When Mark Pope was first hired as the head coach at Kentucky, a big emphasis he had when finding players to fill the roster were players who understand the assignment, what it means to play at Kentucky,

Mark Pope delivered an early signature win as Kentucky's head coach, but he's putting the attention on his players.

Kentucky basketball has its first signature win of the Mark Pope coaching era. The No. 19-ranked Wildcats toppled No. 6 Duke 77-72 in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night at State Farm Arena. Despite trailing by as many as 10 points late in the first half,