The Kentucky Wildcats thrashed the Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks in their final exhibition game, as the regular season will now officially get underway. The final score was 98-67.
The Cats got off to a slow start, which seemed like an afterthought following their first blowout win. The 3s weren’t falling early, Kentucky looked sloppy, and Minnesota State was ready to go. However, before long, Kentucky hit its stride, in large part thanks to Jaxson Robinson, and extended its lead to 43-23 and never looked back.
In the second half, Mark Pope’s squad did not get off to the same start as it did in the first half. Kentucky quickly jumped out to a 53-25 lead before the first media timeout. The Cats continued to extend their lead, but the defense dropped off significantly. To be fair, though, the offense looked unstoppable.
There’s only so much you can take from exhibition games, but it’s fun to imagine all the possibilities with this team. They still have a long way to go, and hopefully, injuries don’t set them back (see below), but it should be a fun ride.
Despite a rough start with turnovers, the Cats finished with just eight for the game compared to 28 assists.
That’ll do.
Next up, the Cats will kick off the start of the Mark Pope era in Lexington on Monday night against the Wright State Raiders.
Here are three things to know from another fun night at Rupp Arena.
Injury updates
There’s good news and bad news. The good news is Kerr Kriisa made his debut after sitting out the Blue White and Kentucky Wesleyan games due to a hamstring injury. The bad news is that Amari Williams suffered a lower leg injury in the first half and did not return to the game.
Williams did return to the bench and rode a bike for a bit, but let’s hope his absence was solely precautionary. The Drexel transfer may be Kentucky’s most important player given the reliance on passing, especially from the big men, in Pope’s offense.
Williams has looked like an elite passer thus far and when you throw in his ability to alter shots on the defensive end, it’s easy to see why it took the Cats a few minutes to adjust once he went down.
However, let’s get back to the good news, which is that Brandon Garrison filled in nicely in Williams’ absence. Garrison isn’t the same passer that Williams is, but Pope didn’t force the issue on that and instead fed the former McDonald’s All-American down in the post, where he took advantage.
Jaxson Robinson can fill it up
Robinson was widely expected to be Kentucky’s best player, at least the best scorer, and he fully lived up to the hype in this one. The BYU transfer looked good in Kentucky’s first exhibition game, but he went nuclear from the 3-point line in its second exhibition game.
Robinson came into Kentucky known as a threat from outside the arc, but if he shoots it anything like he did tonight, he’ll be hard to stop. The 6-foot-6 guard was lethal and didn’t even need a two-point basket to do so, as all 24 of his points came on 8/12 shooting from deep.
The fifth-year senior isn’t Kentucky’s most talented player of the last decade, but make no mistake — this kid is a future NBA player.
His length makes it difficult to contest his shots, and that’s good because he definitely likes to float outside the 3-point line. It’d be nice to see him attack the basket a little bit more than he does, but as long as those shots are falling, we’re just nitpicking at that point.
What does Kentucky do when the 3s aren’t falling?
This is most fans’ biggest concern, and it’s legitimate. With how much Kentucky relies on the 3, what happens when none seem to be dropping?
Well, the answer tonight made it look like an easy one. Just keep shooting!
The shots weren’t falling early for Kentucky tonight and Minnesota State was able to keep the game close for the first 10 minutes. However, they just kept putting more shots up and eventually, they started hitting them.
As I mentioned above, Garrison also played a role in the post, and it helps to have a couple of guys like Lamont Butler and Otega Oweh who are hard to keep from the basket. Butler and Oweh have looked like steady presences ready to help spark the Cats any time they need it.
Neither player is the best outside shooter, but they both get to the rim at will and hound opposing guards on the defensive end. The 3s are fun, but you have to have a guy or two who can just go get a bucket when they aren’t going down. It will be interesting to see how that plays out over the course of the season.
It’s time for the real fun to begin. Go Cats!
