In his first year as head coach, UK Men’s Basketball coach Mark Pope has already broken a nine-year long drought against one of the Wildcats’ long-standing rivals.
During the Champion’s Classic at State Farm Arena in Georgia Tuesday, the Wildcats defeated the Duke Blue Devils 77 to 72, notching their third win of the season beginning with an impressive 103 to 62 victory over Wright State on November 4.
But there was more to celebrate than just another early-season win.
This marks the first time Kentucky has walked away with a W from a Duke matchup since 2015 when they beat the Blue Devils 74 to 63 and took a victory back to Lexington. Appropriately enough, the win was also in that season’s Champions Classic.
The game was tied on five different occasions, the last with 10 seconds left in regulation when the Wildcats pulled away and finished off the Blue Devils. Kentucky shot 40 percent from the field while Duke kept pace, shooting 39 percent.
The deciding factor however may have been beyond the arc where the Wildcats shot 40 percent compared to Duke’s 17 percent.
The Wildcats will next face the Lipscomb Bisons at Rupp Arena on November 19.