Mark Pope told reporters on Thursday that Kentucky won’t be resting on its laurels in the SEC Tournament and it won’t be looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats are going to Nashville with a singular goal in mind: Lift the trophy.

“This SEC Tournament matters. It’s the best league that’s maybe ever been in any year of college basketball,” Pope said.

“So we’re heading to Nashville with all of our successes and confidence and warts and holes that we’ve got to plug, and we’re going there with one goal, which is to go win.”

Kentucky (20-10, 9-8 SEC) has pulled off massive wins this season and endured some head-scratching losses. As the regular season has drawn to a close, the Wildcats have been riding the seesaw, so to speak.

They beat Tennessee and followed that up with a loss. They beat Vanderbilt, but couldn’t parlay that into a win at Alabama. They edged out Oklahoma on the road but got handled by Auburn at home. On Tuesday, Kentucky blasted LSU by 31 points and led by as many as 38 in the second half. Pope’s group will close out the regular season on the road against a slumping Mizzou team on Saturday.

A little momentum heading into the postseason would be nice. Kentucky is currently slated to grab the No. 8 seed and earn a bye into the second round. Kentucky is 3-3 this season against the top 4 teams in the SEC, sweeping the season series with Tennessee and winning the lone meeting with Florida.

Kentucky is projected to be a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament but could move up to the 3 line with a strong showing in the league tournament.