Mark Pope is a nice guy. Some would argue too nice, although I don’t think the locker room in Oxford Mississippi that left the Kentucky head coach’s hand bloodied during halftime would agree. Regardless,

Alabama outlasted Kentucky last month in Lexington, winning a very entertaining game 102-97. Can the Cats upset the Crimson Tide tomorrow in Tuscaloosa? Mark Pope sat down with reporters today to talk about it.

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Alabama scored 102 points with five different players scoring in double figures and two going for 20-plus — Grant Nelson went for a season-high 25 points while Mark Sears added 24. As a team, they shot 44.

Kentucky did not lose to Alabama because of officiating, but it remains a talking point, even coming up on Mark Pope’s call-in show last night. A fan called in with a question about Otega Oweh, and at the end,

Kentucky entered their road matchup against Alabama looking to secure a big win, but the Crimson Tide had other plans. Despite a strong start, the Wildcats couldn’t maintain their early momentum and were defeated 96-83.

We knew Kentucky vs. Alabama would be a track meet, but without Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson, the Cats just couldn’t keep up. After the 96-83 loss, Mark Pope admitted that fatigue factored into Kentucky’s performance down the stretch.

Mark Pope was a wizard with the clipboard in the closing minute of Kentucky’s 83-82 win over Oklahoma. But no play call was more significant than the one he drew up after a timeout with under a minute left in the game and the Wildcats down one.

"It's a work in progress. This is growth," Pope said. "Guys, we talk about this all the time: It's fits and starts. And this was not our best defensive performance tonight — and Mark Sears had a lot to do with that, and Alabama had a lot to do with that ...