ATLANTA — Kentucky has a coach with a clipboard who knows how to use it. New Wildcats head man Mark Pope made all the right decisions down the stretch of a 77-72 win over No. 6 Duke that will have Big Blue Nation falling even further in love with him.
Late in a back-and-forth nightcap to the Champions Classic, Pope out-schemed his counterpart Jon Scheyer, who was a little too reliant on five-star freshman Cooper Flagg, who had flashes of brilliance in a 26-point performance but committed two turnovers on isolation plays in the final minute that helped Kentucky complete their comeback. The Wildcats trailed by nine at the half and with less than three minutes to play took their first lead since the score was in the 20s.
Pope, meanwhile, went to a small-ball lineup for the first time, using forward Andrew Carr to take advantage of Duke’s centers in the middle of the floor. Carr, who spent the last two seasons at Wake Forest, finished with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists, calmly making smart play after smart play in the clutch.
Kentucky’s five-out offense generated good looks for much of the night, executing a clear gameplan to try to take advantage of Duke’s 7-foot-2 freshman center Khaman Maluach. Kentucky center Amari Williams usually got to where he wanted to go but struggled to finish at the basket and shot just 3 of 12 from the field. Pope’s decision to move Carr to center may have won him the game and provided an early sign that Kentucky ended its eventful search to replace John Calipari with a smart coach who knows how to put his best players in spots to be successful.
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
