There’s a growing narrative around college basketball that the SEC has taken a step back this season. Fewer ranked teams. Less national buzz. Not the same overwhelming force that dominated March a year ago.
Mark Pope isn’t buying it.
As Kentucky prepares to open conference play with a challenging road trip to Tuscaloosa, Pope pushed back on the idea that the league has slipped — arguing that while the rankings may look different, the grind of SEC basketball hasn’t changed.
“It’s a great league,” Pope said. “It’s ridiculously competitive. The metrics are, again, through the roof.”
On the surface, the numbers fuel the skepticism. Only six SEC teams are currently ranked, a dramatic contrast from last season when the conference sent 14 teams to the NCAA Tournament, set a Sweet 16 record with seven teams, placed two in the Final Four, and watched Florida bring the national title back to the league.
Last season, Kentucky faced 10 ranked conference opponents and piled up 16 Quad 1 opportunities — a cushion that allowed for mistakes. That cushion is gone.
This year, early losses won’t be erased unless teams dominate league play. That reality added urgency to Kentucky’s non-conference stretch after an 0–4 start against elite competition, knowing the SEC schedule won’t automatically rescue résumés this time around.
Still, Pope believes the league’s slow start is about teams adjusting, not regressing.
“I think there are a lot of teams still finding themselves,” he said. “Auburn’s going to be really good. Florida’s going to be really good — their frontline is incredible. Alabama is clearly a great team. You go down the list.
Pope learned that reality firsthand in year one.
His debut SEC season included highs — wins over Florida, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Tennessee (twice), South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma (twice), LSU, and Missouri — and lows, including losses to Georgia, Alabama (three times), Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas, Auburn, and Tennessee.
What stood out most wasn’t just the results, but the nightly demands: relentless pace, physical play, pro-level talent, electric home crowds, and brutal road environments.
Now entering his second season in the league, Pope feels better prepared.
“I have a much better sense of the venues, the styles of play, the DNA of each program,” he said. “Everybody evolves, but there’s usually something you can count on.”
That familiarity matters, even in an era of constant roster turnover through the transfer portal. While new faces change matchups, Pope believes experience still provides an edge.
That edge will be tested immediately.
Kentucky opens SEC play at Alabama, a team that swept the Wildcats last season and remains one of the conference’s most dangerous under Nate Oats. Whether the SEC is truly “down” or simply reloading will begin to reveal itself inside Coleman Coliseum.
One way or another, Kentucky is about to find out.
