What a start to the Mark Pope era. Kentucky beat Kentucky Wesleyan 123-52 at Rupp Arena, shooting 63% from the field, hitting 21 threes at a 50% clip, and dishing 32 assists to just five turnovers. It was beautiful, beautiful basketball.
Sure, it was just an exhibition, but Kentucky’s 71-point margin of victory was its largest since the Cats beat Asbury by 93 points on Nov. 6, 2016. Jaxson Robinson (19 points) and Otega Oweh (18 points) were two of eight Cats that finished in double figures. On the defensive side, Lamont Butler was an absolute pest, totaling six steals and two blocks to go with 11 points, six rebounds, and six assists. As Pope pointed out in the postgame press conference, Butler had more assists than the entire team did turnovers. That’s pretty awesome.
It’s hard to find something not to like from tonight. You definitely won’t be able to in the highlight reel below.
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The Mark Pope era started off with a bang as the Kentucky Wildcats never trailed in a dominant 123-52 win over Kentucky Wesleyan on Wednesday night in Rupp Are
The Kentucky Wildcats tipped off the 2024-25 season tonight as they welcomed the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers to Rupp Arena. In the first of two exhibition gam
It felt great to watch a new era of Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball begin as the Cats opened exhibition play against Kentucky Wesleyan on Wednesday nigh
Kentucky's Mark Pope on winning exhibition opener over Kentucky WesleyanKentucky Wildcats basketball coach Mark Pope discusses the team's 123-52 win over Kentuc