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

That’s a recipe for success, and Mark Pope knows that taking care of the ball will be a priority, especially given the speed at which they play and the frequency of their passing.

“We haven’t faced teams under pressure. We haven’t faced teams built around knocking you down. That said, a lot of times the turnover numbers depend more on us than on our opponents. I Summer I’m really happy. Our guys have really focused on protecting the ball. We’re actually trying not to talk about turnovers too much, and more importantly than protecting the ball, we’re talking about how we do it. we play with two hands, two feet? Are you a KDA guy? Do you win catches, gaps and 50/50 balls?

– Pope on how they limit turnovers.

So far this season, players have made sure to always take care of the ball because they know it can lead to easy scoring opportunities for the other team. Pope says they play to execute, not necessarily to not turn the ball over.

“Our guys so far early in the season have done a good job of holding on to those concepts and trying to emphasize them. … The reason we’ll continue to do well in the turnover game is because our guys, they’re not playing to NOT turn the ball over, they’re playing to gain gaps and to get to two feet, and they’re playing to make two-handed plays, actually, I’m really proud of that. Our matches so far have actually been more special to us than what they took.

– Pope with emphasis on different concepts.

Kentucky has definitely emphasized this, and limiting their turnovers against one of the best teams in the country, like Duke who they face on Tuesday, will be a big factor in getting these wins. But first, they’ll face Bucknell on Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena.