Somehow Pope’s Cats Figure Out a Way to Win

Koby Brea (Vicky Graff Photo)

Even though Kentucky did beat Tennessee in Knoxville last month and Tuesday night’s game was in Rupp Arena, there was no way Kentucky should have won this game against a team that was undefeated in non-conference play and ranked No. 1 going into SEC play.

Yet Kentucky pulled out one of the most courageous wins in recent years by beating the Vols 75-64.

Think about this: Kentucky’s best offensive threat, Jaxson Robinson, was out with a wrist injury. Backup point guard Kerr Kriisa continues to be out with a broken foot. Forward Andrew Carr is playing but remains handicapped with a back injury and went 0-for-3 from the field in 19 minutes, finishing with only two points and two rebounds.

If that wasn’t enough, starting point guard Lamont Butler — who had returned from a shoulder injury in Saturday’s win over South Carolina — re-injured his shoulder with just under nine minutes to play and did not return.

The game was tied 54-54 when Butler went down with 8 minutes, 40 seconds to play but Kentucky got 20 points in the final six minutes with Otega Oweh and Koby Brea running the point.

This is the same team that lost 98-84 at Ole Miss a week earlier and was never really competitive in the first half when it got pushed around. Ole Miss had a 27-point lead at one point. And remember UK gave up 89 points in Rupp Arena the game before that when it lost to Arkansas.

But suddenly defense has become important and the Cats played with a renewed intensity and didn’t buckle even when Butler went down.

“Tennessee is a really good team,” UK Radio Network analyst Jack Givens said “They hold Tennessee to 64 points and this is a team capable of putting points on the board. Kentucky just continues to get better defensively.”

On offense, Kentucky executed down the stretch — something it didn’t do in losses to Vanderbilt and Georgia earlier this season — and played with a renewed sense of confidence.

“They played to win as opposed to playing not to lose,” Givens said. “There is a huge difference. You have to know if you do what you are supposed to do you have a chance to win.”

Kentucky didn’t have a star of the game. Instead, it had numerous players that played starring roles.

— Otega Oweh scored in double figures for the 24th straight game and finished with 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two blocked shots in 31 minutes. His non-stop energy also was huge on defense.

— Ansley Almonor, who did not have a shot, point, assist, or rebound at Ole Miss, also had 13 points on 2-for-3 shooting from 3-point range and 3-for-3 at the foul line.

— Koby Brea, coming off his best defensive game of the year, scored 11 points and was 3-for-6 from 3. He hit two clutch 3s late in the game and also had an assist on an Oweh layup.

— Freshman Trent Noah, who did not play at Ole Miss, had 11 points in 18 minutes along with two rebounds and one assist to go along with super defensive play. He was 3-for-4 from 3-point range.

— Freshman Travis Perry played 12 minutes and went 3-for-4 from the field to score eight points. Sure, he got beat a few times on defense but he played with more physicality and his runner in the lane showcased a phase of his game he had not shown at UK.

— Butler played almost 22 minutes before he was hurt and had six points, four assists, three rebounds, and three steals. He controlled action on both ends of the court.

“You are talking about a game where somebody has to step up and a lot of times it is bigger than any one player,” Givens said as he praised Noah, Almonor, and Perry for combining for 32 points. “Those three made big shots all night and it was fun to watch.

“This win would have been huge no matter who Kentucky was playing with figuring out how to win with so many key pieces out of the mix but they did it.”