Kentucky made history in their win over Illinois setting up a Sweet 16 appearance

The Wildcats have done big things in year one under Mark Pope.

Mar 23, 2025; Milwaukee, WI, USA; XXXX during the second half in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

In April, Mark Pope was hired as Kentucky's next men's basketball head coach. He was quickly faced with building an entirely new roster from scratch, and he did it methodically, all while using the transfer portal. After assembling a roster in essentially just over a month, Pope had a very interesting bar set on him in year one by fans, and that was to win an NCAA Tournament game.

Now, he's done that, taking the Wildcats not only to the Round of 32, but to the second weekend to the Sweet 16, which Kentucky hasn't done since 2019. Kentucky was hungry just for a taste of victory heading into the NCAA Tournament, looking for their second first-round win in five years. They did that, but now they find themselves in the Sweet 16 after defeating 6-seed Illinois on Sunday. The win over the Illini made some history, according to CBS Sports. Kentucky is the only team in the last twenty years to make the Sweet 16 with no returning points from the season before.

Amazing stat here: Kentucky is the only team to make the Sweet 16 in the last 20 years with zero (0) returning points from the season prior, per CBS Sports' research.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 23, 2025

It's an amazing stat for Mark Pope and his Wildcats, but it really tells the story of just how great of a job Pope is doing in year one in Lexington. Also, there were only four other teams in the NCAA Tournament field who had no returning minutes on their team, but it's just Kentucky left standing in the Sweet 16 after each of them were sent home in the first round.

Now, Kentucky is faced with more history, as they will square off against the Tennessee Volunteers on Friday in the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis, which marks the first meeting between the two rivals in the NCAA Tournament. The two teams have met a total of 241 times, and Friday will be their first ever matchup in the big dance.