Kentucky basketball's blunt 3-word 'statement' after defeating Duke

11/13/2024 02:57 PM

The Champions Classic did not disappoint on Tuesday night as we got to take in two great matchups between four storied programs. First, #1 Kansas took down Michigan State in a close battle, and then we watched the Kentucky basketball team go to battle against Duke. This was the game that most people were excited to see. Cooper Flagg’s first big game with the Blue Devils. Mark Pope’s first game with the Wildcats. It did not disappoint.

Kentucky ended up pulling off a difficult second half comeback to take down #6 Duke. Any Wildcats fans that didn’t like the Mark Pope hire are feeling a little bit better now as that was undeniably an impressive victory. The Kentucky basketball team kept their message short and sweet after the game.

“Made our statement,” The Kentucky basketball account said in a post after the game.

It’s only the second week of the season, but that game felt like we are in March. A loss in a game like this so early in the season doesn’t hurt a team, but you can see while watching the game how badly each team wants a win. March is a ways down the road, but this win will certainly look nice for the Wildcats when Selection Sunday rolls around.

The Duke basketball team actually had control of this game for a while. The Blue Devils had a comfortable nine-point lead at halftime, but the Kentucky basketball team finished the game strong.

Duke was able to maintain their lead for most of the second half, but Kentucky was slowly chipping away until they finally broke through and went on top with a little under three minutes to go in the game. Cooper Flagg had a massive game for the Blue Devils as he finished with 26 points, and he had the team on his back for most of the game. However, two late turnovers were incredibly costly.

The end of the game was back and forth, but the Wildcats found a way to end up on top to earn a huge win.

Mark Pope has arrived for Kentucky and their fans have to be feeling good about where this season can take them. Being able to get a win like this early in the season is huge.

Cooper Flagg showed that he is as advertised despite the loss. The turnovers down the stretch were detrimental, but he will learn from those mistakes. He overall had a great game and he is going to have a special season. He will win Duke a lot of basketball games.

Kentucky got their big win and they now have a very chill rest of the month. The Wildcats have Lipscomb, Jackson State, Western Kentucky and Georgia State to round out November. The Wildcats have to come prepared as they can’t afford a slip up against one of those teams, but those should be some easy wins for the team while they get more experience playing together.

Next up for the Kentucky basketball team is Lipscomb on Tuesday. The two teams will get going at 7:00 ET from Rupp Arena in Lexington, and the game will be airing on the SEC Network.

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