Kentucky coach Mark Pope is always looking for a competitive edge.
That’s why Pope and his staff have been dissecting film through the first five Southeastern Conference games in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the officiating in the league.
"We're spending an insane amount of time right now on fouls,” Pope said Monday on his weekly radio show. “We've gone back and kind of categorized every foul that has been called on us over the last five games and we're seeing some trends where we can really, really aggressively attack and make some strides, and that's really important for us to do."
During the process, Pope said his staff has discovered trends that he says will be beneficial the remainder of the season.
“I’m not actually going to talk about those publicly because I'm sure that Vanderbilt is watching right now, but it's given us some real direction and I think there's a good chance that we have a chance to make some massive improvements,” he said.
In the team’s two conference setbacks, fouls have been an issue, creating free-throw discrepancies.
"We've got to grow really quickly in that area, but if you think about our five conference games, the two games that we've struggled in are the two games where we've gotten really, really abused," Pope said. "We've failed to perform in the free throw disparity category and that's a place where we can really grow and I love finding places where we can grow. I actually love growing. I love our team growing. There's some very clear spaces for us to grow into."
Basketball Week
The City of Lexington will celebrate “Lexington Basketball Week” as part of a series of year-long events to commemorate the city’s 250th birthday.
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton announced Tuesday the celebration will begin with “Lexington Basketball Week" set for Jan. 25-Feb. 1.
“It will feature a week-long celebration of those who have paved the way,” Gorton told reporters. “Making basketball a tradition of winning and excellence here in the Commonwealth.”
On the final day of the celebration, Kentucky will host former coach John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks on Feb, 1 at Rupp Arena.
“The players, staff, and I are thrilled to be a part of the first-ever Lexington Basketball Week because our city lives and breathes basketball 24-7 unlike anywhere else in the country,” Pope said. “We are so excited to celebrate the passion for this great game with our fellow Lexingtonians and honor some of the city’s terrific players next week and in the years to come.”
The women’s basketball team hosts Arkansas on Sunday and Alabama on Jan. 30.
“When it comes to basketball, all roads lead to Lexington,” Gorton said.
Kriisa update
Also during his radio show, Pope said guard Kerr Kriisa, who had surgery on a broken foot in January, has been slower to recover than first anticipated.
“Kerr is getting to that point where — his recovery so far has been completely predictable and scripted," Pope said. "We're going to know more in the next few weeks about whether this is going to kind of turn the corner and on the quicker side or if this is going to be a more complicated recovery. We're kind of moving into that window where we're going to get some more information on his recovery."
Before the injury suffered in s 90-89 win over Gonzaga on Dec. 7, Kriisa was averaging 4.4 points and 3.8 assists per game.
NEXT GAME: Kentucky at Vanderbilt, 1:30 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: ESPN, UK Radio Network SuperTalk 94.3 WKYX
Kentucky center Amari Williams (22) drives against Duke center Khaman Maluach (9) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
