Last season, the Kentucky Wildcats put together an impressive season in year one of the Mark Pope era, making a run to the Sweet 16. This was so impressive because Coach Pope had to put this team together in about a month using the transfer portal.

The Wildcat’s offense was impressive all season long, as it ended up being the tenth-best offense in the nation, according to KenPom. The glaring issue for the Wildcats was the defense, as it was ranked 51st in the nation in KenPom.

At one-point last season, the defense for Kentucky was ranked in the 120s on KenPom, but over the course of the season, Pope’s team was able to see a little bit of improvement.

While it did improve, it ultimately was the demise of the Wildcats as against Tennessee in the Sweet 16, the defense fell apart.

Statistically, for a team to win the title, they have to be good on both ends of the floor in the KenPom rankings, so that will be Coach Pope’s goal for the 2025-26 season.

Kentucky’s roster for next season is looking to be much more athletic than last season’s team, which is going to help on the defensive end of the floor. The other good news is Coach Pope added Jayden Quaintance, who will be one of the best defenders Kentucky has seen in a really long time.