UK basketball’s ‘cupcake season’ is over. Are the Wildcats ready for what comes now?
Analysis from No. 8 Kentucky’s 83-52 win over Fairleigh Dickinson:
How the game was won
Kentucky rode an early 17-0 run and a dominant first half from EJ Montgomery to bury overmatched Fairleigh Dickinson (2-6).
Who’s hot
1. EJ Montgomery. The willowy UK power forward (25 points and nine rebounds after having 14 and seven at halftime) has now turned in back-to-back strong games.
2. Nick Richards. The Kentucky big man as played so well early in his junior season that a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) felt “quiet.”
3. Keion Brooks. The bouncy UK freshman wing had his best college game, going for 15 points and five boards in only 16 minutes of playing time.
4. Ashton Hagans’ passing. The Wildcats point guard (11 points and 11 assists) dropped some sweet dimes.
5. FDU’s dunking. For a team that got rocked, the Knights had a surprising number of memorable tip dunks. If nothing else, FDU’s trip to Rupp Arena should have yielded some memorable clips for the postseason highlight reel.
Who’s not
1. Kentucky three-point shooters. The Cats made only two of 11 treys. This was a game where UK did not need long-range bombing, but in games where the Wildcats will need it, will it be there?
2. The FDU bench. Got outscored 29-7 by the Kentucky reserves. Of course, you would expect UK to be deeper than Fairleigh Dickinson.
Key number(s)
600. With the victory over FDU, Kentucky’s all-time record in games played in Rupp Arena is now 600-70. According to UK’s game notes, Kentucky is the fastest team ever to win 600 games in one arena.
The ‘Cat-mosphere’
1. Taylor Comstock, a graduate student in the UK School of Music, performed a rousing rendition of the national anthem.
2. UK women’s basketball coach Matthew Mitchell took the court during the second TV timeout of the first half with a microphone to implore fans to come back to Rupp next Sunday for the Kentucky’s women’s basketball game with No. 2 Louisville. “We want to beat them, don’t we?” Mitchell asked the fans. “Come help us out.”
3. Shown on the Rupp Arena giant video boards during the “hunk cam” segment, a man threw “L’s down” and got a roaring ovation in response.
Up next
No. 8 Kentucky (7-1) will face Georgia Tech (4-3) next Saturday (Dec. 14) in Rupp Arena. The game will tip off at 5 p.m. and be telecast by ESPN.
Tech was obliterated 97-63 by ACC rival Syracuse on Saturday.
Coach Josh Pastner’s Yellowjackets are 0-2 this season against SEC foes, having lost 82-78 at Georgia on Nov. 20 and 62-61 in overtime to Arkansas in Atlanta on Nov. 25.
This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 5:54 PM.
