The Kentucky Wildcats mauled the Brown Bears on New Year’s Eve in Lexington by a final score of 88-54.
The Cats got off to yet another slow start. Some rust, I guess, was expected after a 10-day layoff, but after the last performance we saw, the hope was they’d come out ready to knockout a lesser opponent. That wasn’t exactly the case, as the first half was pretty back and forth before Kentucky grabbed a 16-point lead, but they were only able to take a 39-27 lead into the half.
After the break, Kentucky really locked in and pulled away. Otega Oweh, Amari Williams, and Koby Brea turned in solid performances to lead the way. The Bears aren’t a good team, but they’re not the worst Kentucky faced this season. It’s a nice way to end 2024.
Kentucky is now 11-2 on the season heading into the New Year and SEC play. It’s a long road, but we’re already halfway through, so enjoy the ride!
Next up, the Cats face their next big test in the Florida Gators on Saturday morning (11 am) in Lexington.
Here are three things to know from win No. 11 for the Cats.
Andrew Carr awakens
Andrew Carr was Kentucky’s best player in this game. He’s been a bit inconsistent this season, but he’s definitely this team’s X-factor.
It seems Carr always has an answer when the Cats need it. Unfortunately, his aggressiveness has been somewhat limited to those moments. He finally started to really assert himself early and often in this one, and that’s a welcome sight.
The Wake Forest transfer provides so much for Mark Pope’s squad, including outside shooting, length/shot-blocking, and being the only real post threat. Couple all of that with his veteran presence and decision-making, and you’ve got a really, really important piece.
Let’s hope we see this version of Carr more often going forward.
Question marks remain
This season has been fun and a nice change up from the last few years, but the team has a lot of question marks.
The biggest question mark is the Cats’ ability to deal with physicality. The Clemson Tigers and Ohio State Buckeyes really exposed what appears to be a massive flaw for Kentucky. While that wasn’t exactly the case in this game, the rebounding was incredibly poor, and that’s just a part of being physical. The Bears ended up outrebounding Kentucky 35-29 thanks to 10 offensive boards compared to Kentucky’s nine.
Depth is another question mark. Kentucky has 12 scholarship players, but only about nine (at most) are playable against good teams. That includes Kerr Kriisa, who’s going to be out for at least another month or so. Travis Perry, Collin Chandler, and Trent Noah usually get some PT against teams like the one Kentucky played today, but they haven’t looked great and clearly have a long way to go. Additionally, Ansley Almonor is just a spot-up shooter.
My goal here isn’t to be negative about these guys or the team but rather to highlight some issues that need to be dealt with in the new year.
Defense locks in
One of the question marks that the Cats have dealt with all season has been their defense. While Lamont Butler, Otega Oweh, and Amari Williams have been good individual defenders, the rest of the team has left a lot to be desired (and more questions than answers).
Defense wasn’t an issue in this game. Kentucky forced turnovers and blocked shots. They really locked in on the defensive end, which was especially important given the recent state of the offense (or lack thereof).
Credit where credit is due. The Cats weren’t perfect, but they got the job done.
We won’t see Kentucky play again until next year, so let’s enjoy the win and hope they’re working on their resolutions, just like the rest of us.
Now, let’s celebrate!
Go Cats!!
