Kentucky has played three nationally-ranked opponents already this season, and the Cats take on a fourth such opponent on Friday night, facing No. 11 Gonzaga at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
The Cats dropped a heartbreaker to North Carolina on Tuesday night, falling 67-64 at Rupp Arena, slipping to 5-3 on the season. UK head coach Mark Pope never likes to lose, but he’s hoping that his team can learn from its shortcomings early in the season to blossom into a great team in March.
“I don’t wish this on us,” Pope said. “I wish this was not the case because I’m soft and I like things always to be perfect, but this team has a chance to grow into a great team. We’re not right now. We’re not, but we have a chance to grow and some of the hardships that we’re going through are going to make us great because we’re great authors and that’s what we do.”
Pope knows that dealing with adversity and ultimately overcoming it is part of what almost all great teams have to do.
“I talk about this all the time and the reason is because it’s true. It’s just a process,” Pope said. “Unfortunately, sometimes, it’s really painful. We’ve really got to grow.”
Kentucky has five players averaging double digits in scoring through eight games. Denzel Aberdeen leads the Cats at 13.5 points per game, while Otega Oweh is up to 13.4 points per outing. Collin Chandler is scoring 11.8 points per game, while Mo Dioubate (11.6 ppg) and Malachi Moreno (10.3 ppg) round out the double-figure scorers for the Cats. Moreno leads the team, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game.
Gonzaga is 7-1 this season, having beaten the likes of Alabama, Creighton and Oklahoma. Braden Huff is the leading scorer for the Bulldogs, averaging 15.8 points per game. Graham Ike averages 15.0 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 7.9 per contest.
Pope knows that Gonzaga is a very talented team.
“They’re good. They’re physical,” Pope said. “In back-to-back games, their leading scorers are their starting four (power forward) and five (center). They’re really dangerous. I’ve known (Gonzaga head coach Mark Few) well. I’ve been battling him for, it seems like 100 years. If he’s not the best in the business, he’s one of them.”
The Cats will continue to go through their process and grow while facing yet another ranked opponent on Friday night.
