LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — When Mark Pope looks at last year’s Kentucky team, he sees two different units — and two different seasons — on the defensive end of the floor.

“We were really good defensively for the first half of the season,” Pope said during Kentucky basketball’s media day on Monday. “And then we had a major fall-off.”

Personnel changes played a role. Scheme may have too. But Pope isn’t looking to assign blame — he’s looking to reset the standard.

“I think we were the 51st ranked defensive team in the country,” Pope said. “We would like to be top 10. That’s a Yeoman’s task. We would like to be No. 1. But if we can slide into that top-10 space, it’s going to serve us really well. That’s going to be an every-second-of-every-day pursuit.”

To get there, Pope said Kentucky has l

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