Mark Pope's Kentucky team made the trip to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers in a game no one thought the shorthanded Wildcats would win. Despite this, without Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr,

The coaching contract details for Mark Pope at Kentucky and John Calipari at Arkansas ahead of Saturday’s SEC basketball showdown in Rupp Arena.

There’s more at stake in Tuesday night’s Kentucky-Tennessee basketball game than simply a win against an SEC rival.

Unlike Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr was unable to take the floor against the Commodores on Saturday afternoon. A back injury prevented the fifth year senior from practicing for multiple weeks, and on Saturday, Pope made the decision to keep him out for the game.

Kentucky point guard Lamont Butler dribbled stealthily along the baseline before turning on a dime back toward the basket, attempting to muster a decent look late in the shot clock. With the No. 9 Wildcats nursing a four-point lead at Vanderbilt and under eight minutes remaining,

Kentucky's Mark Pope started his coaching career at Rupp Arena with 11 straight wins. How does that start compare to other first-year UK coaches?

Pope's Wildcats have enjoyed a fast start this season. His success has reached a point where media pundits like ESPN's Jay Williams deemed him the favorite to earn national Coach of the Year honors. However, Kentucky's latest loss to Vanderbilt has effectively crushed the dream, and even the fans know it.

In October, optimism ran high over the possibilities presented by the roster new coach Mark Pope put together from scratch. Nine transfers, seven of them graduate students, joined three freshmen ...

Vols senior point guard Zakai Zeigler, who injured his right knee late in the first half, returned to action and scored 13 points but was only 1-of-10 from 3-point range. Igor Milicic led Tennessee with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Lanier had 15 points and was 3-of-10 on 3-point tries.

Tennessee fought back within 74-73 with 28.6 seconds left on a Chaz Lanier 3-pointer but Otega Oweh, who had 14 points, buried four free throws to seal the deal. The win moved Kentucky to 15-5, 4-3 in the SEC and dropped Tennessee to 17-4, 4-4. The Hogs are a stunning 12-8, 1-6.

For Kentucky, the game before The Game was a tough one on paper — a Tuesday night road contest against Rick Barnes' Tennessee Vols, who were ranked No. 1 in the country just a few weeks ago and listed as 10.