Kentucky took an unconventional approach to defeat Western Kentucky on Tuesday night.
Known for their 3-point prowess, the Wildcats (6-0) relied more on their defense, rebounding, and inside scoring to overcome the Hilltoppers, 87-68 and remain undefeated on the season.
Kentucky coach Mark Pope said the in-state contest resembled a postseason encounter, rather than a late-November contest, but it was one his team needed moving forward.
“These in-state games are always fun for everyone and it was really good for our guys,” Pope said. “I’m proud of how our guys responded and just kind of kept grinding, grinding and grinding away.
"We felt like this was a great win, potentially a first-round (NCAA) game for us. That's how the guys wanted to go in this game. And it was exactly kind of what we wanted.”
The Kentucky coach added there was a “ton of frustration oozing throughout the whole game,” which he said required more attention to detail on both ends of the floor.
“I thought our guys did a great job of staying together and kind of just got to being OK with just going and moving on to the next play,” Pope said. “We certainly didn't play close to perfect, but I thought the guys were where we're in the whole time, so that's awesome.”
Kentucky made a season-low eight shots from long range, but got most of its production inside the paint and the free-throw line, scoring a combined 63 points. Kentucky also grabbed 54 rebounds, including 38 on the defensive end, limiting Western to seven second-chance points.
“We weren't functioning great on the offensive end and we were finding great joy on the defensive end of the ball and that is a winning formula,” Pope said. “We're going to have games where — it was a great offensive game for our guys. It's just 87 points and that's the crazy part of it.
“But the defensive end of the floor, if we can really find joy there, we have a chance to win a lot of games and win big. I was thrilled with that tonight. It was really special.”
Andrew Carr provided an anchor for the Wildcats in the post and rattled the Hilltoppers, scoring a season-high 18 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds to complete a double-double.
“They were being super physical and we tried to continue to fight through that and not let that impact what we wanted to do, specifically offensively,” Carr said. “We rely on our defense a lot. I think that's the cornerstone, the backbone of what we do.”
Carr added the Wildcats were feeling frustrated on offensive end, especially in the first half, but eventually found a way to dispose of the Hilltoppers.
Teammate Otega Oweh agreed.
“It (the gritty effort) shows that we're resilient,” he said. “We’ve always got to find a way, even when the ball is not falling and we don't shoot it well. We just had to find another way to win because we can't just rely on offense because, obviously, other teams are going to scout us and are going to see what we're doing and try to shut it down really, really hard. We have to find other ways (to win)."
Oweh matched Carr’s offensive production with 18 points and added three blocks. Oweh has scored in double figures in each of the team’s six games this season.
Western made just four 3-pointers and shot 31 percent from the field. Hilltoppers coach Hank Plona said the contest was good for his squad.
"I thought when we were able to execute (in) the halfcourt, good things happened," he said. "But kind of that in between was a little bit of a struggle for us. We didn't get a fast break point and our offense got a little stagnant or tired. We didn't get much movement and then took a kind of a rush shot. These guys really make you pay for that."
Gametracker: Georgia State at Kentucky, 6 p.m., Friday. TV/Radio: SECN, UK Radio Network - WiLLiE 102.
Andrew Carr looks for some help as Western Kentucky's defense collapses around him in Kentucky's 87-68 win on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, in Lexington, Ky. (Photo by Brandon Porter)
