It felt great to watch a new era of Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball begin as the Cats opened exhibition play against Kentucky Wesleyan on Wednesday night.
This was the first of two exhibition games before UK opens regular-season play on November 9th against Wright State.
With a completely revamped roster and new head coach, this was one of the more anticipated start to a season in recent memory.
The Cats wasted no time asserting their dominance. By the time 10 minutes had been played, Kentucky was up by 20 points.
At halftime, UK was on top 60-24 and looked like a team loaded with unselfish talent.
Mark Pope’s team looked cohesive on both ends of the floor. At no point did they play selfishly or without a purpose.
It was an impressive effort from start to finish and a great debut for the new head coach.
The final score of 123-52 was jaw-dropping, but even that didn’t even reflect the utter dominance.
Jaxson Robinson led the way with 19 points, followed by Otega Oweh (18), Ansley Almonor (15), and Koby Brea (13).
Kentucky had 32 assists vs. five turnovers while forcing the Panthers into 18 turnovers vs. 10 dimes.
Here’s four things to know from this fun night at Rupp.
Starting 5 off to hot start
One of the most anticipated things about the Wildcats opening competitive play on Wednesday night was seeing which players were in the starting lineup.
It was Lamont Butler, Otega Oweh, Jackson Robinson, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams who saw action first.
The starting group looked terrific and got off to a hot 13-6 start at the under-16-minute timeout.
Kobe Brea and Brandon Garrison would be the first two players off the bench. Brea checked in and immediately drained a three, while Garrison played solid defense and quickly scored a basket in the paint.
It was an all-out rout from there.
Travis Perry and Collin Chandler would be the next two Cats to see playing time, checking in as the seventh and eighth players off the bench.
Although it didn’t seem to really matter who started or played early, the Cats were dominant in the first ten minutes of the game, leading by a score of 29-9.
Will this be the starting lineup that Pope uses regularly?
Time will tell.
Playing at the speed of lightning
When Mark Pope took over as head coach it was a given that the style of play would drastically change from what UK fans had grown used to seeing.
That said, I don’t think many people were prepared for how quickly this team would hoist shots from all over the floor.
The Cats tallied 60 points at halftime after making eight of 20 3s. The scoring barrage from various players was a thing of beauty to watch.
Things didn’t slow down much in half number two as Kentucky continued the onslaught of scoring, racking up another 63 points after the break.
Of course it’s an exhibition game vs. a vastly inferior opponent (except for Louisville), but this was a very promising start to the Pope era that showed what his team can look like at peak performance.
Gorgeous ball movement
Statistics and score aside, just watching this group pass the basketball was a major treat.
There is no wasted dribbling or holding the ball. Offensive players were constantly shooting or passing.
It’s been a long wait to see the “Mark Pope system” we’ve heard so much about, and it did not disappoint. We’ve heard how much these guys really love playing for each other, and boy did that translate onto the court.
This team has the chance to be very special offensively by the time the spring rolls around.
Collision course with Duke looms
The Cats have three more opportunities to tune up before taking on the Blue Devils in the Champions Classic on November 12th.
The matchup with Duke will feature superstar Cooper Flagg, who was pegged as the national preseason freshman of the year.
ESPN’s preseason poll has Duke ranked as the 7th-best team in America.
The primetime game will provide Mark Pope’s first chance to secure a big-time victory against a quality opponent.
UK is now older and stronger than ever, so I like their chances of competing at a high level in the early season event. Tonight gave the BBN even more hope that Pope can lead the Cats to what would be a monumental win for the program.
What was your biggest takeaway from exhibition game No. 1? Let us know in the comments section!
