KENTUCKY HC MARK POPE Q&A:
* So great to be part of an epic game like this. We've got ballers, fighters, guys who step up.
* Feel for Lamont. We don't have that much time left, and I want for him so badly to play. Same for Jax. I hurt for him. He deserves to be out there the way he's played.
* On Trent Noah... How 'bout a massive shoutout to EKY for stepping up tonight. The Mountain Mamba, the Holler Baller, which is probably my favorite. This is what he is. He comes to work every day without the love that others get. He's not gifted anything. Comes and competes with full intensity and physicality. He's like a sponge learning. When you do that every single night, you get what you saw tonight.
* Tennessee makes it really hard. They're the best defensive team in the country, and they just make it hard to do anything offensively. But this is how we operate, and our guys love it. We stayed in attack mode, getting downhill. Look at Koby Brea getting downhill more now late in the season. And he throws that big lob to Otega Oweh. It's special to watch. For us, it's going to take every single guy on our roster every night. I like it that way. Think it's the Kentucky way.
* Jaxson Robinson may not be back soon. Hoping and praying they do. Lamont's deal tonight was exactly what we feared happening, coming down on that shoulder. We'll keep figuring it out. I thought he was brilliant tonight. That first steal to start the game was a statement, "Hey, we're gonna guard."
* On giving UT's defense problems... Such a small sample size, two games, but I think our guys understand the challenge and mindset it takes to play these guys. With the amount of pressure they exert, we have a lot of themes that thrive if you just survive the pressure and make the play.
* On Ansley Almonor rising up in key moments... I thought he'd be good and win us some games, but I didn't think he'd be doing this. Now he's a downhill, Euro-step, And-1 guy against the best defensive team in the country. (laughs)
* Had 3 of his 4 daughters here tonight, which is sweet. We don't get to be together that often. To have her out there wearing my jersey from our national championship team on this court, that was really special to me.
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TENNESSEE HC RICK BARNES Q&A:
* On Butler's return for UK... Great player, a difference-maker. Great defender and their best downhill guy. I hated that he got hurt again in the second half.
* We were where we needed to be at the end of the game, but didn't come up with the winning plays.
* Their bench came in and impacted the game in a big way.
* Proud of the league. Ten years ago, it was awful, and it's been a lot of work by a lot of people to get it to this point.
* On taking less 3s than last matchup... We just said when we take them, we're going to take them on our terms. I don't have a problem taking 35 3s if they're on our terms. I really don't.
* I'm impressed with what Mark's done in the two times that we've played them. They have improved on the defensive end of the floor.
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UK PLAYERS Q&A:
