Kentucky is ready for 'epic clash' against Ohio State in Madison Square Garden

Pope knows all about the big stage of Madison Square Garden.

Dec 14, 2024; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope watches the action during the second half against the Louisville Cardinals at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky basketball is set for a primetime matchup on Saturday against Ohio State on the big stage in Madison Square Garden, one of the more historic venues there is, especially when it comes to the sports world. The Wildcats are ready to go to battle after coming off a rivalry win over Louisville.

Mark Pope knows all about the historic venue, since he played for the Knicks during his time in the NBA, as well as growing up near New York City. Now, it's time for a matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes in a prestigious in-season event. Pope says it will be an. "epic clash" between the two teams.

"(Ohio State) shoot the ball at a unbelievable clip. I think they're, as a team, at 41% from the three-point line. They play fast, play hard. A great coaching staff. They're a formidable opponent. It's a really, really good team. They've had some great success, and they've had a couple games I think they would've liked to take back, kind of like all of us. A really, really good, talented team that's gonna continue to get better and better. It's gonna be an epic clash in Madison Square Garden for Christmas. It's what you live for."

- Pope on Ohio State.

The head coach has so much respect for historic venues like Madison Square Garden and Rupp Arena, he feels an obligation to wear suits during home games and neutral-site matchups, especially in a place like Madison Square Garden with such rich history behind it,

"As a kid who grew up in New York - I don't care where you grew up actually - Is there a better place in the world to play a basketball game? ...We had this big debate, every staff (member) is trying to figure out are they wearing suits, quarter-zips, what are they doing. In Rupp, we're wearing suits because it's Rupp Arena. Come on man, this place is special. You wear a suit into Rupp. On the road, we decided we will wear quarter-zips. Then for our neutral games, the plan was we were gonna wear suits. My staff was not happy about that. Hard to pack a suit, gotta keep it fresh, you gotta iron it, you gotta do the whole thing. At the end of the day, Lee Anne, my wife, who is the director of all things here, she made a deal. She was like, okay fine. When we go to Seattle, you can wear a quarter-zip. When we go to Atlanta to play Duke, you can wear a quarter-zip. But when we go to Madison Square Garden, you are not walking in there in a quarter-zip. We're wearing suits in that joint."

- Pope on wearing a suit in MSG.

The Wildcats will have the spotlight on them once again, this time in MSG. The Kentucky staff will be looking good when they take on the Buckeyes on Saturday.