5 things you need to know from Kentucky’s 103-67 rout of North Carolina Central
Five things you need to know from Kentucky’s 103-67 blowout win vs. North Carolina Central in men’s college basketball Tuesday at Rupp Arena:
1. Fan reaction to the Cats. After Kentucky’s dismal showing in Friday night’s 94-59 loss to Gonzaga, the heavily pro UK crowd in Nashville booed the Wildcats off the court at the end of both halves.
On Tuesday night, the Rupp Arena crowd was late-arriving to the point that, just three minutes prior to tip off, it appeared this might be one of the least-attended UK men’s basketball games in Rupp Arena history.
However, by the time the game reached its first television timeout with 15:16 left in the first half, the arena had filled in sufficiently that it seemed a “normal” crowd for a Tuesday night contest vs. a low-profile foe.
Oh, and with Kentucky ahead for all but the game’s opening 16 seconds, the Wildcats heard no booing on this night.
2. Mark Pope’s changes. With Kentucky entering the game having lost in frustrating fashion in back-to-back contests to North Carolina (Cats blew a lead) and Gonzaga (Cats got blown out), the chief intrigue entering the North Carolina Central contest was what changes the UK head man might make.
It turned out, Pope made multiple alterations:
• Trent Noah started at forward in place of Kam Williams.
• Early in the first half, Pope tried a “twin towers” lineup with 7-foot freshman Malachi Moreno and 6-10 junior Brandon Garrison on the court together.
• Pope shortened his playing rotation, using only eight players in the first half. The UK coach played all five of his starters at least 14 minutes prior to halftime.
• Kentucky showed multiple defenses, deploying a 1-2-2, three-quarters-court press and a smattering of 2-3 zone along with its normal man-to-man alignment.
We’ll see how many of the changers remain in place — and whether they will actually be effective — when the Wildcats return to action vs. power conference opposition Saturday night vs. Indiana of the Big Ten.
3. A good night for UK’s native Kentuckians. Three products of the commonwealth scored in double figures for the Wildcats.
Former Woodford County High School star Jasper Johnson set a new college career high with 22 points (one more than Otega Oweh’s 21 for team high). Johnson finished a team-best plus-30 in the plus/minus metric.
Ex-Great Crossing High School star Malachi Moreno had 14 points and seven rebounds.
Trent Noah, the former Harlan County High School star, went for 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Continuing the good vibes for UK’s Kentuckians, walk-on Zach Tow, a Madisonville-North Hopkins High School alumnus, swished a 3-pointer from the right corner with 32 seconds left in the game for his first field goal as a Kentucky Wildcat.
4. Jaland Lowe’s progression. The UK point guard returned from a shoulder injury vs. Gonzaga and scored one point in 14 minutes vs. Mark Few’s Bulldogs.
Lowe went through pregame warmups Tuesday in what appeared to be the same style shoulder harness he wore vs. the Zags.
However, once the game started, the 6-foot-1 point guard stayed firmly glued to the UK bench throughout the first half.
So it was a surprise when Lowe checked into the game with 14:32 left to play.
Lowe ended up logging eight minutes of playing time. He did not take a shot and finished with two assists and one turnover.
5. All-time wins race. Kentucky entered the season with an eight-game edge over Kansas, 2,422 to 2,414, in the all-time men’s college basketball wins race.
Even though things haven’t gone as hoped through 10 games of the 2025-26 season for the Wildcats, the edge for UK (6-4) has only slipped by one game vs. KU (7-3).
With the win over North Carolina Central, Kentucky leads Kansas in all-time victories 2,428 to 2,421.
Both teams will next play on Saturday. Kansas will play host to North Carolina State at 5:30 pm EST, while Kentucky will welcome Indiana to Rupp Arena at 7:30 pm EST.
This story was originally published December 9, 2025 at 8:49 PM.
