Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s NCAA Tournament win against Troy
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Game day: Kentucky 76, Troy 57
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Friday night’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Troy at the NCAA Tournament in Milwaukee.
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Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 76-57 NCAA Tournament win against Troy on Friday night at Fiserv Forum:
1. The monkey is off the Cats’ back
Since Mark Pope had never won an NCAA Tournament game as a head coach, it stood to reason that the Kentucky coach would get a how-does-it-feel question early in his postgame press conference.
“It means they’re not going to fire me until Saturday, or Sunday, whenever we play next,” the Kentucky coach joked. “We’re doing our best to represent this one-of-one program. It’s not about us at all, it’s not. I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. When you think how much it means to our fans and this community, that’s what is important to us.”
And considering the Cats had lost in the first round two of the last three years — to a No. 15 seed in 2022 and a No. 14 seed in 2023 — it stood to reason that the current Cats would be asked, as well.
“It’s always good to get that first one,” guard Koby Brea said.
Indeed, the Cats got it done, earning some separation with a 10-0 run near the end of the first half. A 3-pointer from freshman Trent Noah got it started. Noah had been 1-for-15 from 3 over his last seven games. Then freshman Collin Chandler scored nine points in a 15-0 run in the second half. Sophomore center Brandon Garrison scored the other six.
“Our roster is in tatters right now,” Pope said. “So those guys are going to be incredibly important to us.”
2. Kentucky’s defense made a difference
Troy ended up shooting 34.9% from the floor, making but 22 of its 63 shots. The Trojans were 8-for-32 from beyond the 3-point line.
“Their size obviously affected us a lot,” Troy coach Scott Cross said. “Amari Williams really plugged it up in the middle.”
After missing the loss to Alabama in the SEC Tournament with another shoulder injury, Lamont Butler was back in the starting lineup and played 25 minutes.
“He makes a difference defensively,” Cross said.
Andrew Carr blocked three shots. Otega Oweh and Garrison each made two steals. And Kentucky’s team defense bothered the Sun Belt Conference champions into 4-for-16 shooting from beyond the arc in each half.
“If they continue to play at a high level defensively, they are as good as I’ve seen offensively,” Cross said.
3. Kentucky moved the ball on offense
Meanwhile, on the offensive end, Kentucky was credited with 23 assists on 28 made field goals. Oweh led the way with six assists. Koby Brea and Williams each had four. Butler and Carr each made three assists.
The offensive flow helped the 3-pointers rip the nets. Brea was 3-for-6 beyond the arc. Carr was 2-for-3. Chandler was 2-for-4. Oweh, Noah and Garrison each hit a triple.
UK’s offensive highlight of the night didn’t involve an assist. Williams grabbed a rebound on the defensive end, then the 7-foot center dribbled the length of the floor to throw down a dunk while being fouled for a 33-24 lead.
Standing on the sideline, Pope kicked his leg up in the air at the moment of Williams’ slam.
“I actually spent three, four seconds trying to find Lamont coming back for the ball,” Williams said afterward. “(Troy) was pressing and they didn’t take away my left hand so I was able to go down the court and no one still stopped me when I got to the 3-point line, so I feel like I made the right decision.”
In this first-round game of the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky made plenty of right decisions.
This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 10:33 PM.
