JEFF DRUMMOND:

1. This one was something of a snooze. The good news for the Cats — they bounced back nicely from what Mark Pope calls “the Ohio State debacle” with a decisive 88-54 victory heading into SEC play. Can’t really nitpick much from this one.

2. The turnover column told most of the story today. Brown had 23 miscues, and Kentucky had only five. Compounding issues for the Ivy League’s Bears, UK converted those into 33 points. It was a really nice job of the Cats converting defense to offense.

3. Kentucky had a productive day from the center position as Amari Williams and Brandon Garrison combined for 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three blocked shots. I liked the energy we saw from Williams much more than he showed the last couple of games.

JUSTIN ROWLAND:

1. Odd to see the Cats beat like that on the boards in the first half. I don’t think anybody could have predicted Kentucky would only have 10 rebounds in the first half, compared to 21 for Brown. Fortunately, Brown shot poorly from outside and the impact was thus muted. But that can’t happen against a good team. Eight of those first half boards were on the offensive glass.

2. Defense to offense. Kentucky did a good job of converting turnovers into points. They forced a lot of turnovers and were opportunistic. That’s really where they padded the offensive numbers.

3. Impressive effort as the lead grew. Kentucky really played very hard in the second half. They came out like they weren’t happy with some of the things in the first frame, but to still see guys diving on the floor for loose balls and hustling up 35 points with six or seven to go is impressive and something you don’t often see.

DAVID SISK:

1. The good things had to start with the defense. Brown was held to 54 points, shot 41% from the field, and had 23 turnovers. I’ve gone on record saying this defense could travel against competition, but it has been lacking at times over the past few weeks. Granted it was Brown, but hopefully the momentum will carry over.

2. It looks like we’ve got an offensive model that wasn’t what we necessarily expected. They are efficient, and they can score. But there aren’t a ton of fast break points, and the Cats aren’t the greatest 3-point shooting team. Mark Pope should know enough to put together game plans going into league play.

3. Speaking of league play, facing Brown on New Year’s Eve should include a bowl game title, especially with undefeated Florida waiting in the wings to kick off the SEC. Everybody in the conference will face a gauntlet each and every game, and I can’t wait.