LEXINGTON — Good teams find ways to win. Great teams bury overmatched opponents, quickly extinguishing even the faintest hopes of an upset.
Kentucky basketball already has shown it’s an example of the former. And it’s beginning to show signs it may develop into the latter as the 2024-25 season chugs along.
UK’s quest for greatness took its latest (small) step Friday, dominating at the outset and putting it in cruise control from there, easing past Jackson State, 108-59, at Rupp Arena.
“I think the biggest thing that we’re focused on right now is — and it’s something that I’ve actually never been a part of — a team that just refuses to play to the level of our competition,” said Kentucky freshman guard Collin Chandler, who had six points, two rebounds, a block and a steal in 13 minutes off the bench. “I feel like there’s a standard that we’re living up to — and that we’re trying to live up to each game.
“And I think we’ve executed it very well.”
The lopsided result was expected.
The Wildcats (5-0) haven’t lost under first-year coach Mark Pope. The Tigers (0-6) haven’t won this season under third-year head man Mo Williams.
UK entered having won its previous four outings by an average of 25.8 points per game. JSU’s five losses came by an average of 26.6 points. And Kentucky was favored by 34 ½ points prior to tipoff.
That the No. 11 Wildcats covered — with room to spare — proved they listened to Pope’s words earlier in the week. As Pope previewed the matchup during a Thursday news conference, he said Friday would be “the biggest game we’ve played all season.” And that his club’s effort would “honor” the game he loves so dearly.
UK did that.
And then some.
And it did so sticking with what’s already become a tried-and-true formula just five games into Pope’s tenure: an offensive barrage. An ultra-efficient one, at that.
Kentucky made 57.7% (41 for 71) of its field-goal attempts Friday, led by Koby Brea‘s game-high 22 points. Otega Oweh was next with 21 points, followed by Jaxson Robinson with 14, Lamont Butler with 11 and Ansley Almonor with 10. The Wildcats also set season highs for 3-point makes (17) and attempts (39) in a game — their fifth time in as many contests this season they’ve sank at least 10.
Nothing brought a bigger smile to Pope’s face, however, than his team’s assist total.
Twenty-nine. On 41 made baskets.
“I’d take that any night. Especially a game like this, where it’s so easy to think, ‘Ah, I’m just gonna get one for myself,'” Pope said. “We just have a DNA. These guys have built a DNA on this team where they’re actually excited to make plays for each other.”
It also caught Williams’ attention.
“The ball moves faster than the man,” he said. “As a coach, you always preach that: move the ball, get the ball hopping, move the defense with the pass, not the dribble. And they do a great job of that.”
To put it simply, Williams said, the ball doesn’t “stick” to any Wildcat.
“(When) we say ‘stick,’ that means when someone passes the ball to someone and they hold it for a couple of seconds trying to figure out what they have,” he said. “They do a good job of getting off the ball and moving without the ball and actually making the right read.
“I think that’s the most important thing: You can have pace in your offense. You can have movement in your offense. But if you don’t make the right read, it doesn’t give you an advantage.”
A 13-year NBA veteran, Williams said watching the Wildcats reminded him of a well-worn cliché in pro basketball circles.
“‘When you’re making a pass, it has to be on time and it has to be on target,'” he said, invoking the platitude. “And they do a good job of making good passes on time and on target.”
Kentucky’s players are hard-wired that way, Oweh said. It’s a credit to Pope’s vision.
“I feel like he handpicked (the roster) in a certain way. He knew what he wanted, and he knew what would be valuable to winning national championships,” said Oweh, who made 8 of 12 shots from the field and added three steals. “So he got a lot older guys, and we all know that if we want to do big things, we have to sacrifice; which is, we’re not going to know who’s going to be ‘the guy’ every single night, but we’re going to play hard and compete every single night.
“We all have big goals for this year, so we’re just gonna have to put our egos and certain things to the side.”
It was music to Pope’s ears.
Spotlighting the assist total, he zeroed in on two more numbers. One was seven; the other was four.
Seven was the number of assists fifth-year senior guard Kerr Kriisa collected, the most of any player Friday.
“Eleven of our 12 (scholarship) guys score, and the only player that didn’t score led us in assists,” Pope said. “That’s exactly how a Kentucky basketball team is supposed to function.”
The other figure, four, was the number of Wildcats with five or more assists: the aforementioned Kriisa along with sophomore forward Brandon Garrison (six), Butler (five) and fifth-year senior forward Andrew Carr (five).
Unselfishness, to that degree, isn’t just “rare,” Pope said. But it also bodes well for his club in the days and months that await.
“It’s important for the way we play and how this game is made up,” he said. “Our guys are going to continue to believe more and more that the more they give, the more they get back. It’s the way this game works when it’s right.”
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
