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Rupp Arena – Lexington, KY – 11-19-24

The No. 9 ‘Cats continued their hot start to the season in a 97-68 win over Lipscomb on Tuesday night. It was the first time the ‘Cats had hit the hardwood since their 77-72 win over No. 6 Duke in Atlanta for the Champions Classic a week ago. The ‘Cats continued to execute on both sides of the ball in the game, pacing their 93.3 PPG season average with another 97 point performance. The ‘Cats were led on offense by Jaxson Robinson, who scored 20 points in just 22-minutes of action.

Lamont Butler added 16 points and Otega Oweh added 14 points. As has been the theme early in the season, the entire Kentucky roster contributed to the win in some way, with 12 players seeing action in the game. Lyon County native Travis Perry scored his first points of the season late in the game, to the joy of ‘Cats fans in attendance. Kentucky has scored 300 total points in the first 3 home games of the season. The ‘Cats head into a short home game stretch as they return to Rupp Arena on Friday to take on Jackson State.

Pre-Game Thoughts:

The ‘Cats entered Tuesday night’s matchup against the Lipscomb Bisons with a 3-0 record on the young season. They were coming off their biggest win in the Mark Pope era, a 77-72 win over No. 6 Duke and Cooper Flagg in the Champions Classic in Atlanta last Tuesday night. The ‘Cats are red-hot to start the season with four players averaging double figures and eight players averaging at least 6.7 PPG. As a team, they are leading the nation with 23.3 assists per game on the season. In the latest AP top 25 poll, the ‘Cats jumped up 10 spots, to No. 9 in the country. There are still plenty of fun and challenging opponents ahead in the schedule for Kentucky, with road matchups with Clemson and Gonzaga in the coming weeks. The offense is potent and the defense proved to be enough in a win over Duke, it will be interesting to see if this team can reach its ceiling sooner rather than later.

The spread for Tuesday nights matchup versus Lipscomb was -21.5 (Kentucky). The Over/Under points total was set at 158.5.

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 tip but Carr could not convert his first attempt of the game near the basket. Butler quickly stole the ball and Oweh drove in for a layup for the first points of the game. The Bisons responded but Oweh came back and hit the first three of the game on the other end. Oweh continued his hot start, this time on the defensive end, blocking a three point attempt from Lipscomb. Butler then hit a step-back three pointer to make the score 8-2 ‘Cats. Butler then hit a short fade away jumper in the paint. Oweh picked up his second foul on an offensive charge call. Robinson hit a deep three in transition after missing his first two attempts of the game. The ‘Cats led 13-4 at the first media timeout. The Bisons began the game 0 for 7 from beyond the arc. Garrison entered the game following the timeout and muscled his way for a score in the post. The ‘Cats led 17-6 at the under 12-minute media timeout. Almonor entered and immediately nailed his first three of the game. The Bisons went on a quick 4-0 run to make the score 20-10 Kentucky. Garrison cleaned up a Brea miss at the rim. Robinson pulled up in transition for another three pointer to push the Kentucky lead to 26-10 with 7:38-minutes to play in the half. Butler hit another three after Lipscomb hit a pair of free-throws. Robinson was fouled on a three-point attempt on the next trip down the floor. He hit all three of his free-throws to push the score to 32-12 Kentucky. Lipscomb hit their first three of the game after starting the game 0 for 13. Oweh ended a 5-0 Lipscomb run with an up and under layup. Kentucky led 36-17 at the under 4-minute media timeout. Brea hit his first three of the game off a curl in the corner. The ‘Cats and Bisons traded threes on their next scores. Kentucky led 43-26 at halftime.

It was a good half of basketball for the ‘Cats coming off their big win a week ago over Duke. Oweh got the offense going early but picked up his second foul early in the half. Robinson and Butler set the pace for the ‘Cats in scoring, with 13 and 9 points, respectively. Kentucky shot 50% from the field and 62% (8 of 13) from beyond the arc. The ‘Cats turned it over 6 times in the half to only 4 assists. They look to improve their offensive efficiency even more in the second half while keeping the tone set on the defensive end of the floor. Kentucky held Lipscomb to just 26% shooting from the field in the half and 11% (2 of 19) from the three-point line.

Halftime: Kentucky 43 – Lipscomb 26

Second Half

The second half began with Williams jammed home an Oweh miss to start the second half scoring. Robinson then pulled up for a mid-range floater to push the Kentucky lead to 47-26. Butler split the defense and made his way to the rim for an easy layup. Lipscomb scored their first points of the second half and Robinson responded with another mid-range shot. The ‘Cats moved the ball efficiently and Butler eventually found Carr for an easy score. Robinson crafted his way to another three-point jumper to make the score 57-32 ‘Cats. Garrison converted another post move for a hook shot. Garrison then cleaned up a missed three for an easy lay-in. Oweh then went coast-to-coast for another bucket. Lipscomb went to a zone and the ‘Cats found a wide-open Brea for a score. The Bisons scored on their next trip but fouled Almonor on a three-point attempt. Kentucky led 68-40 at the under 12-minute media timeout. Almonor hit all three free-throws. Chandler drove to the basket and scored his first points of the game. Chandler then converted an and-one opportunity. Chandler hit the free-throw to make the score 76-43 ‘Cats. Butler hit his third three of the game as the teams began to trade baskets. Butler then drove coast-to-coast for an easy layup in transition. The ‘Cats led 83-48 at the under 8-minute media timeout. Oweh took the baseline off the dribble and emphatically slammed it home. Travis Perry and Trent Noah entered for Kentucky. Chandler stole the ball then flipped it between his legs to Williams who dunked it in transition. Brea converted a clean step-back three-pointer. The Cats led 92-55 with 3:18-minutes to play. Brea was fouled on a three attempt and all three of his free-throws. Lipscomb responded with a quick 6 point run to make the score 95-61 Kentucky. Perry scored his first points of the season with a floater in the lane. The ‘Cats went on to win by a score of 97-68.

Final: Kentucky 97 – Lipscomb 68

Game Stats:

Lipscomb FG %: 39% (17% 3PT – 5 of 29) (92% FT – 11 of 12)

Kentucky FG %: 55% (48% 3PT – 12 of 25) (81% FT – 17 of 21)

Rebounds: 43 – 28 Kentucky

Assist/Turnover Ratio: 10:8

Turnovers: UK (8), Lipscomb (6)

Bench Points: 36 – 20 Kentucky

Points off Turnovers: 11 – 10 Lipscomb

Fast Break Points: 14 – 2 Kentucky

Paint Points: 40 – 34 Kentucky

Player Stats:

Jaxson Robinson – [(20 points) (7 rebounds)]

Lamont Butler – [(16 points) (1 rebound) (1 assist) (1 steal)]

Otega Oweh – [(14 points (4 rebounds) (1 assist) (2 blocks)]

Koby Brea – [(12 points) (7 rebounds) (1 assist)]

Amari Williams – [(9 points) (11 rebounds) (2 assists) (2 blocks)]

Brandon Garrison – [(8 points) (5 rebounds) (1 assist) (2 blocks)]

Ansley Almonor – [(6 points) (2 rebounds)]

Collin Chandler – [(5 points) (1 assist) (1 steal)]

Kerr Kriisa – [(3 points) (1 rebound) (2 assists) (1 steal)]

Andrew Carr – [(2 points) (5 rebounds) (1 assist)]

Travis Perry – [(2 points)]

Trent Noah – [(6 minutes)]

Next Game:

The No. 9 ‘Cats (4-0) will return to Rupp Arena on Friday, November 22 to take on the Jackson State Tigers (0-4). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST. The game will be available online for streaming on SEC+.