KSR Today: Celebrating a Kentucky Win Over Duke

For most of you reading this, there have only been three days like this in your entire life. The Goose was Golden in a 41-point performance in a National Championship win over Duke in 1978. Since then, Kentucky has only defeated Duke three times and last night was one of them.

The Wildcats overcame a nine-point deficit in the second half to grind out a nail-biting 77-72 win over the Blue Devils in the Champions Classic.

We thought this team was going to win from behind the three-point line. They hit their first five threes, but that well was not bottomless. One of the team's most dynamic offensive playmakers, Jaxson Robinson , could not find the bottom of the net. Kentucky needed to adjust and find another way to win and they did just that by playing hard-nosed defense.

After forcing just one turnover in the first half, Kentucky had six takeaways in the second half and held Duke to just 29.4% from the field and 1-11 from the 3-point line.

Cooper Flagg , the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, had the ball in a tie ballgame with less than a minute to play. Otega Oweh provided some help defense to strip the ball away with a steal, then went to the free throw line to sink the go-ahead buckets. Flagg had another chance to tie it or take the lead, but Amari Williams forced him to dribble the ball out of bounds.

For a time, it looked like Kentucky did not have a chance in France. As bad as it felt, they fought to keep it close and wore down Duke until they delivered the final punch.

What a win. What a start to the Mark Pope era.

"Every single person in BBN, I just hope everyone feels how much we love them," he told Matt Jones on the KSR Postgame Show . "This is us. It will never be about me... celebrate like crazy."

The Moment I knew Kentucky had a Chance

We can share all of the specific numbers about how it unfolded, but it can't capture the feeling of the first half. Kentucky kept it close, but a late Duke run extended their lead to nine and it felt more like 19. The vibes were low. It was hard to see a clear path for Kentucky to find a way to dig out of the hole. Then I saw Mark Pope speak to Lamont Butler

This simple clip gave me life, and whatever he said actually worked. Butler had the worst plus-minus for Kentucky in the first half (-9) and the best in the second half (+19).

Pope Showed Old Kentucky-Duke Games to the Team

The Kentucky hype video for the game turned back the clock to 1978. That felt like a message from the top down. Pope revealed after the win that he showed his players clips from classic matchups between these two teams so they were prepared for the moment. You could feel the players' gratitude for this opportunity in the postgame conversation with the media.

"You wear Kentucky on your chest, and you have to carry yourself a certain way," said Otega Oweh. "You know you're not just playing for yourself. You're playing for a whole nation. You're playing for your brothers. It's a dream to play for Kentucky."

Duke is Good

We can make fun of the Pooper and the Nipple Man, but let's be real, that was a really good basketball team. They're going to win a lot of games. Cooper Flagg is going to put up some gaudy numbers, they'll probably win the ACC and be one of the best teams in college basketball. Kentucky beat that team. Yes, Duke missed some shots, but you gotta give Kentucky credit for making those shots difficult. Beating Duke was no fluke. That was a huge win for Mark Pope against a really good basketball team.

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Kentucky Fans Lit a Couch on Fire

You know it's a big win when there's a furniture fire celebration near campus.

Everything Else You Missed from the Postgame Celebration

If you were too tired to stay up late for all of the postgame shenanigans, we got you covered. There is a ton to read on this website and watch on the KSR YouTube Channel, including a wild Rapid Reaction from KSBar and Grille and the celebration at StateFarm Arena .

How Kentucky pulled off its comeback win over Duke in the Champions Classic Kentucky Plays for the Name on the Front of the Jersey Kentucky's Late Game Defense on Cooper Flagg Sealed the Win Duke Wrote a Check Their Butts Couldn't Cash Mark Pope Stuck Up for Jaxson Robinson, Lamont Butler after the Win College Basketball Reacts to Kentucky's Stunning Comeback Win Pope, Carr, and Oweh Postgame Presser RECAP: Kentucky Upsets No. 6 Duke Caleb Wilson had a great seat for Kentucky's Win Cooper Flagg, Jon Scheyer Speak after the LOSS (Losers) Highlights from the Kentucky Victory

KSR went 1-on-1 with Caleb Wilson

Caleb Wilson had a seat near the court to watch Kentucky take down Duke, he sat down for a lengthy conversation with KSR's Jack Pilgrim. The most talented target remaining on Mark Pope's recruiting big board discussed what's next in his recruitment and I have a feeling Kentucky fans are going to like what they hear.

Kentucky WBB Got Another Big Win

Before Mark Pope's team took the court, Kenny Brooks' team took care of business. Kentucky downed Wofford 76-42 to improve to 3-0. Dazia Lawrence knocked down four three-pointers to score a team-high 19 points, while Clara Strack tallied 16 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists. The dominant victory sets up a highly-anticipated date with Louisville on Saturday night at Historic Memorial Coliseum.

Another Way To Celebrate