Mark Pope sees a lot of similarities between the Troy Trojans and familiar foes

The Wildcats will need to be ready for a very aggressive Troy squad.

Mar 20, 2025; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope speaks during an NCAA Tournament First Round Practice press conference at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Kentucky basketball will officially begin their NCAA Tournament journey on Friday night when they take on the 14-seed Troy Trojans in Milwaukee. As Kentucky fans now, no team is to be taken lightly in the tournament, and the players know that. In preparing for the Trojans and watching film, Mark Pope told media on Thursday that he sees a lot of similarities to a familiar SEC opponent.

That familiar opponent is Missouri, who the Wildcats finished the regular season off with, escaping Columbia with a 91-83 victory. In fact, it's the aggressiveness that draws the comparisons, according to Pope. Troy is actually one of the nation's best at generating steals and getting out in transition, and the Tigers resemble that.

"Troy is the number seven steals team in the country. They're the number six offensive rebounding team in the country. To put in perspective, in the SEC, in the best conference in the country by a mile, the only team that we've played that was more effective on the offensive glass in the entire league was Texas A&M. In a league that prides itself on being on the offensive glass. That's how potent this Troy team is on the glass. They're very much in the genre of Missouri in terms of having a multitude of changing defenses that they use all the time. They have anywhere between three and five zone attacks, some full-court pressure, some three-quarter court pressure, some different ways that they guard in man. They're really, really disruptive. They have a point guard (Tayton Cornerway) who is really special. He's the conference player of the year. For BBN, you'll know the name Chucky Hepburn, and he's very similar to Chucky. He's a rover on defense. He breaks every defensive rule, and he's one of the leading steals guys in the country. In fact, in three of his last five games, he's had five steals a game. ...Their bigs are really dangerous shooters. I expect they are gonna be by a multitude of ten times more physical than you might think they are on film."

- Pope on Troy.

Backing up the statement from Pope on Troy's physicality, they aren't only 7th in the country in steals, but they are also 6th in offensive rebounding percentage, as well as top-30 in effective field goal percentage, holding opponents to 46 percent from inside the arc and 32 percent from deep. Taking care of the ball and getting back on transition have to be atop the scouting report for Kentucky.

The Wildcats will certainly have their hands full with a very aggressive Troy team in the first round on Friday, who will bring every bit of their physicality. Can Mark Pope give Kentucky just their second first-round NCAA Tournament win in five years, and the first in two years?