Kentucky fans liked what they saw against Vanderbilt. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington could not help but appreciate what Kentucky’s offense did to his team on Wednesday night in an 82-61 win in Rupp Arena.
“I thought Kentucky was at a high level. Their efficiency on offense, their execution, their shot making. Everything from 12 for 12 free throws in the first half, to just finishing 3’s, and the second half their big guys became a problem,” the Vandy coach said.
“I thought Kentucky was great tonight. And I thought in the first half, we played at a high level, and we didn’t maintain it in the second half.”
Kentucky had 16 assists on 29 made field goals as eight different players had an assist.
“Everybody from their guards to the bench passed the ball well. When teams pass the ball well, the ball is found in the open guy and they find the open guy on this team. Sometimes it’s a 3-pointer and those hurt,” Byington said.
Kentucky lost earlier this season at Vanderbilt but won even with starters Lamont Butler and Jaxson Butler out again with injuries. Pope believes the 21-point win should give his team added confidence.
“What was fun is we had such huge contributions from everybody. This was a team that beat us down there and this is a really good team, this is a team that we respect a lot. This is a team that poses real problems for us. They did what they do,” Pope said.
“I thought our guys were really talented. I thought Otega Oweh was unbelievable tonight on both sides of the ball. He continues, you talk about guys that are putting together special seasons. My goodness, Otega Oweh was spectacular tonight.
“I think it should give our guys a lot of confidence and we needed, you know I’m happy for our guys that they get this little injection of energy. Right? Positive energy.”
However, Pope knows that positive energy and more will be needed Saturday at Alabama. The Crimson Tide won 102-97 at Lexington but also lost Wednesday night at Missouri when it gave up 110 points.
“Now we’ve got the epic challenge of all challenges going to Alabama and seeing if we can deal with that insanity down there and it’s going to be fun and it’s fun to grow this group,” Pope said.
