Kentucky doing a good job of protecting the ball and limiting turnovers

The Wildcats have made that an emphasis so far this season.

Kentucky's Koby Brea (4) drove to the basket during the Wildcats' season-opening game against Wright State at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. The Wildcats defeated the Raiders 103-62. November 4, 2024. / Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With just one game under their belt, Kentucky has made a huge impression so far regarding their assist-to-turnover ratio. In the season-opening win against Wright State, the Wildcats had just 7 turnovers compared to their 30 assists.

That is a recipe for success, and Mark Pope knows taking care of the ball is going to be an emphasis, especially with how fast they play and how much they pass the ball.

"We haven't faced pressure teams. We haven't faced teams that are built around turning you over. With that said, a lot of times, turnover numbers, it's more on us than it is on our opponents. I've been really pleased. Our guys have been really focused on protecting the ball. We actually try not to talk about turnovers very much. We talk about protecting the ball, and more importantly than protecting the ball, we talk about how we do it. Our we playing we two hands, two feet? Are you getting driving lanes? Are you a KDA guy? Are you winning catches, winning gaps, and winning 50/50 balls?"

- Pope on how they are limiting turnovers.

So far this season, the players have made sure they're taking care of the ball at all times, because they know it can lead to easy scoring opportunities for the other team. Pope says they're playing to execute, not necessarily to not turn the ball over.

"Our guys so far early in the season, they've done a nice job of really holding on to those concepts and trying to emphasize them. ...The reason we will continue to do well in the turnover game is because our guys, they don't play to NOT turn the ball over. They're playing to win gaps, and to get to two feet, and they're playing to make two-hand plays. I've been really proud of that actually. What our guys have turned down in our games so far has actually been more special to us than what they've taken."

- Pope on emphasizing different concepts.

Kentucky has definitely made that emphasis, and limiting their turnovers against one of the top teams in the country, like Duke who they face on Tuesday, will be a big factor in getting those wins. First though, they'll get a matchup with Bucknell on Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena.