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Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena
The ‘Cats were efficient and effective on the offensive and defensive side of the ball on Friday night against Jackson State in a 108-59 victory. Sharp shooting Koby Brea led the team in scoring with 22-points (18 second half points), while Otega Oweh continued his early season scoring trend with 21-points.
The ‘Cats shot 58% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc with 17 made three-pointers. Their defense held Jackson State to just 33% from the field and 19% from three. It was another evenly distributed offensive attack from the ‘Cats with 5 players scoring in double figures and Andrew Carr leading the team in minutes played with just 24 minutes. The lightning-fast pace of the ‘Cats shined with 43 fast break points in the game accompanied with crisp passing that led to 29 assists on 41 total field goals. Kentucky continues to perform at a high level and are pacing as one of the highest scoring teams in the country to this point in the season. Big blue nation is electric and re-energized as Kentucky heads into Thanksgiving week with 2 more games next week against Western Kentucky and Georgia State.
Pre-Game Thoughts:
The ‘Cats entered Friday nights matchup against the Jackson State Tigers with a 4-0 record on the young season with the ‘Cats firing on all cylinders. The ‘Cats handled an experienced Lipscomb team by a score of 97-68 coming off their big win over Duke in Atlanta. The ‘Cats showed focus and reliance against Lipscomb, proving that the team and staffs preparation is a key to their early season success that they hope to carry deep into the year. The ‘Cats are ranked No. 9 in the country and are looking to continue their climb as they head into a tough stretch that features games at Clemson, Gonzaga, Louisville and Ohio State before the new year. The ‘Cats are a deep team that features eight players who are averaging at least 7.0 PPG. The ‘Cats offense is led by Oklahoma transfer Otega Oweh (15.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.5 APG) and sharp-shooter Koby Brea (14.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.8 APG, 79% from 3PT). The Mark Pope era is off to a hot start, and there are no signs of slowing down in the near future as we head into the week of Thanksgiving.
The spread for Tuesday nights matchup versus Lipscomb was -35.5 (Kentucky). The Over/Under points total was set at 155.5.
The starting lineup for the ‘Cats featured Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Otega Oweh, Andrew Carr, and Amari Williams.
Game Recap:
First Half:
The Tigers won the tip and the ‘Cats defense forced a shot-clock violation on the first possession of the game. Robinson hit the first three of the game in transition from the corner for the first points of the game. The Tigers responded with a three-pointer of their own on the other end. Jackson State took a 5-3 lead after a pair of free-throws. Robinson nailed another corner three on the next offensive trip down the floor.
Butler showed his defensive skill and stripped the ball and Oweh hit a pull-up jumper. Oweh then intercepted a pass and drove to the paint for a transition slam to give the ‘Cats a 10-5 lead. Butler found himself open in the pain and put it in for an easy score. The Tigers hit another three but Butler responded with his first three-pointer of the game. The ‘Cats led 15-7 at the first media timeout. Robinson hit his third three of the game coming out of the timeout. Pope again went to his bench early and often in the game. Garrison stayed with a play, stole the ball and the ‘Cats found Almonor in the corner for his first three of the game. Brea drove the ball down the middle of the paint and converted at the rim. The ‘Cats led 23-12 at the under 12-minute media timeout. Chandler entered the game, grabbed a rebound then Kriisa found him in transition for a three. Almonor hit another three in transition. Kriisa found Brea running the floor for an easy layup to push the ‘Cats lead to 33-14 with 8:59-minutes remaining in the half. The ‘Cats went on a 15-2 run over the last 3:22-minutes of action. Almonor was fouled at the rim and hit both free-throws. Carr controlled the ball down the court in transition and found a trialing Williams for a slam. Williams then found Oweh on a back door cut for another easy score. Oweh stole the ball and slammed it in again as the ‘Cats took a 41-18 lead into the next media timeout. The ‘Cats were shooting 73% from the field with 6:58-minutes to play in the half, with 5 of their 6 misfires coming from beyond the arc. Jackson State scored on an and-one attempt but Oweh physically drove to the pain and converted again. Oweh nailed his first three of the game, the ‘Cats got a steal and Butler converted in transition. Kentucky led 48-26 with 4-minutes to play in the first half. Good ball movement found Carr for an easy slam. Butler found Carr in transition and Carr finished with an athletic move at the rim. Garrison finished around the rim with a hook shot move. The ‘Cats couldn’t get a clean shot off to end the half and they took a 54-30 lead into halftime.
The ’Cats shot 59% from the field in the first half and 40% (8 of 20 3PT) from the three-point line after a scorching hot start. The Tigers did consistently convert tough shots and ended up shooting 38% from the field, but just 11% (1 of 9) from beyond the arc. Jaxson Robinson started the early scoring for Kentucky, making his first three three-point attempts of the game before cooling off late in the half. Oweh led the ‘Cats in scoring with 13 first half points, followed by Robinson with 9 points and Almonor with 8 points. Overall, it was another successful half for the ‘Cats and will look to continue their defensive intensity to cause more havoc. Kentucky did create 8 steals to just 5 turnovers and collected 16 assists on 22 made field goals.
Halftime: Kentucky 54 – Jackson State 30
Second Half
The ‘Cats opened the second half with a bang in transition with a Robinson slam over a Tigers defender. The Tigers responded with a three to open their second half scoring. Butler went the distance for an emphatic dunk in transition. Carr collected an offensive board on a missed three and put it back in. Oweh again drove down the middle of the paint for a flying slam. The ‘Cats led 64-35 at the under 16-minute media timeout. Oweh found Garrison who reversed it back to Oweh for another slam. The Tigers converted a tough shot off the glass but Robinson responded with a corner three. Williams drove and missed a layup but put his own miss back in with an athletic dunk. The ‘Cats led 71-39 with 12:46-minutes to play. Brea hit his first three of the game in transition to push the score to 75-42 at the under 12-minute media timeout. Butler found Chandler wide-open for a transition three. Brea dribbled once and set himself up for his second three of the game. Garrison spun and slammed it in off a pass from Carr. Garrison again drained a corner three off a wobbly pass from Garrison. Travis Perry entered the game with 5:50-minutes to play and the ’Cats up 88-48. Brea nailed another three at the top of the key. Oweh stole the pass and found Brea in transition for a slam. Jackson State hit consecutive threes. Brea followed with another corner three, his 5th of the game. The ‘Cats led 96-57 with 2:55-minutes remaining in the game. Oweh scored two free-throws to push his game total past 20 points. Perry nailed his first three of the game off a pump fake. Trent Noah scored his first of the season on a wide-open three-pointer. Perry nailed two free-throws at the line. The ‘Cats went on to win by a score of 108-59.
Final: Kentucky 108 – Jackson State 59
Game Stats:
Jackson State FG %: 33% (19% 3PT – 4 of 21) (50% FT – 9 of 18)
Kentucky FG %: 58% (44% 3PT – 17 of 39) (90% FT – 9 of 10)
Rebounds: 41 – 40 Kentucky
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 29:10
Turnovers: UK (10), Jackson State (17)
Bench Points: 52 – 12 Kentucky
Points off Turnovers: 24 – 11 Kentucky
Fast Break Points: 43 – 7 Kentucky
Paint Points: 44 – 32 Kentucky
Player Stats:
Koby Brea – [(22 points) (2 rebounds) (1 block)]
Otega Oweh – [(21 points (1 rebound) (2 assists) (3 steals)]
Jaxson Robinson – [(14 points) (1 rebound) (1 assist) (1 steal)]
Lamont Butler – [(11 points) (4 rebounds) (5 assists) (3 steals)]
Ansley Almonor – [(10 points) (3 rebounds)]
Andrew Carr – [(6 points) (6 rebounds) (5 assists) (2 steals)]
Brandon Garrison – [(6 points) (8 rebounds) (6 assists) (2 blocks) (3 steals)]
Collin Chandler – [(6 points) (2 rebounds) (1 block) (1 steal)] [led team in plus/minus with +29 in 13-minutes]
Travis Perry – [(5 points) (1 rebound)]
Amari Williams – [(4 points) (8 rebounds) (3 assists) (2 blocks)]
Trent Noah – [(3 points) (1 block)]
Kerr Kriisa – [(3 rebounds) (7 assists) (1 block)]
Next Game:
The ‘Cats (5-0) will return to Rupp Arena on Tuesday, November 26 to take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (3-2). Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EST. The game will be available online for streaming on ESPNU.
