Trent Noah had 10 points and made two 3-pointers in Friday's win. (Vicky Graff Photo)
It didn’t count, but it didn’t matter, Kentucky had fun anyway.
The No. 9 Wildcats unofficially opened the college basketball season with a 78-65 victory over No. 1 Purdue and provided the fan base with a glimpse of what the second year of the Mark Pope era will look like once the season officially begins on Nov. 4 against Nichols.
For an exhibition, Pope was elated in what was easily the most anticipated exhibition game in school history.
“It was probably the most fun exhibition game that I’ve ever been a part of,” Pope said afterward.
Kentucky didn’t have its full roster intact with the absence of starting point guard Jaland Lowe (shoulder) and reserves Reece Potter (illness) and Jayden Quaintance (knee) but still managed to defeat the Boilermakers with balanced scoring from top to bottom.
Overall, 10 players scored and three cracked double figures, led by freshman Jasper Johnson with 15 points including a team-high three treys. Returnees Otega Oweh and Trent Noah added 10 points apiece.
Although his team wasn’t perfect, Pope said the Wildcats were focused from start to finish against the top-ranked Boilermakers.
“We have so much work to do, but in terms of one night for these guys to actually be in this for each other, that’s going to be the key to this team,” Pope said. “As much as we can just stay in this for each other, we have a chance to be a good team.”
He liked his team’s ability to play unselfishly, especially in the first half and at various times in the second frame. Ten players had an assist and Kentucky had 17 assists as a team.
“I was really proud of that, and it’s a good sign for us,” Pope said.
Veteran Denzel Aberdeen, returnee Collin Chandler and Johnson took turns at point guard, giving Pope and his staff an opportunity to explore various lineup rotations for future reference.
Johnson, Aberdeen and Chandler combined for nine assists, most of which were in transition. Pope praised Johnson for his ability to play within the system, a process Pope says Johnson is continually learning.
“He’s got a very unique game, and he’s got a really unique skill set,” Pope said. “He has committed himself to trying to do what we do and then letting that part of him that he brings to the game come out through it, rather than just going to what he does. And it’s why he’s growing so much so fast.”
Kentucky committed just seven turnovers and did so while moving at a fast pace. The Wildcats had 15 fast-break points and also had 14 second-chance baskets while out=rebounding Purdue, 42-30.
“I thought they embraced the physicality of the game,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said.
Painter also understood the value of playing elite competition like Kentucky in an exhibition game to provide a snapshot of his team’s progress early in the season.
“This is the third year in a row we went on the road to play a game like this,” he said. “We played Arkansas, we played Creighton, and we lost them all. And I know it sounds crazy, but it’s really helped us. … I don’t care where we’re ranked, we have real problems, and I think that allows us to go back and practice, you know, eat our humble pie, and try to get better so we can have a great season.”
Kentucky freshman Malachi Moreno, who scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds against the Boilermakers, said the contest will also help the Wildcats in the future.
“We got a tough test playing the preseason No. 1 team in the country, and we got the win,” he said. “I think we really proved ourselves and really saw where we’re at as a team and what we can improve on.”
8 Responses
They helped each other on defense and shared the ball on offense maybe a little too much. We only took 29 threes and more were available. The more 3s we take, the better our shooting percentage from the arc will be. Getting up 35+ threes a game means shooting in the first 15 seconds of the shotclock. The more 3s we take, the more layups, dunks, and free throws we will also get and they go a long way towards keeping your game shooting percentage over 50%. Go CATS!!!
Loved LOVED our Home Grown Kentucky Kids! University of Kentucky Basketball is the King of College Basketball ! And the Greatest Fans anywhere!
I liked a lot of what I saw. A lot of things to be happy about and some things to improve on. Purdue is a decent team, but they are not #1 right now. Purdue looked pretty slow or UK looked very fast. We'll find that answer later on in the season.
I'm just glad BB season is here.
Could not have written a better script for the first game of the year. I only wish I could have been there. We had good energy, good balance and shared the ball very well and showed they really like playing each other. I just hope we are able to find a way to keep them all happy with the minutes they will get. We could have the best depth in the country. This was the Upper for the weekend, and of course the Downer will be to have to look at Stoops. Maybe we can really find a way for a total team buy-in and take down the Vols.
Jasper Johnson should be the backup point guard. Either Johnson or Chandler. Both are capable of running the point. I love our team. We have 3 Kentucky boys that are on the team. That helps more than you think it does because they just want to win. When you grew up dreaming of playing for Kentucky playing your rivals like Louisville Tennessee and Indiana. There is no better feeling than accomplishing that dream. That's why usually the best teams we have always have a Kentucky boy in the mix. Like Darius Miller on the 2009-2012 teams, and the early 90s through the late 90s every great team we've ever had had a feature kid from Kentucky. Like Derek Anderson in the mid 90s. This team gets the luxury of having 3 kids from Kentucky who are all great basketball players. We might have never had this much talent from the state of Kentucky before on one team. Noah, Moreno, Johnson, and Potter together are incredible to have on your team. If Perry would have came back we would have 5 Kentucky boys on the team. Hawthorne grew up on the West Virginia Kentucky border. So you could almost call him a Kentucky boy as well. If all 4 of them come back next year. We could have a starting 5 consisting of mostly Kentucky boys. I know Johnson and Moreno start next year possibly at some point this year. I do believe we have a championship caliber team this year and we will be even better next year. Mark Pope has done everything I wanted for Kentucky basketball and more. I really appreciate him not only getting great players who fit a system but to also get those players out of his own backyard were the kids are living there dream which means usually they will stay until there dream comes true which is win a national championship.
Just researched the 1958 Kentucky Championship team.
Earl Adams Ashland KY
Billy Ray Cassidy Inez KY
Lincoln Collinsworth Salyersville KY
Johnny Cox Hazard KY
John Crigler Hebron KY
Vern Hatton Lexington KY
Lowell Hughes Prestonsburg KY
Phil Johnson Lexington KY
Don Mills Berea KY
Harold Ross Hickman KY
Adrian "Odie" Smith Farmington KY
Bill Smith Walton KY
Ed Beck Georgia
Dick Howe Unknown
We'll never have this many nowadays, but I'm glad we have the ones we've got this year.
Good research Wildwest
Thanks WildWest
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