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Graham Shepherd 10-29-24

The No. 23 Kentucky Wildcats finished up their exhibition portion of the 2024-25 season on Tuesday night in Rupp Arena. They defeated the Minnesota State Mavericks by a score of 98-67. The Mavericks entered the game coming off of a Division II championship a season ago. They are also ranked No. 1 in the country in the preseason Division II rankings. The ‘Cats entered the game coming off a 123-52 win over Kentucky Wesleyan last week. The 71-point margin of victory was the fourth largest margin in Kentucky history. Highlights of the final tune-up before the regular season for Kentucky included the first showcase of Kerr Kriisa and continued offensive flow and rhythm throughout the game. The ‘Cats were led by Jaxson Robinson who scored 24 points and went 8 of 12 from beyond the arc. Kriisa brought energy for the ‘Cats and filled the stat sheet with 6 assists. Oweh was a constant force on both ends of the floor for the ‘cats, scoring 15 points while adding 6 assists and 3 steals. Garrison and Carr showcased their athleticism in the post after Williams tweaked his knee early in the game. Overall, it was another fun and refreshing performance from the ‘Cats as they head into the regular season in just 6 days. ‘Cats fans should be excited as a new era of Kentucky Basketball is underway. Have fun and enjoy this season of basketball.  

The starting lineup for the ‘Cats featured Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Otega Oweh, Andrew Carr, and Amari Williams.

Game Recap:

First Half

Kentucky won the opening tip but couldn’t come away with points on the opening possession. The ‘Cats quickly forced a turnover and Oweh converted the first two points of the game. Oweh took a rebound coast to coast for another easy layup. The Mavericks converted their first score of the game on a driving layup against Carr. Oweh pulled up and hit a jump shot and was fouled for the three-point play. Garrison replaced Williams, who appeared to injure his right knee on the prior play. Robinson hit the first three of the game to make the score 10-4 ‘Cats at the first media timeout. Oweh began the game with 7 of the 10 Kentucky points. Kriisa checked in for the ‘Cats for the first time following the timeout. Garrison maneuvered his way to open position and scored in the paint. Carr picked up his second foul of the half and Almonor replaced him. Brea pulled up from the free-throw line to score a short jumper. The Mavericks responded with a score on the other end. St. Mankato’s Jones then stole the pass and slammed in another score to make the score 14-9 ‘Cats but Robinson responded with a three. Garrison was caught in a transition 2 on 1 and held his own to prevent a score. Chandler checked in for Robinson with 12:23-minutes to play in the half. Braudis hit a three for the Mavericks to narrow the Kentucky lead to 17-14. Almonor drove and was fouled. After the timeout, Almonor hit 1 of 2 at the line. Noah checked in for the ‘Cats for the first time in the game. Butler responded with a layup following another Maverick three to make the score 20-17 Kentucky. Oweh took another rebound coast-to-coast for another score. The teams turned the defensive intensity up a notch as Kentucky led 22-20 with 6:23 minutes to play in the first half. Noah nailed a three to extend the ‘Cats lead to 26-20. The ‘Cats passed it around the arc to find Butler for another three. Robinson pulled up for another three with a defender in his face and hit it to push the lead to 32-20 Kentucky. The ‘Cats went on a 10-0 run over a 2-minute stretch. Butler found Robinson in the corner for his fourth three of the game. Kriisa then found Robinson for a deep three once again to push the lead to 40-20, with the ‘Cats on a 18-0 run. Kriisa then hit another deep three for the ‘Cats. Kentucky led 43-23 at halftime.

The Mavericks played the ‘Cats very well for 15 minutes of the first half, but the ‘Cats offense started to click and click fast, going on an 18-0 run in just over 3-minutes of play. The ‘Cats were led on offense by Robinson with 15 points, followed by Oweh with 9 points and Butler with 6 first half points. Robinson led the ‘Cats in plus/minus in the first half with a +26. The ‘Cats shot a whopping 24 first half three and converted 8 of them for a 33% mark beyond the arc. The ‘Cats had 6 turnovers to 10 assists and created 7 steals on the defensive end.

Halftime: Kentucky 43 – Minnesota State 23

Second Half

The second half began with a steal from Oweh and a Carr slam. The ‘Cats came out of the locker room with defensive intensity and pushed the ball to the paint. Oweh and Garrison converted layups to give Kentucky a 51-25 lead with 17:41-minutes to play. Garrison found Carr in the pain for another score. Robinson again pulled up for three in transition and nailed it for a 58-27 Kentucky lead. Garrison again pounded the ball to the paint and scored. Oweh stole the ball and Carr slammed it home. The Mavericks hit a three but Robinson responded with his seventh three of the game. The Mavericks hit back-to-back threes and Oweh drove down the lane for an easy lay-in to make the score 67-38 ‘Cats. Almonor ran the floor for an easy bucket then Carr slammed home another 2-points. Robison hit another three off of a no look pass from Kriisa. Kriisa threw another no look pass to Carr for a wide open dunk. Kentucky led 78-45 with 10-minutes to play. The ‘Cats had 13 second half assists to 0 turnovers in the second half to this point. Brea hit his first three of the game. Garrison followed with a nifty post move to give him 10-points in the game. Chandler hit two free-throws for his first points of the game. Garrison then jammed home an emphatic dunk that shook the Rupp Arena crowd. Chandler then added his first three of the game to push the ‘Cats lead to 90-50. Kentucky went on a quick 12-0 run over the course of 2-minutes. Perry checked in for the first time with 6:16-minutes to play in the game. Chandler found Almonor for an easy lay-in. The ‘Cats led 94-59 at the under 4-minute media timeout. Kentucky went on to win 98-67.

Final: Kentucky 98 – Minnesota State 67

Game Stats:

Minnesota State FG %: 39% (39% 3PT – 11 of 28) (67% FT – 6 of 9)

Kentucky FG %: 54% (35% 3PT – 13 of 37) (73% FT – 11 of 15)

Rebounds: 39 – 37 Kentucky

Assist/Turnover Ratio: 28:8

Turnovers: UK (8), Minnesota State (17)

Bench Points: 39 – 30 Kentucky

Points off Turnovers: 18 – 6 Kentucky

Fast Break Points: 35 – 8 Kentucky

Paint Points: 46 – 26 Kentucky

Player Stats:

Jaxson Robinson – [(24 points) (6 rebounds) (3 assists) (2 steals)] [8 of 12 from 3PT]

Otega Oweh – [(15 points (3 rebounds) (6 assists) (3 steals)]

Andrew Carr – [(14 points) (3 rebounds) (3 assists) (2 steals) (1 block)]

Brandon Garrison – [(12 points) (4 rebounds) (1 assist) (1 steal) (1 block)]

Collin Chandler – [(7 points) (4 rebounds) (3 assists) (1 steal)]

Koby Brea – [(7 points) (1 rebound) (1 steal)

Ansley Almonor – [(7 points) (5 rebounds)]

Lamont Butler – [(6 points) (2 rebounds) (5 assists) (3 steals) (1 block)] [Led team in +/- with +41 in 21 minutes]

Trent Noah – [(3 points) (4 rebounds)]

Kerr Kriisa – [(3 points) (4 rebounds) (6 assists)]

Travis Perry – [(2 steals)]

Walker Horn – [(1 assist)]

Amari Williams – [(2 rebounds)] [Exited with injury after 3 minutes of action]

Next Game:

The ‘Cats (0-0, 0-0 SEC) are set to begin their 2024-25 campaign in Lexington against Wright State on Monday, November 4. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.