The Kentucky Wildcats beat the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in Lexington on Tuesday night by a score of 87-68.
This game was a bit chippy and sloppy from the start. The Hilltoppers made a concerted effort to run Kentucky off the 3-point line and aggressively guard all over, which made the game look ugly. Despite what felt like a displeasing half, the Cats took a 45-33 lead into the break.
In the second half, things got a bit dicey. Western Kentucky kept pace with the Cats and even cut the lead to two possessions. At the end of the day, The Hilltoppers were still down far too much to claw back in, but it was the first somewhat ugly performance of the Mark Pope era.
Regardless, a win’s a win, and Kentucky improved to 6-0. Otega Oweh and Andrew Carr led the way with 18 apiece, followed by 14 from Lamont Butler. No other Wildcat hit double figures.
Next up, the Cats will take on the Georgia State Panthers on Black Friday in Lexington.
Carr always has the answer
What happens when the offense isn’t smooth and flowing like normal? You go to Andrew Carr, of course.
This isn’t news. We learned this in the Duke game. The Wake Forest transfer had an incredible game, especially in the second half of that game. Kentucky struggled to get anything going in that game other than hitting 3 after 3 while failing to slow Duke down.
In response, Mark Pope moved Carr to the 5 spots and, well, you know the rest. Carr jumpstarted the team on both ends of the floor in that game, and he did the same thing in this one.
The Wake Forest transfer has a tendency to play a bit passively and somewhat inconsistently, but it’s mainly due to his unselfish nature and insistence on playing within the offense. But when Kentucky needs it, the big man does exactly what Kentucky needs him to do.
The Cats can feed Carr in the post, and he’s great at drawing fouls and getting to the line. He can also spread the floor even more than it already usually is with his shooting ability. Due to his size, there’s absolutely no drop-off or “going small,” so things continue to chug right along, and he really helps get the Cats back on track.
Carr tallied his first double-double as a Cat in this one. He isn’t a world-beater, but the veteran big man serves as a true X-factor for this squad.
How do you stop this Kentucky offense?
The answer to this question seemed simple before the season. Everyone knew the Cats were going to shoot a lot of 3s, so the most assumed that you had to run them off the 3-point line.
As we’ve seen, that’s obviously easier said than done.
Apart from the first half against Duke, Kentucky hasn’t shown many holes to date, but a glaring flaw reared its ugly head in this one. WKU’s physicality really knocked Kentucky off its game. It was clear from the start that the Hilltoppers wouldn’t be intimidated and would instead bring their game to Kentucky.
To put it simply, Western Kentucky fouled…A LOT. They didn’t slow the game down and make it a half-court battle, but they just fouled what felt like every time down the court. The strategy seemed to work as the Cats never appeared comfortable and struggled from the line. If not for that, Kentucky could have hit 100 again, but that’s always hard to do when you miss double-digit free throws.
It’s probably not a foolproof plan to stop Pope’s Cats all season long, but it worked pretty well tonight. Kentucky’s defense wasn’t at its best either, which is what really kept this game close, but the offensive struggle was surprising, to say the least.
Oweh continues impressive start
Otega Oweh has been nothing short of impressive thus far this season. He’s Kentucky’s leading scorer and one of its best defenders.
The Oklahoma transfer is arguably Kentucky’s best player. The consistency he brings night in and night out is something we really haven’t seen out of any other Cats this season.
Oweh was Kentucky’s leading scorer in this game, despite what appeared to be a frustrating night for him. The Hilltoppers’ physicality really made Kentucky uncomfortable, but Oweh fought through it all night. That’s really no surprise, as he’s probably the Cats’ most physical player, as well.
He finished with 18 points and four boards in what looks to be a true breakout season for the junior guard.
Let’s hope the Cats put together a much better performance on Friday.
Happy Thanksgiving, and go Cats!
