Mark Pope didn’t need an injury report or a scouting breakdown to know what mattered most heading into Wednesday night at Rupp Arena.
What he got instead was something far more valuable — and something Kentucky fans have been desperate to see all season.
Confidence. Real, earned confidence.
Just two weeks ago, this Kentucky team looked shaky, uncertain, and dangerously close to slipping into one of the program’s most forgettable seasons in recent memory. Now, the Wildcats are walking into their matchup with Texas riding a three-game winning streak, fueled by grit, toughness, and an unmistakable belief that they can win any game — no matter how ugly it gets early.
That belief was on full display Saturday in Knoxville.
Kentucky erased a 17-point first-half deficit and stunned Tennessee 80–78 on the road, marking the third straight game the Wildcats have won after trailing by at least 12 points. For a team that has struggled with slow starts against quality opponents, the ability to respond instead of fold has changed everything.
And Pope knows it.
“Confidence, you don’t just get it,” Pope said. “You have to earn it. You’ve got to do the gritty, hard, miserable work of earning confidence. They’re earning the confidence they have.”
That statement may be the best news Kentucky fans could hear.
At 12–6 overall and 3–2 in SEC play, the Wildcats are suddenly just one game off the conference lead. The panic that once surrounded this team has been replaced with momentum — and Rupp Arena is about to feel it.
That’s especially important considering Kentucky will again be without Jayden Quaintance, who is set to miss his fourth straight game with swelling in his knee — the same knee that suffered a torn ACL last February at Arizona State. His absence hasn’t derailed Kentucky’s surge, a sign of growing depth and mental toughness.
Otega Oweh continues to anchor the offense, averaging 15.6 points per game and delivering four 20-point performances in SEC play. But what’s changed most isn’t the stat sheet — it’s the poise. Kentucky no longer looks rattled when things go sideways.
Texas arrives in Lexington trying to regain its footing.
The Longhorns sit at 11–7 overall and 2–3 in the SEC, clinging to the NCAA Tournament bubble as ESPN’s latest mock bracket lists them as the final team in the field. A frustrating 74–70 home loss to Texas A&M snapped a brief winning streak and exposed costly lapses in focus.
“In the first four minutes of the second half, we were not ready to play,” Texas coach Sean Miller admitted. “That’s where the game was won or lost.”
Against this version of Kentucky, those lapses can be fatal.
Rupp Arena is unforgiving when confidence meets momentum — and right now, Kentucky has both. Mark Pope didn’t just get good news before Texas. He got confirmation that his team is finally becoming what he’s been preaching all along.
And that might make this the worst possible time for the Longhorns to come to Lexington.
