UK finally gets lid off its basket. Is Cats’ hot shooting sign of things to come?
Analysis from No. 9 Kentucky’s 82-62 win over Mount St. Mary’s:
How the game was won
Kentucky hit 12 of its first 13 field-goal attempts in the second half and pulled away from a five-point halftime lead to roll.
Who’s hot
1. Nick Richards. The UK junior big man (team-high 19 points, six rebounds, three blocks) has played well in every game this season but the one the Wildcats lost.
2. Ashton Hagans. Kentucky’s sophomore point guard (16 points, seven rebounds, seven assists) has been consistently “playing downhill” the past two games.
3. UK foul shooters. After making 31 of 34 free throws in Monday’s win over Utah Valley, Kentucky came back to make 16 of 18 Friday night.
4. Cats returning from injuries. Back from the chest injury that knocked him out of the Utah Valley game, Immanuel Quickley (5-of-8 field goals, 3-of-4 three-pointers) scored all 13 of his points in the second half.
Back from the ankle injury he suffered in the season opener vs. Michigan State, EJ Montgomery had seven points and six rebounds in spite of battling foul trouble.
5. Damian Chong Qui. The 5-8, 145-pound Mount St. Mary’s point guard (11 points, three assists) was fun to watch.
Who’s not
1. Shooters facing UK’s defense. Teams were shooting only 35.7 percent (33-of-120) vs. Kentucky entering the game. Mount St. Mary’s continued that trend, making 36.1 percent of its shots (22-of-61).
2. Kentucky rebounding. Seems like a team with UK’s length and athleticism should have been able to outrebound Mount St. Mary’s by more than four (35 to 31).
Key number(s)
Nine and five. Kentucky entered the game 9-of-44 on three-point field goal attempts. The Cats went 5-of-10 on treys in the second half Friday night and finished the game 6-of-15.
The ‘Cat-mosphere’
1. Sydney Carbo, a UK School of Music student, performed a soulful rendition of the national anthem.
2. Rupp Arena was not full, but filled in nicely with a late-arriving, Friday night crowd announced at 20,351.
3. The biggest cheer of the night came in the last minute when John Calipari inserted walk-ons Brennan Canada and Riley Welch plus baseball player-turned-hooper Ben Jordan into the game.
Up next
No. 9 Kentucky (4-1) will face Lamar (4-1) Sunday at 6 p.m. in Rupp Arena in a game telecast by the SEC Network. Coach Tic Price’s Cardinals have beaten Mount St. Mary’s (76-61) and Utah Valley (74-68) as part of the Big Blue Nation Showcase.
This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 9:09 PM.
