ATLANTA — Kentucky has a coach with a clipboard who knows how to use it. New Wildcats head man Mark Pope made all the right decisions down the stretch of a 77-72 win over No. 6 Duke that will have Big Blue Nation falling even further in love with him.

Big Blue Nation craved a blue-blooded win in the annual Champions Classic, and Kentucky fans got just that, in epic fashion: a 77-72, come-from-behind win over No. 6 Duke.

Here's a breakdown of three areas that stood out for the wrong reasons in Duke basketball's loss to Kentucky at the Champions Classic.

The Duke Blue Devils lost for the first time in the 2024-25 season on Tuesday night, giving up a nine-point halftime lead to the Kentucky Wildcats in Atlanta. Superstar forward Cooper Flagg turned the

Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope speaks to the media after the Wildcats’ 77-72 win over the Duke Blue Devils in the Champions Classic at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024.

Duke basketball faltered down the stretch in a 77-72 loss to Kentucky at the Champions Classic in Atlanta. The sixth-ranked Blue Devils (2-1) were on the wrong end of a second-half comeback as the 19th-ranked Wildcats (3-0) finished with a 14-point advantage in the final 20 minutes,