Mark Pope makes his feelings known on Mark Sears before Kentucky locks horns with Alabama 

Mark Pope and the No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats will look to make it back-to-back victories when they lock horns with the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide at Coleman Coliseum on Saturday night. Pope spoke about Alabama star Mark Sears during Friday's press conference ahead of the crucial SEC clash.

A reporter asked the head coach how tough it is to stay in their defensive lanes against Alabama, knowing that Sears can hurt his team in so many ways offensively. The Kentucky coach acknowledged the challenge the Wildcats will face in stopping one of the best players in men's college basketball today.

"Mark Sears is an incredibly talented player," Pope said. "He’s a veteran player. He makes plays for himself and guys around him. He’s coming off a huge game. I think it’s his highest-scoring game of the season. He can impact the game in so many different ways."

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Mark Sears led the Crimson Tide in scoring in their last game against the No. 15 Missouri Tigers on Wednesday night, dropping a season-high 35 points. He shot 12-for-20 from the field, including 5-for-11 from beyond the arc. He also had five assists and two rebounds in 36 minutes of action. Sears' efforts went for naught, though, as Alabama suffered a 110-98 upset loss at Mizzou Arena.

Mark Pope's Kentucky bounces back with win over Vanderbilt

The Kentucky Wildcats bounced back from Saturday's heartbreaking loss to the Texas Longhorns with an 82-61 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores at Rupp Arena. Four starters scored in double figures for Mark Pope's team, who improved their record to 18-8.

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts during the first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Photo: Imagn

Otega Oweh starred for Kentucky in this contest, scoring a game-high 20 points. He shot 7-for-10 from the field and knocked down all five of his free throw attempts. It was the eighth time this season that Oweh has scored at least 20 points in a game. He also had seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 32 minutes.

Amari Williams displayed perfection in his 17-point performance against Vanderbilt, shooting 6-for-6 from the floor and 5-for-5 at the charity stripe. Koby Brea and Andrew Carr also stepped up for Mark Pope, scoring 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Ansley Almonor and Collin Chandler delivered off the bench for the Wildcats, who bolstered their record in SEC play to 7-6. Almonor scored nine points on 3-of-5 shooting while Chandler recorded seven points and six rebounds.