It’s back. And if you’re a Kentucky basketball fan, you know what I’m talking about.

It’s back.

The feeling is back.

You could definitely feel it Saturday when, despite the 11 a.m. start, more than 21,000 Kentucky basketball fans jammed into Rupp Arena to watch the Wildcats take on the Florida Gators for the SEC opener between a pair of AP top-10 teams.

BBN didn’t just show up. It stood up. It pumped up the decibels. It lifted the home team when the Cats fell behind by 11 points in the first half. It buzzed over big baskets. It razzed the referees. It joyously celebrated the Cats’ 106-100 win over the Gators in what was one splendid college basketball game.

“I’ve been doing this 30 years,” ESPN play-by-play broadcaster Dan Shulman posted on X. “I can count on one hand where both the game and the environment were as good as they were today at Rupp for Kentucky-Florida. College basketball at its best.”

Here’s the thing: Last April, when Rupp Arena joyously welcomed Pope home at his introductory press conference, I wrote that after 15 years of John Calipari, both good and bad, Kentucky fans wanted their program back. And Pope, a captain on UK’s 1996 national championship team, wanted to give it to them.

And he’s done it. In his first nine months on the job, Pope has shown a reverence, appreciation and enthusiasm for the job, and for what Kentucky basketball is all about, that has been accurately described in many circles as a breath of fresh air.

BBN has responded to that. There was just something different inside that building on Saturday. When in the postgame press conference, WKYT’s Brian Milam told the UK coach that the atmosphere reminded him of 30 years ago when Pope was a player, you found yourself nodding in agreement.

“There is just nowhere like it,” Pope answered. “BBN was ridiculous tonight. I mean, how fun was it to be in that gym? It was pretty special.”

Said UK center Amari Williams, “I felt like the energy from the crowd and the rest of my teammates kind of got me going.”

They’ll need to keep it up. In case you haven’t heard, the SEC is college basketball’s best league. And it’s not even close. This year’s 18-game conference schedule will be an exercise in both beauty and brutality.

“We are learning how fun this is,” Pope said. “I think that’s the overwhelming thing for us is we only get to do this 17 more times (in the regular season).”

To survive the 18, you better hold serve at home. Maybe you can steal a win here and there on the road, but you need to protect your home court. You only get nine SEC home games. You better make every one count, no easy task when 10 of the 16 league teams currently populate the AP Top 25.

Kentucky held serve Saturday. Kudos to Florida. Walter Clayton scored 33 points. Teammate Alijah Martin added 26. Florida coach Todd Golden knows how to scheme offense. The Gators were good. The Cats were better.

Besides Koby Brea’s career-high seven made 3-pointers, and Otega Oweh’s run-inducing spurts, and Lamont Butler’s eight assists, the number that stuck out to me was Kentucky’s six turnovers. UK leads the nation in turnover percentage. These Cats know how to protect the basketball.

That was something else that struck me Saturday. Kentucky and Florida are both veteran teams. NIL, the transfer portal and the extra year of eligibility brought about by COVID have made the sport older. And older players have brought about a better product. Instead of one-and-dones still learning to play the game, we’re seeing veterans who know how to play the game. That too has been refreshing.

Kentucky will lose some games. And that’s OK. Pope wasn’t kidding when he said that this year’s SEC reminds him of his NBA days, when you played a great team most every night. There will be ups and downs. Don’t get too high after a big win. Another great opponent awaits. Don’t get too low after a loss. Another great opportunity awaits.

A great home court advantage doesn’t hurt. Kentucky enjoyed that Saturday. You could feel it.

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