it will become a problem in the 2024-25 Ivy League regular season.

"Congratulations Brown. Terrific team. They're going to be a big-time problem in the Ivy League. They have terrific talent," Mark Pope said. (1:07-1:14)

He also praised Brown coach Mike Martin for his efforts this season, including victories against Rhode Island and its first-half stand against No. 7 Kansas.

"Mike does an unbelievable job coaching that crew. We have a ton of respect for what they've done. They have really good kids and they're doing a great job," the Kentucky coach added (1:14)

The first-year Kentucky coach hailed the team's defensive effort against Brown. Their hands were active making deflections and had a great percentage in challenging shots against the Bears.

Mark Pope felt that his players had fun and were motivated by his speech where he talked about the more than 20,000 people who watch the game live on New Year's Eve. The coach praised the team's defense in the first half and its excellent ball control, as they only committed three turnovers and five in the entire game.

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Kentucky coach Mark Pope hails Andrew Carr's defensive tenacity

Kentucky coach Mark Pope hailed Andrew Carr for his early defensive gem, which set the tone for the 34-point demolition. The steal was one of the three swipes Carr picked up in the game aside from his team-high 14 points.

"I was really proud of their focus and and not being not swinging too wide on the defensive end," Pope said (3:45)

The bench tactician also discussed its ball screen defense which was the key in Kentucky's win over Brown. Pope knows this facet of the game is a work in progress, but he's pleased with how the team has reacted this season.

Pope dealt with the different lineup variations during nonconference play and he mentioned putting Andrew Carr and Ansley Almonor together during practice. The coach pointed out that the combination worked well against Brown and that he will continue to experiment with other lineup variations in the coming SEC play.

He also praised the efforts of Travis Perry and Koby Brea off the bench, and Pope learned that Perry is going in the right direction when it comes to playmaking.

"TP (Travis Perry) is going to keep working into these minutes at the point and he's going to keep getting more and more comfortable like for him right now. He's got so much more to his game," he said. (8:20)

The Kentucky coach expounded on how the team will play in conference play. He expects the games in the SEC would be a toss-up and that it would be a matter of how they execute on the floor against hostile crowds in the conference.

"I think it's going to be a matter of just those two things right is like where are you on the execution scale and you know where on you on that durability scale right and those are going to matter," Mark Pope concluded. (11:31)

Kentucky opens conference play against No. 6 Florida on Saturday. The Gators are 13-0 in nonconference play. They are the three teams that have an unbeaten record in the SEC, along with Oklahoma and Tennessee.