The Kentucky Wildcats took down Little Rock in their first of three exhibition matchups 69-49 in a game where defense was on point, but offensive execution was a struggle. That is something that will take time and on Friday, Mark Pope was looking to see improvements there in their second exhibition game, this time against the #19 Texas Tech Red Raiders.
In the first half, Kentucky used as big as a 17-3 run to take the lead towards the end of the half after the offense struggled moving the ball and finding its rhythm to start. The Wildcats then took a 37-33 lead into the half after Texas Tech ended making their last three shots and Kentucky had a two minute drought late. As far as the second half, Kentucky continued making plays and shot much better, going 6-13 from deep and turning the ball over just four times. Once Texas Tech cut it to three points late, Kentucky went on a 14-6 run to close it out with an 11-point win.
Kentucky is lethal in transition
When Kentucky's offense struggled finding its flow in the first half, they were finally able to get in the groove with their ability to create off turnovers. It started with a fastbreak layup by Justin McBride followed by an Ousmane N'Diaye fastbreak dunk that started Kentucky's huge first-half run. Kentucky ended the first half with 14 points off turnovers and proved that when the ball is moving constantly, scoring opportunities open up in bunches for the Wildcats. That bled into the second half, as Kentucky ended up shooting 6-13 from three, a much better result with the ball moving more and off of steals. That first-half run paid off in the end.
Milan Momcilovic has to touch the ball at all times
Kentucky started the game 0-8 from three, which was during their lowest points of the game. It was fueled by points off turnovers, but once they starting moving the ball around, scoring opportunities opened up and Milan Momcilovic was a huge part of that. In the first half alone, he ended up with 10 points, with a made three and 5-5 at the free-throw line. His cutting ability was a huge part in him finding scoring chances. Not only is he a great scorer, it really just helps spread the offense out when he gets the ball simply because of how much the defense is drawn to him. It was clear that whenever he's in the game, he needs to get a touch on every possession. Even though, Kentucky didn't shoot it well overall from three, Momcilovic was still a threat and was huge in their first half run. In the second half, that effort really paid off with a huge three to put Kentucky up 73-63 with 1:45 left.
Mason Williams outplayed Kentucky's starting guards
In a game where not much was going right shooting the ball, it was Mason Williams who shined off the bench for Kentucky with his ability to score from inside and out. After hearing all offseason what Williams was capable of, you knew there was a good chance he would see some solid minutes. He put up 14 points, 10 of which in the second half, on 5-8 shooting, including a pair of threes in 27 minutes on the floor. Diallo struggled all night creating shots and it was a tough shooting night overall from Alex Wilkins, who hit a pair of big ones in the final minutes, but when Williams was in, he was able to put points on the board very efficiently and as the backup, I continue to come away very impressed with his play.
Despite not shooting well for much of the game, Kentucky made the buckets and stops they needed to get the win. Up next, the Wildcats take on UCF in their third and final exhibition before the real thing begins.
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