The Duke Blue Devils travel to Atlanta on Tuesday for their first ranked matchup of the season, a battle against a No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats that looks quite different from recent years.
The Wildcats beat Wright State and Bucknell in the first two games of their season behind an offense averaging more than 100 points per game and shooting 40.0% from 3-point range, but without a firm test on opening week, Kentucky remains a bit of a Rorschach test under its new head coach.
Unlike the Blue Devils, who have been anchored by the freshman duo of Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel to start the season, Kentucky has leaned on some older players. The leading scorer and rebounder both transferred into the program this offseason after spending four years elsewhere, and the guard who leads the team in assists played for two other schools since 2020.
Here’s a quick rundown of the Wildcats and their top players ahead of Tuesday’s game.
How has the Wildcats’ season gone thus far?
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Record: 2-0
Points per Game: 101.5
Points Allowed per Game: 67.0
KenPom Adjusted Efficiency Ranking: 30th out of 364 teams
Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 17th
Defensive Efficiency Ranking: 56th
Statistical Leaders
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Points: Koby Brea, 19.0
Rebounds: Amari Williams, 13.5
Assists: Kerr Kriisa, 8.5
Steals: Otega Oweh, 2.5
Blocks: Amari Williams, 1.0
FG%: Koby Brea, 73.7%
3PT%: Koby Brea, 83.3%
Wait, what happened to John Calipari?
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Calipari, who previously coached the Wildcats since 2009 and won a national championship with the program in 2012, left the program to take over the Arkansas Razorbacks in April. The Wildcats hired former BYU head coach Mark Pope to replace him. Pope, a member of Kentucky’s 1996 national championship team, assembled a 110-52 record with two NCAA Tournament appearances in five seasons with the Cougars.
Kentucky player to watch
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Koby Brea spent the previous four seasons with the Dayton Flyers, averaging a career-high 11.1 points per game in 2023-24 before hitting the transfer portal and moving to Lexington. He looks right at home with his new team, scoring 18 points against Wright State in the opener before adding 20 more against Bucknell. He’s shooting at a torrid clip to begin the season, making 10 of his 12 3-point looks and 14 of his 19 overall attempts.
Other key offseason additions
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Amari Williams, a senior 7-footer who leads the Wildcats in rebounds and blocks so far this season, joined the team after he averaged 12.2 points 7.8 boards, and 1.8 blocks per game for Drexel in 2023-24. Kerr Kriisa, the team’s assist leader through two games, has bounced around a little, starting his career at Arizona before spending one season with West Virginia in 2023-24.
