On one of men’s college basketball’s biggest regular-season stages, Kentucky coaching made a decisive difference as the No. 19 Wildcats upset No. 6 Duke 77-72 in the Champions Classic before an exuberant crowd of 16,107 at State Farm Arena.

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,

Kentucky coach Mark Pope doesn’t need the best of the best now; he’s got himself a squad that has plenty of talent and heart.

It took 3 games for Kentucky to come back to college hoops prominence ... but it also took several hundred games of experience for a wily veteran group that overachieved against Duke.

Kentucky is college basketball's winningest program. But it's fallen short of that standard in recent years. Here's how Mark Pope aims to change that.

It wasn't an easy decision, but when Mark Pope decided to return to coach his alma mater, he took on all the pressure of UK fandom.

It didn’t take long for Mark Pope to win over Big Blue Nation. pic.twitter.com/9o1umXbMVc Kentucky rallied from a 9-point halftime deficit to stun superstar Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils, who missed 11 of their final 14 field goal attempts down the stretch.

When longtime Kentucky coach John Calipari left for Arkansas, replacement Mark Pope had only one way to build a roster: the transfer portal. Tuesday's win over Duke showed he made all the right choices.